Open AccessDie invloed van die neshope van die graanvretende mier <i>Messor capensis<i/> op Karoo-plantegroei
Author(s) -
W. R. J. Dean
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
suid-afrikaanse tydskrif vir natuurwetenskap en tegnologie/die suid-afrikaanse tydskrif vir natuurwetenskap en tegnologie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2222-4173
pISSN - 0254-3486
DOI - 10.4102/satnt.v14i1.601
Subject(s) - nest (protein structural motif) , soil water , shrubland , ecology , arid , phosphorus , germination , biology , forestry , geography , agronomy , ecosystem , chemistry , biochemistry , organic chemistry
The influence of harvester ant Messor capensis nest-mounds on plants in arid shrubland was investigated at Tierberg, Prince Albert, Cape Province, during 1991. Nest-mound soils contained significantly more phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen and organic matter than surrounding soils. Nest-mound soils also contained more viable seeds than the soil of inter-mound spaces, and more seedlings germinated on nest-mounds than in inter-mound spaces