| Title | Vegetation Indicates Diversity of Soil Macroinvertebrates: A Case Study with Termites along A Land-Use Intensification Gradient in Lowland Sumatra. |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 2003 |
| Authors | Gillison, A.; Jones, D.; Susilo, F.; Bignell, D. |
| ContactAuthor | asb@cgiar.org; andy.gillison@austarnet.com.au |
| Journal | Organisms Diversity & Evolution |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Start Page | 111 |
| Pagination | 111-126 |
| Date Published | June 2003 |
| ISSN | 1439-6092 |
| Keywords | acid soils, micro inverterbrates, plant species, Sumatra, Termites |
| Abstract | Macroinvertebrates have an important role in the maintenance of soil structural stability and fertility in many natural and man-modified habitats. Efficient cataloging of these animals, as a part of rapid biodiversity assessments, is hampered by high species richness, inherent inaccessibility and a strong tendency towards aggregated distribution. Current debate concerning the relative merits of transects (rapid, but at best semi-quantitative) and alternative sampling approaches such as grid-based or randomized placements of monoliths or cores (labor intensive, but statistically preferable) has initiated a search for satisfactory indicator groups or surrogates of below ground faunal diversity. Here, we use well-characterized, forest-derived plant and termite assemblages to show there can be a key role for plant indicators. We cataloged all vascular plant species, plant functional attributes (PFAs), plant functional types (PFTs), and vegetational structure in seven I BOY-designated sites along a gradient of disturbance and land-use intensification in lowland Sumatra, using a rapid survey protocol. |
| URL | http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/urban/601/2003/00000003/00000002/art00007 |
| DOI | 10.1078/1439-6092-00072 |
