A new study found that termite mounds in Namaqualand, South Africa, date back at least 34,000 years.
By a wide margin, the oldest known inhabited termite mounds are those inhabited by southern harvester termites (Microhodotermes viator).
Additionally, organic material buried deep within the mound was discovered, indicating that termites contribute to the storage of carbon at depths greater than one meter (3 feet).
To find out how much carbon is trapped in these termite mounds and how quickly it is accumulating, scientists aim to do additional research.
/According to a recent study, termite mounds along the Buffels River in Namaqualand, South Africa, have been inhabited for an incredible 34,000 years./
Termites are a diverse collection of insects that play an important ecological role by decomposing organic material. They have complicated social groups, and some species build massive underground nests. These may have vast tunnels and chambers where termites reside and store plant material. Some termite mounds can be quite old; in 2018, researchers uncovered termite mounds in Brazil that were 4,000 years old.
However, a recent Science of the Total Environment study revealed that termite mounds inhabited by southern harvester termites (Microhodotermes viator) in Namaqualand are significantly older. Using radiocarbon dating, the researchers discovered that termites have been using the mounds for 34,000 years, since before the last Ice Age. During this age, mankind was busy creating cave art.
The study also provides an unprecedented picture of the region's past climate cycles and reveals a previously unknown role for termites in carbon storage, according to Michele Francis, a senior lecturer at Stellenbosch University and the study's primary author.
Namaqualand is a semiarid region in western South Africa famed for its prolific spring wildflowers. The soil near the Buffels River is littered with low mounds known as heuweltjies, which are roughly 40 meters (130 feet) in diameter and are home to southern harvester termites in underground nests. A strong calcite layer on top of the mounds shields the termites from aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) and other insectivores.
To sample the mounds, the researchers employed an excavator to excavate a trench 60 m (197 ft) wide and 3 m (10 ft) deep through the middle. Then, in what Francis describes as hard, dusty work, they collected samples over the entire cross section, scraping soil into plastic bags with small metal spatulas. Sometimes the termites would come out.
Francis says she previously thought the hills were very old—yyet was shocked while a radiocarbon dating examination uncovered that the carbonate was as long as 34,000 years of age. Natural material, which corrupts a lot quicker, was likewise surprisingly very well safeguarded and was as long as 19,000 years of age. The more youthful natural material was tracked down further down, exhibiting how the termites cover carbon somewhere down in the hill.
The examination gave an unmatched view into the past and demonstrates that these termites might assume a formerly overlooked part in putting away carbon, Francis says.
This can occur in two ways. To start with, the termites accumulate little sticks or other carbon-rich plant material at the surface and convey them in excess of a meter (3 ft) underground, where they're less inclined to deliver carbon into the environment as they break down. Second, burrows made by the termites permit water to travel through the hill. This water can convey minerals and break down inorganic carbon more profoundly through the dirt profile and into the groundwater.
It's now settled that termites add to the worldwide carbon cycle on the grounds that numerous termite species use methane-creating microorganisms to process their food. In any case, up until this point, their part in carbon capacity and sequestration hasn't actually been investigated, Francis says.
Francis, alongside analysts from the U.S. and, what's more, somewhere else, presently plans to take a gander at precisely how the carbon in the heuweltjies is being put away. She says she thinks that microorganisms are changing over the natural carbon into a mineral structure, which would make sense of why the hills are so carbon thick. She says she trusts the new exploration will assist with putting a value on the carbon stockpiling capability of these and other comparable hills. As the heuweltjies cover a fifth of Namaqualand, the advantages of preserving the hills instead of involving the land for horticulture could be significant.
"We can do that assuming we know how much carbon is in there and how quickly it's being gathered," Francis says. In order to properly understand what's going on beneath our feet, we're trying to persuade people to focus on the thing that was previously tiresome.
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