Kanyi Nahashon Chege, Karuri Hannah, Nyasani Johnson O, Mwangi Benson
Department of Biological Sciences, P.O Box 6-60100, University of Embu, Kenya.
Crop Health Unit, Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization, Embu Research Centre, P.O Box 27-60100, Embu, Kenya.
Heliyon. 2021 Dec 10;7(12):e08588. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08588. eCollection 2021 Dec.
Termites perform key ecological functions and they also cause crop damage. Land use change resulting from agricultural intensification can result in changes in termite species diversity and abundance. Termite species occurring in natural vegetation, maize monocrop and maize-beans intercrop macrohabitats were investigated in Embu and Machakos Counties, Kenya. Influence of soil properties and seasons was also evaluated. Across the two Counties, seven termite species were recorded with Machakos County having the highest number. Additive diversity partitioning of species richness and Simpson diversity showed that, α component contributed to 98.3% and 99.1% of the total diversity, respectively. Population densities of three termite species significantly varied between land use types in Machakos County but there were no differences in termite species abundance in Embu County. In addition, there were no significant differences in species richness between macrohabitats within each County. In Embu, season significantly influenced the abundance of , , and which occurred in greater numbers during the wet season. There was a significant influence of land use on and in Machakos with both species occurring in higher numbers in natural vegetation. was negatively associated with Mn and positively correlated to pH and sand. and showed a positive association with P and silt while was positively correlated to Ca and Mg. These findings provide an insight into the effects of land use change from natural vegetation to maize agro-ecosystems on termite diversity. It also provides a baseline for further studies on termite diversity in Kenya and their ecological significance.
白蚁发挥着关键的生态功能，但也会造成作物损害。农业集约化导致的土地利用变化会引起白蚁物种多样性和数量的改变。在肯尼亚的恩布县和马查科斯县，对自然植被、玉米单作和玉米 - 豆类间作大栖息地中出现的白蚁物种进行了调查。同时还评估了土壤性质和季节的影响。在这两个县，共记录到七种白蚁物种，其中马查科斯县的物种数量最多。物种丰富度和辛普森多样性的加性多样性划分表明，α组分分别占总多样性的98.3%和99.1%。马查科斯县三种白蚁物种的种群密度在土地利用类型之间存在显著差异，但恩布县的白蚁物种丰富度没有差异。此外，每个县内不同大栖息地之间的物种丰富度也没有显著差异。在恩布县，季节显著影响了、和的数量，它们在雨季数量更多。土地利用对马查科斯县的和有显著影响，这两个物种在自然植被中数量更多。与锰呈负相关，与pH值和沙子呈正相关。和与磷和粉砂呈正相关，而与钙和镁呈正相关。这些发现深入了解了从自然植被到玉米农业生态系统的土地利用变化对白蚁多样性的影响。它也为肯尼亚进一步研究白蚁多样性及其生态意义提供了基线。
