Phosphatase activity in Nasutitermes ephratae termite nests |
| |
Authors: | D López-Hernández M Niño P Nannipieri J C Fardeau |
| |
Institution: | (1) Laboratorio de Estudios Ambientales IZT, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Central de Venezuela, ADPO 47058, 1040 Caracas, Venezuela;(2) Istituto di Chimica Agraria, Universita Degli Studi di Viterbo, I-01100 Viterbo, Italy;(3) DB/SRA-CEN Cadarache, F-13108 St. Paul Lez Durance Cedex, France |
| |
Abstract: | Summary The relationship between phosphatase activity and soil was studied in 14 mounds and adjacent control soils of plant debris-feeding termites from a Venezuelan savanna. The soils were assayed for acid phosphatase activity with p-nitrophenyl phosphate as substrate and for the effect of inorganic P (300 g P g–1). The proportion of organic matter in the mounds was four times that found in topsoils, indicating strong selection by the termites for organic-rich soil fractions. A comparison of phosphatase activities found no difference between mounds and adjacent soils. It seems possible that the expected increase of enzyme activity in mounds, due to a higher C content, was counteracted by enzyme inhibition due to higher levels of available inorganic P in the mounds. Addition of inorganic P to soil and mound material reduced enzyme activities by 10%–45%, but after a 2-day incubation period differences between the treated soil and the control tended to disappear. |
| |
Keywords: | Isoptera Soil-feeding termite Phosphatase activity Organic matter Nasutitermes ephratae |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|