Abiotic and biotic determinants of West African termite mounds in altered land.

Termites contribute to the spatial heterogeneity of the ecological processes of the highly degraded lands called the bowé in West Africa, but the underlying determinants of the distribution of the mounds remain poorly understood. Thus, the study aims to determine the principal abiotic and biotic factors shaping mound densities on bowé in Benin, West Africa. A number of 64 plots were randomly sampled on sites with mounds and adjacent off‐mounds sites on bowé. Data were collected on abiotic (soil variables (pH, bulk density, particle sizes and soil organic carbon) and altitude) and biotic (the number of live termite mounds, plant richness and cover) factors. Correspondence analysis (CA) was applied to assess the pattern of vegetation and termite mounds on bowé; while principal component analysis (PCA) was used to assess the relationship between soil variables (pH, bulk density, particle size and soil organic carbon), altitude, number of mounds, plant richness and cover. Generalised mixed effects and linear mixed effects models with Poisson error distribution were used to analyse the variation in soil variables, number of mounds, species richness and cover between termite species. The findings revealed that the pattern of termite mounds on bowé was driven by altitude (topography) and soil clay content that contribute to termite activities as well as improving soil bulk density, plant species richness and cover. These factors were positively associated with all termite species considered, except for those belonging to the genus of Macrotermes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]