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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Leaf-cutting ant (Atta Sexdens) and nutrient cycling: Deep soil inorganic nitrogen stocks, mineralization, and nitrification in Eastern Amazonia
Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Volume 35, No. 9, Year 2003
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Description
Nest excavation and agricultural activities of the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens create complex belowground heterogeneity in secondary forests of Eastern Amazonia. We examined the effects of this heterogeneity on inorganic-N stocks, net mineralization, and net nitrification to test the hypothesis that the bulk soil of the nests has higher net rates of mineralization and nitrification than soil that was not affected by the influences of ant nests, throughout the profile. This study was conducted in a secondary forest at Fazenda Vitoria, near Paragominas in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon, where a previous study showed that the bulk soil of ant nests had elevated NO3-. The results of the inorganic-N measurements were consistent with the previous study, showing elevated NO3- deep in the soil profile of the nests. However, neither net mineralization nor net nitrification were significantly greater at depth in the mineral soil of the nests compared to soil that was not influenced by nests (P = 0.05), although variability was higher in the nest soil. These results suggest that the NO3- may have diffused into the surrounding mineral from the N-rich organic matter buried by the ants in chambers within the deep soil. © 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Verchot, Louis Vincent
Kenya, Nairobi
World Agroforestry Centre
Moutinho, Paulo R.S.
Brazil, Belem
Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia
DAVIDSON, ERIC A.
Brazil, Belem
Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia
United States, Falmouth
Woods Hole Research Center
Statistics
Citations: 48
Authors: 3
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/S0038-0717(03)00183-4
ISSN:
00380717
Research Areas
Genetics And Genomics