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Termite mounds as hot spots of nitrous oxide emissions in South‐Sudanian savanna of Burkina Faso (West Africa)
Author(s) -
Brümmer Christian,
Papen Hans,
Wassmann Reiner,
Brüggemann Nicolas
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2009gl037351
Subject(s) - nitrous oxide , ecosystem , methane , wet season , environmental science , dry season , tropics , ecology , agroforestry , biology
Despite a considerable knowledge of the significant role of termites in the global methane budget, very little is known about their contribution to the global nitrous oxide (N 2 O) budget. Release of N 2 O from termite ( Cubitermes fungifaber ) mounds was measured at a natural savanna site in the southwest of Burkina Faso from May to September 2006. Termite N 2 O emissions were around 20 μ g N 2 O‐N m –2 h –1 at the end of the dry season, and up to two orders of magnitude higher than N 2 O emissions from the surrounding termite‐free soil after the onset of the rainy season. The average N 2 O emission rate from termite mounds during the observation period was 204 μ g N 2 O‐N m –2 h –1 , and termite mounds contributed 3.0% to total N 2 O emissions from this savanna ecosystem. However, in other tropical terrestrial ecosystems with other termite species and/or higher termite density this share might be significantly higher.