Effects of ant bioturbation and foraging activities on soil mechanical properties and stability
Ants are ecosystem engineers, and their nesting and foraging activities are critical to modifying soil structure. In this paper, the soil physical and mechanical properties of in situ subterranean ant nesting soil and non-ant nesting soil around the nest of the Iridomyrmex anceps were investigated s...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235198942300210X |
| _version_ | 1797676277869576192 |
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| author | Wei Zhou Peimin Zhan Ming Zeng Tian Chen Xuanrui Zhang Guanghong Yang Yipu Guo |
| author_facet | Wei Zhou Peimin Zhan Ming Zeng Tian Chen Xuanrui Zhang Guanghong Yang Yipu Guo |
| author_sort | Wei Zhou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ants are ecosystem engineers, and their nesting and foraging activities are critical to modifying soil structure. In this paper, the soil physical and mechanical properties of in situ subterranean ant nesting soil and non-ant nesting soil around the nest of the Iridomyrmex anceps were investigated so as to evaluate the effects of activities such as nest building and foraging on soil hydrologic and stability. The results showed that ant activity increased the content of organic matter, total nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil, and decreased soil pH. The activities of ants altered the soil structure. The density, specific gravity and saturation of subsurface ant nesting soil and non-ant nesting soil showed highly significant differences, while the moisture content, dry density, pore ratio and porosity showed significant differences. The soil mechanical property tests results showed that the ant activity increased the compressibility of the soil. The ant activity reduces the resistance of soil against relative movement under the action of external force, as well as the strength of soil against axial pressure under the condition of no lateral restraint, whereas the residual strength is increased. Under low confining pressure conditions, ant presence had no significant effect on the ultimate strength of soil. However, the ultimate strength of ant nest soil was significantly lower than that of non-ant nest soil under condition of high confining pressure. These findings unveil that ant activities positively affect the energy cycle and species diversity in ecosystems but significantly reduce soil mechanical properties and stability. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T22:25:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-37ad1211fb204c56b45f4531e91b5a24 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2351-9894 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T22:25:40Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| spelling | doaj.art-37ad1211fb204c56b45f4531e91b5a242023-09-24T05:15:23ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942023-10-0146e02575Effects of ant bioturbation and foraging activities on soil mechanical properties and stabilityWei Zhou0Peimin Zhan1Ming Zeng2Tian Chen3Xuanrui Zhang4Guanghong Yang5Yipu Guo6Key Laboratory of Advanced Civil Engineering Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Shanghai Tongmu Construction Consulting Co., Ltd., Shanghai 200092, ChinaKey Laboratory of Advanced Civil Engineering Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Corresponding authors.Department of Geotechnical Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, ChinaSchool of Infrastructure Engineering, Nanchang University, Jiangxi 330031, ChinaSchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, NSW 2007, AustraliaSchool of Engineering, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 3AA, UKSchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia; Corresponding authors.Ants are ecosystem engineers, and their nesting and foraging activities are critical to modifying soil structure. In this paper, the soil physical and mechanical properties of in situ subterranean ant nesting soil and non-ant nesting soil around the nest of the Iridomyrmex anceps were investigated so as to evaluate the effects of activities such as nest building and foraging on soil hydrologic and stability. The results showed that ant activity increased the content of organic matter, total nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil, and decreased soil pH. The activities of ants altered the soil structure. The density, specific gravity and saturation of subsurface ant nesting soil and non-ant nesting soil showed highly significant differences, while the moisture content, dry density, pore ratio and porosity showed significant differences. The soil mechanical property tests results showed that the ant activity increased the compressibility of the soil. The ant activity reduces the resistance of soil against relative movement under the action of external force, as well as the strength of soil against axial pressure under the condition of no lateral restraint, whereas the residual strength is increased. Under low confining pressure conditions, ant presence had no significant effect on the ultimate strength of soil. However, the ultimate strength of ant nest soil was significantly lower than that of non-ant nest soil under condition of high confining pressure. These findings unveil that ant activities positively affect the energy cycle and species diversity in ecosystems but significantly reduce soil mechanical properties and stability.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235198942300210XSoil propertiesUnderground ant nestsPhysical propertiesMechanical properties |
| spellingShingle | Wei Zhou Peimin Zhan Ming Zeng Tian Chen Xuanrui Zhang Guanghong Yang Yipu Guo Effects of ant bioturbation and foraging activities on soil mechanical properties and stability Global Ecology and Conservation Soil properties Underground ant nests Physical properties Mechanical properties |
| title | Effects of ant bioturbation and foraging activities on soil mechanical properties and stability |
| title_full | Effects of ant bioturbation and foraging activities on soil mechanical properties and stability |
| title_fullStr | Effects of ant bioturbation and foraging activities on soil mechanical properties and stability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of ant bioturbation and foraging activities on soil mechanical properties and stability |
| title_short | Effects of ant bioturbation and foraging activities on soil mechanical properties and stability |
| title_sort | effects of ant bioturbation and foraging activities on soil mechanical properties and stability |
| topic | Soil properties Underground ant nests Physical properties Mechanical properties |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235198942300210X |
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