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      Termites mitigate the effects of drought in tropical rainforest

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          Abstract

          Termites perform key ecological functions in tropical ecosystems, are strongly affected by variation in rainfall, and respond negatively to habitat disturbance. However, it is not known how the projected increase in frequency and severity of droughts in tropical rainforests will alter termite communities and the maintenance of ecosystem processes. Using a large-scale termite suppression experiment, we found that termite activity and abundance increased during drought in a Bornean forest. This increase resulted in accelerated litter decomposition, elevated soil moisture, greater soil nutrient heterogeneity, and higher seedling survival rates during the extreme El Niño drought of 2015–2016. Our work shows how an invertebrate group enhances ecosystem resistance to drought, providing evidence that the dual stressors of climate change and anthropogenic shifts in biotic communities will have various negative consequences for the maintenance of rainforest ecosystems.

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          Most cited references32

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          Agricultural expansion and its impacts on tropical nature.

          The human population is projected to reach 11 billion this century, with the greatest increases in tropical developing nations. This growth, in concert with rising per-capita consumption, will require large increases in food and biofuel production. How will these megatrends affect tropical terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity? We foresee (i) major expansion and intensification of tropical agriculture, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and South America; (ii) continuing rapid loss and alteration of tropical old-growth forests, woodlands, and semi-arid environments; (iii) a pivotal role for new roadways in determining the spatial extent of agriculture; and (iv) intensified conflicts between food production and nature conservation. Key priorities are to improve technologies and policies that promote more ecologically efficient food production while optimizing the allocation of lands to conservation and agriculture. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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            Symbiotic digestion of lignocellulose in termite guts.

            Their ability to degrade lignocellulose gives termites an important place in the carbon cycle. This ability relies on their partnership with a diverse community of bacterial, archaeal and eukaryotic gut symbionts, which break down the plant fibre and ferment the products to acetate and variable amounts of methane, with hydrogen as a central intermediate. In addition, termites rely on the biosynthetic capacities of their gut microbiota as a nutritional resource. The mineralization of humus components in the guts of soil-feeding species also contributes to nitrogen cycling in tropical soils. Lastly, the high efficiency of their minute intestinal bioreactors makes termites promising models for the industrial conversion of lignocellulose into microbial products and the production of biofuels.
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              CO2balance of boreal, temperate, and tropical forests derived from a global database

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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Science
                Science
                American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
                0036-8075
                1095-9203
                January 10 2019
                January 11 2019
                January 10 2019
                January 11 2019
                : 363
                : 6423
                : 174-177
                Article
                10.1126/science.aau9565
                30630931
                07bc85a2-6985-492d-928c-de8e54be32f4
                © 2019

                http://www.sciencemag.org/about/science-licenses-journal-article-reuse

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