FUNCTIONING OF THE SOIL SYSTEM - Soil Ecology - page 502

little or no admixed faeces. This group is represented by the Macrotermitinae and some
others which use no or minimal faeces in their constructions but build their constructions
with earthen materials softened with saliva (Noirot, 1970; Lee and Wood, 1971a).
(ii) As for (i) above but the earthen materials are admixed with faeces, mainly as gallery
linings or special structures;
(iii)
(iv)

Those dominated by faecal material, as in the soil and soil-wood feeding species;
Those consisting almost entirely of faeces derived from ingested plant materials
(carton), as in the nests of the two Australian arboreal Nasutitermes species discussed
below. Carton is a common component of many nest structures.
Compound structures also occur. Mounds of the widespread Australian rhinotermitid
(lower) termite Coptotermes acinaciformis have a soft carton centre with some
masticated wood and little mineral material, as in (iv) above. Their mounds also have
a hard, protective, dominantly-earthen outer covering some 10 cm thick. Mounds of
the Australian species Microcerotermes nervosus and certain others contain composite
earth:carton structures with intermediate mineral contents (Lee and Wood, 1971b).
As illustrated in Chapter III, nests occur in the following five major locations (Noirot,
1970; Martius, 1994):

i. In the wood of living and dead trees
Examples of species nesting in these locations include the 'dry-wood' termites (family
Kalotermitidae) that nest and explore for food in dead branch stumps on living trees.
Other members of this family, such as the Neotermes species, may live and nest in logs
and stumps, and within the wood of living trees. In all these circumstances, colonies
are established in the aerial parts of the trees and have no contact with the ground.
Economic damage to the affected trees often results where stems are attacked and
this may happen through devaluation of the wood or by weakening the vigour of the tree.
Neotermes insularis is a large termite (soldier length to 15 mm) common in near-coastal
northern and eastern Australia where it causes economic damage to a wide variety of
trees ranging from native Eucalyptus species to ornamental and exotic fruit trees such
as Mango ( Mangifera indica ) and Tamarind ( Tamarindus indica ) (Hill, 1942).
Other termites establish nests within living trees. In temperate Australia, colony founding
pairs of the widespread termite Coptotermes acinaciformis may enter the tree near the
base or through shallow exposed roots. Colony development occurs within the tree and
the termites eventually create a central pipe that can occupy much of the length of the
tree stem, often extending into the branches. Large colonies extend through
underground galleries to the roots of neighbouring trees which are also exploited. In the
tropics, this species builds large earth-capped mounds, often associated with the base
of the tree and within which much of the colony occurs.
This group also includes species that nest and feed in fallen wood lying on the ground
surface. The 'damp-wood' termites of the genus Stolotermes (Termopsidae) live and feed
in decaying wood in damp situations, often logs lying on the soil surface or in the bases
of trees.

ii. Subterranean locations
Many termites nest underground with no surface expression of their presence while