Termite sensitivity to temperature affects global wood decay rates

Abstract

Deadwood is a large global carbon store with its store size partially determined by biotic decay. Microbial wood decay rates are known to respond to changing temperature and precipitation. Termites are also important decomposers in the tropics but are less well studied. An understanding of their climate sensitivities is needed to estimate climate change effects on wood carbon pools. Using data from 133 sites spanning six continents, we found that termite wood discovery and consumption were highly sensitive to temperature (with decay increasing > 6.8 times per 10°C increase in temperature)-even more so than microbes. Termite decay effects were greatest in tropical seasonal forests, tropical savannas, and subtropical deserts. With tropicalization (i.e., warming shifts to tropical climates), termite wood decay will likely increase as termites access more of Earth's surface.

Keywords

termite, sensitivity to temperature, global wood decay rates, tropical systems

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

9-23-2022

Volume

377

Issue

6613

PubMed ID

36137034

Publication Title

Science (New York, N.Y.)

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

School

School of Science

RAS ID

52744

Comments

Zanne, A. E., Flores-Moreno, H., Powell, J. R., Cornwell, W. K., Dalling, J. W., Austin, A. T., ... & Zalamea, P. C. (2022). Termite sensitivity to temperature affects global wood decay rates. Science, 377(6613), 1440-1444.

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abo3856

Copyright

subscription content

First Page

1440

Last Page

1444

Link to Full Text

Share

 
COinS
 

Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.1126/science.abo3856