EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

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Termite Nurse Mound

Credit & Copyright: Dr. Bruce G. Marcot

Explanation:  This termite mound has a lot more going for it than just providing shelter for its occupants.  Termite mounds often serve as "nurses" for trees.  The above photo, taken in Lengwe National Park in southern Malawi, Africa, shows a papaya tree that had taken root in a fungus termite mound. In this way, termite mounds serve similar functions as nurse logs or nurse stumps in temperate forests, where seeds and seedlings of shrubs and trees take root in down logs or decaying tree stumps.     Fungus termites feed on decaying wood and humus.  They grow fungi that break down cellulose and lignins which they ingest.  Thus, soils near fungus termite mounds are very fertile and often host many plant species.  Moreover, the diversity of plants on and near termite mounds, and the number of fungus termite mounds, may serve as useful indicators of soil productivity and forest health in an area.  Declines in mounds, however, can also be caused by periods of wet weather. Termite mounds occur in many ecosystems, including forests, shrublands, and arid grasslands.  Their height and bulk can get rather impressive, indeed.  In a future EPOW we will explore the amazing multiple uses of termite mounds by various animals.