Most people think of termites as a wood-consuming nuisance in homes and businesses. But these termites represent less than 4% of all termite species in the world.
Termites are essential in natural ecosystems, especially in the tropics, as they help recycle dead wood from trees. Without these rots, the world would be filled with dead plants and animals.
But these energy wood-eating insects could soon move to the North Pole and the South Pole as global temperatures warm due to climate change, according to new research.
In a new international study led by the University of Miami and including a co-author from the University of Michigan, researchers have learned that termites are essential when it comes to breaking down wood, contributing to the carbon cycle of the earth. They also learned that termites are very sensitive to temperature and rainfall, so as temperatures rise, the insect’s role in wood decay will likely extend beyond the tropics.
“With warming temperatures, the impact of termites on the planet could be enormous,” said Amy Zanne, study leader and professor of biology at the University of Miami.
University of Michigan biologist Aimée Classen is co-author of the study published online Thursday in the journal Science. She led a team that investigated a field site in Vermont.
“We know species move due to warming and changes in precipitation, but less is known about what those movements might mean for ecosystems and carbon feedbacks,” said Classen, a professor in the Department of Ecology and of evolutionary biology and director of the University. from the Michigan Biological Station.
“This study is one of the first to connect the dots between the movement of a species, changes in an ecosystem process and climate change to show that the movement of an organism as small as a termite can impact cascading over the rate at which wood – a global store of carbon – is broken down.
For the study, more than 100 collaborators studied places around the world where bacteria, fungi and termites consume dead wood. They also investigated how temperature and precipitation might impact wood discovery and decay using the same experimental setup at more than 130 sites in a variety of habitats on six continents. Their findings suggest that areas with high termite activity are expected to increase as the Earth becomes hotter and drier.
“Termites had their greatest effects in places like tropical savannas, seasonal forests and subtropical deserts,” Zanne said. “These systems are often underestimated in terms of their contributions to the global carbon budget.”
Contributor Amy Austin from the University of Buenos Aires said the global study has helped scientists better understand wood decomposition.
“The inclusion of hot, arid bioregions, particularly in the southern hemisphere where termites are often abundant and active, has provided insight into their role in carbon turnover,” she said. “As ecologists, we may need to expand our examination of woody ecosystems beyond a closed-canopy forest and recognize that woody carbon stores in drier ecosystems are an important component of the global carbon cycle. .”
Although both microbes and termites break down dead wood, there are important differences between them. While microbes need water to grow and consume wood, termites can function at relatively low humidity levels. In fact, termites can search for their next meal even if it is dry. They bring what they want back to their mounds, or even move their colony into the wood they consume.
“Microbes are globally important when it comes to wood decay, but we have largely overlooked the role of termites in this process,” Zanne said. “That means we’re not accounting for the massive effect these insects could have on the future carbon cycle and interactions with climate change.”
Like little cows, termites release carbon from wood in the form of methane and carbon dioxide, which are two of the most important greenhouse gases. Therefore, termites could contribute more and more to greenhouse gas emissions with climate change, according to the researchers.
“I’m fascinated by how microbial and termite decomposition of wood affects how carbon is released to the environment,” said Zanne, who has studied wood-based carbon release responses for more than a decade. ‘a decade.
Classen said being part of a global science team was rewarding and yielded a lot of valuable data.
“Being part of a global network of scientists all working on the same questions allows our group to understand local patterns as well as global patterns,” she said. “This bottom-up approach to addressing scientific questions is powerful. For a small investment of time or money from any group, we gain a great understanding of what the future world might look like.
