Diurnal and seasonal variations in CH4 flux from termite mounds in tropical savannas of the Northern Territory, Australia

Hizbullah Jamali, Stephen J. Livesley, Tracy Z. Dawes, Garry D. Cook, Lindsay B. Hutley, Stefan K. Arnd 2010, Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
Termites are estimated to contribute between <5 and 19% of the global methane (CH4) emissions. We measured CH4 fluxes from four common mound-building termite species (Microcerotermes nervosus, M. serratus, Tumulitermes pastinator and Amitermes darwini) diurnally and seasonally in tropical savannas in the Northern Territory, Australia. Our results showed that there were significant diel and seasonal variations of CH4 emissions from termite mounds and we observed large species specific differences.