Termite species richness in fire-prone and fire-protected dry deciduous dipterocarp forest in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park, northern Thailand

Abstract

Fire is prevalent in the dry deciduous forests of south-east Asia, the majority of fires being man-made (Stott 1988). In Thailand, the 10-19% estimated extent of annual burning of dry deciduous dipterocarp forest (1984-1986 data on total estimated area burned each year; Settarak et al. 1987) is thought to be a severe under-estimate (Kanjanavanit 1992). The interaction of fire and termites is poorly known for Asian ecosystems, but African studies show they have complementary roles in the removal of wood and leaf litter (Collins 1981, Trapnell et al. 1976). Termites are the dominant arthropod decomposers in tropical forests (Collins 1983) and savannas (Collins 1981, Holt 1987), and are important mediators of carbon flux (Jones 1990, Lawton et al. 1996). Furthermore, these functions are dependent on the species assemblage structure of the termite community (Lawton et al. 1996). To date, the only study of the effects of fire on termite species richness and abundance is from Australia (Abensperg-Traun & Milewski 1995). Here, a preliminary survey of species richness of termites in fireprotected and fire-prone deciduous forest in northern Thailand is presented. The study suggests that the fungus-growing Macrotermitinae have a greater species richness, under certain seasonal fire regimes, compared to those in areas under complete fire protection. Species richness estimates were made for two dry deciduous dipterocarp forest sites: A, fire-protected and; B, unprotected, fire-prone, in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park, near Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. Site A covered a 10 ha