Effects of termite sheetings on soil properties under two contrasting soil management practices

peer reviewedSoil organic matter (SOM) dynamics and termite activity have now been widely accepted as key players forimproving soil properties in tropical agro-ecosystems. Numerous studies have described environmental impactsof aboveground termite mounds, while few data are available on temporary structures built for food foraging,called termite sheetings. The effects of termite activity on soil properties resulting from organic matter (OM)amendment under two contrasting management practices were studied in similar pedological and climaticconditions in Southern India (Auroville). Our results showed an increase in bio-available nutrients (K, Mg and P),organic carbon (OC) content, cationic exchange capacity (CEC), exchangeable base cations and water pH in thetermite sheetings compared to the underlying and reference soils, in the organic tilledfield. On the other hand,only bio-available K increased in the permanent raised beds. Aggregation processes were improved in termitesheetings for the organic tilledfield, as the amounts of macroaggregates (250μm–2 mm) and protected mi-croaggregates increased, whereas the amount of free microaggregates (50–250μm) decreased. Moreover, termiteactivity favoured SOM storage in termite sheetings by increasing OC content in each aggregate fraction, while nodifferences were observed in the permanent raised beds. Our study demonstrates that termite activity can im-prove nutrient availability, carbon storage and pH conditions in agro-ecosystems but that the magnitude of theeffect likely depends on the agronomic practices in use