Summary
Tropical forestry is influenced by termites in widely differing ways.
Large mounds constructed byMacrotermes in Africa and Asia are ecological factors which influence the natural regeneration of forests and the vegetation patterns of savanna woodlands and grasslands.
Economic losses in timber caused by termite attack on mature trees are restricted to those areas in Australia, Asia and Central America where particular species ofCoptotermes are present.
Afforestation withEucalyptus in less humid areas of Africa, India and South America has been greatly facilitated by the use of organochlorine insecticides to protect seedlings and saplings from attack by ground-dwelling termites.
Zusammenfassung
Für die tropische Forstwirtschaft ist eine Reihe von Termitenarten in unterschiedlicher Weise bedeutsam.
Dis grossen Termitenhügel vonMacrotermes sind in Afrika und Asien ökologisch von grosser Wichtigkeit, indem sie die Regeneration des Waldes und die Vegetationsverteilung in Trockensavannen und Grasland beeinflussen.
Wirtschaftliche Holzschäden durch Termitenangriff auf stehende Waldbäume beschränken sich in Australien, Asien und Zentralamerika auf solche Gebiete, in denen best-immteCoptotermes-Arten vorkommen.
Die Aufforstung mit Eucalyptusarten in Afrika, Indien und Südamerika ist wesentlich erleichtert worden, seitdem man dazu übergegangen ist, die Sämlinge und Jungbäumchen durch verschiedene organischsynthetische-Boden-Insektizide zu schützen.
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Harris, W.V. The role of termites in tropical forestry. Ins. Soc 13, 255–265 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02222385
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02222385