Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
tions of earthworms. This also applies to sites where termites do not consume all the
available litter.
Thus, two major and contradictory effects of temperature become clear. Higher temper-
atures favour the increased activity of both micro-organisms and soil faunal populations.
As a result, highly-efficient, mutualistic digestion systems become possible (Lavelle,
1986), permitting earthworms and termites access to a wide range of resources, including
many that are recalcitrant and highly dispersed (
e.g.,
Martin
et al.,
1992). The decreased
litter and holorganic soil horizons and the diminished organic matter resources available
limit the epigeic macrofauna and
mesofauna associated with this part of the
environmental gradient.
