Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, CSK Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Department of Zoology, Dev Samaj College, Ferozpur, India.
Waste Manag Res. 2021 Apr;39(4):546-554. doi: 10.1177/0734242X20957394. Epub 2020 Sep 16.
One of the major reasons for the degradation of Earth's setting is inappropriate disposal of solid waste. Mountains of solid waste are increasing in every country making solid waste management a challenge almost everywhere on Earth. It is vital to look for such municipal solid waste management solutions that are financially sustainable, technically possible, socially and legally acceptable and environmentally friendly. Currently vermicomposting is the only biological solid waste treatment process that uses multicellular organisms to biodegrade organic wastes. A few species of insects are capable of digesting lignin and cellulose. Of these, termites are the most numerous and play a decisive role as scavengers. Microflora which inhabit the termites' gut contribute to their waste degrading potential. Termites act as major soil ecosystem managers and are able to breakdown and recycle organic matter and composite. Although studies in the potential of termites to increase soil fertility are well-accounted for in the literature, the potential of termites for solid waste management still needs to be explored. This mini review presents the state of information on the use of termite species in solid waste degradation focused on the potential application in the Himachal Pradesh region, India. This review highlights different termite species found in Himachal Pradesh and the challenges that are needed to be conquered. The study also aims at encouraging competent authorities/researchers to work towards the improvement of the present system by further exploring the use of termites in solid waste management through suggestions and recommendations.
造成地球环境恶化的一个主要原因是固体废弃物处理不当。每个国家的固体垃圾都在不断增加，使得全球各地的固体废弃物管理都面临着挑战。寻找经济上可持续、技术上可行、社会和法律上可接受且环境友好的城市固体废物管理解决方案至关重要。目前，蚯蚓堆肥是唯一一种利用多细胞生物来生物降解有机废物的生物固体废物处理方法。有少数几种昆虫能够消化木质素和纤维素。在这些昆虫中，白蚁数量最多，作为清道夫起着决定性的作用。栖息在白蚁肠道中的微生物群落有助于提高它们的废物降解能力。白蚁是主要的土壤生态系统管理者，能够分解和回收有机物质和复合材料。尽管关于白蚁增加土壤肥力的潜力的研究在文献中有很好的记载，但白蚁在固体废物管理方面的潜力仍有待探索。本综述介绍了利用白蚁物种降解固体废物的信息现状，重点介绍了在印度喜马偕尔邦地区的潜在应用。本综述强调了在喜马偕尔邦发现的不同白蚁物种以及需要克服的挑战。该研究还旨在鼓励主管部门/研究人员通过建议和推荐，进一步探索利用白蚁进行固体废物管理，以改进现有系统。
