LBA-ECO ND-04: Termite Mound and Soil Characterization in Amazonas, Brazil

Fifteen data files detail the ecological impact of mound-building termites across primary forest, secondary forest, and abandoned pasture sites near Manaus. Reported measurements include termite species occurrence, mound abundance, soil microbial communities, root biomass, seedling emergence, nitrogen mineralization, and soil physical and hydraulic properties. Analyses compare termite mound soils directly with adjacent control soils.

Use Cases

• Comparing soil physical and chemical properties between termite mounds and adjacent control soils.
• Analyzing the relationship between termite species occurrence and soil microbiological community composition.
• Modeling forest regeneration by assessing seedling emergence success on termite mound soils.
• Studying nitrogen mineralization rates in disturbed versus primary forest sites.
• Evaluating the role of termites in soil hydraulic properties like infiltration and bulk density.

Strengths

• Contains data from 15 distinct files covering multiple ecological and soil science domains.
• Provides comparative data from four distinct land-use types: primary forest, secondary forest, and two abandoned pastures.
• Includes a wide range of measured variables, from species occurrence to soil hydraulic properties.

Limitations

• Column names and exact row counts are not provided in the available metadata.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date, with one listing 2002 and others listing 2026, suggesting potential metadata errors.
• The specific license is only generically noted as 'other-license-specified', requiring further investigation for reuse.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Field study conducted at the Embrapa research station.

Time Range

1999-2001

Freshness

2026-04-10 (from datagov), but conflicting with 2002-06-26 (from nasa_earthdata).

Geography

Distrito Agropecuario da SUFRAMA, km 53 of BR 174 highway outside Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil