Mound architecture and season affect concentrations of CO2, CH4 and N2O in nests of African fungus-growing termites
Termites are a significant natural source of greenhouse gases (GHGs), but quantifying emissions especially from large termite mounds is problematic as they rarely fit in measurement chambers. Predicting fluxes based on internal and atmospheric concentrations could provide an indirect way to assess m...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Wiley
2023
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/132577 |
| _version_ | 1855542576630726656 |
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| author | Vesala, Risto Räsänen, Matti Leitner, Sonja Mulat, Daniel Girma Mwangala, Lucas Rikkinen, Jouko Arppe, Laura |
| author_browse | Arppe, Laura Leitner, Sonja Mulat, Daniel Girma Mwangala, Lucas Rikkinen, Jouko Räsänen, Matti Vesala, Risto |
| author_facet | Vesala, Risto Räsänen, Matti Leitner, Sonja Mulat, Daniel Girma Mwangala, Lucas Rikkinen, Jouko Arppe, Laura |
| author_sort | Vesala, Risto |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Termites are a significant natural source of greenhouse gases (GHGs), but quantifying emissions especially from large termite mounds is problematic as they rarely fit in measurement chambers. Predicting fluxes based on internal and atmospheric concentrations could provide an indirect way to assess mound emissions, but developing such models necessitates better understanding of the concentration levels and their variance. We used gas chromatography to measure carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations within nests of two co‐occurring species of fungus‐growing termites in both dry and wet seasons in Kenya, with termite Macrotermes michaelseni building mounds with a closed and Macrotermes subhyalinus with an open ventilation system. Gas concentrations were 3–100 times higher in mounds than the global averages in atmosphere, implying that termite mounds are sources of all three GHGs. Carbon dioxide concentrations were higher in closed than in open mounds. Methane concentrations remained constant in open mounds, whereas closed mounds exhibited considerable variation between nests and across seasons. Concentrations of both CH4 and N2O correlated positively with mound volume during the wet season, whereas interactions with mound size were not observed in CO2 concentrations or during the driest sampling period. These findings underline that among fungus‐growing termites, mound size, ventilation type and precipitation affect nest gas concentrations and with this likely the magnitude of mound GHG emissions. Potential reasons behind the observed relationships are discussed, including differences in population size, biomass of fungus gardens and CH4 oxidation.Termites are a significant natural source of greenhouse gases (GHGs), but quantifying emissions especially from large termite mounds is problematic as they rarely fit in measurement chambers. Predicting fluxes based on internal and atmospheric concentrations could provide an indirect way to assess mound emissions, but developing such models necessitates better understanding of the concentration levels and their variance.We used gas chromatography to measure carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations within nests of two co‐occurring species of fungus‐growing termites in both dry and wet seasons in Kenya, with termite Macrotermes michaelseni building mounds with a closed and Macrotermes subhyalinus with an open ventilation system.Gas concentrations were 3–100 times higher in mounds than the global averages in atmosphere, implying that termite mounds are sources of all three GHGs. Carbon dioxide concentrations were higher in closed than in open mounds. Methane concentrations remained constant in open mounds, whereas closed mounds exhibited considerable variation between nests and across seasons. Concentrations of both CH4 and N2O correlated positively with mound volume during the wet season, whereas interactions with mound size were not observed in CO2 concentrations or during the driest sampling period.These findings underline that among fungus‐growing termites, mound size, ventilation type and precipitation affect nest gas concentrations and with this likely the magnitude of mound GHG emissions. Potential reasons behind the observed relationships are discussed, including differences in population size, biomass of fungus gardens and CH4 oxidation. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace132577 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publishDateRange | 2023 |
| publishDateSort | 2023 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| publisherStr | Wiley |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1325772025-10-26T12:51:11Z Mound architecture and season affect concentrations of CO2, CH4 and N2O in nests of African fungus-growing termites Vesala, Risto Räsänen, Matti Leitner, Sonja Mulat, Daniel Girma Mwangala, Lucas Rikkinen, Jouko Arppe, Laura biomass carbon carbon dioxide ecology greenhouse gases measurement methane models nitrous oxide population precipitation sampling seasons species wet season Termites are a significant natural source of greenhouse gases (GHGs), but quantifying emissions especially from large termite mounds is problematic as they rarely fit in measurement chambers. Predicting fluxes based on internal and atmospheric concentrations could provide an indirect way to assess mound emissions, but developing such models necessitates better understanding of the concentration levels and their variance. We used gas chromatography to measure carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations within nests of two co‐occurring species of fungus‐growing termites in both dry and wet seasons in Kenya, with termite Macrotermes michaelseni building mounds with a closed and Macrotermes subhyalinus with an open ventilation system. Gas concentrations were 3–100 times higher in mounds than the global averages in atmosphere, implying that termite mounds are sources of all three GHGs. Carbon dioxide concentrations were higher in closed than in open mounds. Methane concentrations remained constant in open mounds, whereas closed mounds exhibited considerable variation between nests and across seasons. Concentrations of both CH4 and N2O correlated positively with mound volume during the wet season, whereas interactions with mound size were not observed in CO2 concentrations or during the driest sampling period. These findings underline that among fungus‐growing termites, mound size, ventilation type and precipitation affect nest gas concentrations and with this likely the magnitude of mound GHG emissions. Potential reasons behind the observed relationships are discussed, including differences in population size, biomass of fungus gardens and CH4 oxidation.Termites are a significant natural source of greenhouse gases (GHGs), but quantifying emissions especially from large termite mounds is problematic as they rarely fit in measurement chambers. Predicting fluxes based on internal and atmospheric concentrations could provide an indirect way to assess mound emissions, but developing such models necessitates better understanding of the concentration levels and their variance.We used gas chromatography to measure carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations within nests of two co‐occurring species of fungus‐growing termites in both dry and wet seasons in Kenya, with termite Macrotermes michaelseni building mounds with a closed and Macrotermes subhyalinus with an open ventilation system.Gas concentrations were 3–100 times higher in mounds than the global averages in atmosphere, implying that termite mounds are sources of all three GHGs. Carbon dioxide concentrations were higher in closed than in open mounds. Methane concentrations remained constant in open mounds, whereas closed mounds exhibited considerable variation between nests and across seasons. Concentrations of both CH4 and N2O correlated positively with mound volume during the wet season, whereas interactions with mound size were not observed in CO2 concentrations or during the driest sampling period.These findings underline that among fungus‐growing termites, mound size, ventilation type and precipitation affect nest gas concentrations and with this likely the magnitude of mound GHG emissions. Potential reasons behind the observed relationships are discussed, including differences in population size, biomass of fungus gardens and CH4 oxidation. 2023-12 2023-10-31T12:27:32Z 2023-10-31T12:27:32Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/132577 en Open Access Wiley Vesala, R. et al. 2023. Mound architecture and season affect concentrations of CO2, CH4 and N2O in nests of African fungus-growing termites. Ecological Entomology |
| spellingShingle | biomass carbon carbon dioxide ecology greenhouse gases measurement methane models nitrous oxide population precipitation sampling seasons species wet season Vesala, Risto Räsänen, Matti Leitner, Sonja Mulat, Daniel Girma Mwangala, Lucas Rikkinen, Jouko Arppe, Laura Mound architecture and season affect concentrations of CO2, CH4 and N2O in nests of African fungus-growing termites |
| title | Mound architecture and season affect concentrations of CO2, CH4 and N2O in nests of African fungus-growing termites |
| title_full | Mound architecture and season affect concentrations of CO2, CH4 and N2O in nests of African fungus-growing termites |
| title_fullStr | Mound architecture and season affect concentrations of CO2, CH4 and N2O in nests of African fungus-growing termites |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mound architecture and season affect concentrations of CO2, CH4 and N2O in nests of African fungus-growing termites |
| title_short | Mound architecture and season affect concentrations of CO2, CH4 and N2O in nests of African fungus-growing termites |
| title_sort | mound architecture and season affect concentrations of co2 ch4 and n2o in nests of african fungus growing termites |
| topic | biomass carbon carbon dioxide ecology greenhouse gases measurement methane models nitrous oxide population precipitation sampling seasons species wet season |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/132577 |
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