Termite (Isoptera) community in the Western Ghats, South India: influence of anthropogenic disturbance of natural vegetation

A comparative study of termites communities was carried out in the Western Ghats in order to understand the impact of human disturbance on the pristine ecosystems such as the wet evergreen forest of South India. Termites communities were studied in six sites with varying degrees of disturbance (3 forests, 2 pastures, 1 Acacia plantation) at six different times over one year and for three depths of soil. Twelve species, representing 3 subfamilies and 9 genera were recorded over a total of 27,879 individuals. These results show that the termite community in the natural forest system is greatly affected when the habitat is even slightly disturbed. One species was recorded exclusively in forest systems (Microcerofermesflefcheri) and two species were found exclusively in non-forest sites (Dicuspiditermes perriame and Pericapriteniies ceyloiiicus). Maximum number of species was recorded in an undisturbed evergreen forest (10 species) and the minimum in a slightly disturbed forest (4 species). During monsoon, there was a sharp fall in termite abundance and biomass in all the plots while highest abundance and biomass were observed during the dry season. Finally, termite abundance and biomass correlated strongly with soil nitrogen and organic matter.