INVESTIGADORES
FARJI-BRENER Alejandro Gustavo
artículos
Título:
Leaf-cutting ant nests and soil biota abundante in a semi-arid steppe of northwestern Patagonia
Autor/es:
FARJI-BRENER, ALEJANDRO GUSTAVO
Revista:
SOCIOBIOLOGY
Editorial:
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIV
Referencias:
Lugar: California; Año: 2010 vol. 56 p. 549 - 557
ISSN:
0361-6525
Resumen:
The availability of organic matter and the abundance of soil biota responsible for their decomposition and mineralization often limit vegetation growth. I examine whether leaf-cutting ant nests affect the abundance of soil micro-organisms in a semi-arid steppe of NW Patagonia. External refuse dumps from Acromyrmex lobicornis nests contained between 1-2 orders of magnitude more bacteria and fungi than adjacent, non-nest soils. Since these taxa are responsible for the major fraction of the mineralization occurring in soils, they may be responsible for the high nutrient content in ant refuse dumps documented in earlier works. Ant nest sites should be considered not only as hot spots of plant diversity and abundance, but also as a source of soil improvement biota.