Across Earth’s ecosystems, the carbon cycle circulates carbon in solid or gaseous forms between rocks, soils, vegetation, the ocean, and the atmosphere.
One unique feature of the Australian savannah is a high abundance of mound-building termites, which play an integral role in savannah carbon cycling by carrying out decomposition.
“To do this, I measure termite mound methane release from three different savannah termite species (Nasutitermes magnus, Coptotermes acinaciformis, Amitermes laurensis) using an Infrared Greenhouse Gas Analyser (IRGA) as well as photogrammetry."
"I am also testing how mound methane release changes throughout the day.”
“Conducting this research project at AWC’s Brooklyn Wildlife Sanctuary has been fun, but full of challenges: from getting bogged during sampling campaigns to camping out by the termite mounds for around-the-clock measurements, I have learned so much from the termites and how they interact with the entirety of the savannah ecosystem."
So which one gives off the most?
“So far, I have found that N. magnus mounds release more methane than other species."
“The dataset is not yet complete as I have one more field campaign in the mid-wet season before I can build a full model of annual termite methane flux for these three savannah-dominant termite species.””
“Ultimately, I will derive landscape-level estimates of termite mound methane flux by pairing mound-level flux measurements with remotely sensed mound density, contributing to our understanding of savannah methane budgets and carbon cycling.”
Seems you need to wait longer.
So you’re in the Northern Territory then?
No, I’m quoting parts of the article.
The waiting part is that the PhD hasn’t been written yet.
