| dc.description.abstract | Termites perform key ecological functions and they also cause crop damage. Land use change resulting from
agricultural intensification can result in changes in termite species diversity and abundance. Termite species
occurring in natural vegetation, maize monocrop and maize-beans intercrop macrohabitats were investigated in
Embu and Machakos Counties, Kenya. Influence of soil properties and seasons was also evaluated. Across the two
Counties, seven termite species were recorded with Machakos County having the highest number. Additive diversity
partitioning of species richness and Simpson diversity showed that, α component contributed to 98.3% and
99.1% of the total diversity, respectively. Population densities of three termite species significantly varied between
land use types in Machakos County but there were no differences in termite species abundance in Embu
County. In addition, there were no significant differences in species richness between macrohabitats within each
County. In Embu, season significantly influenced the abundance of Macrotermes subhyalinus, M. herus, and Coptotermes
formosanus which occurred in greater numbers during the wet season. There was a significant influence of
land use on Trinervitermes gratiosus and C. formosanus in Machakos with both species occurring in higher numbers
in natural vegetation. Trinervitermes gratiosus was negatively associated with Mn and positively correlated to pH
and sand. Macrotermes subhyalinus and M. herus showed a positive association with P and silt while C. formosanus
was positively correlated to Ca and Mg. These findings provide an insight into the effects of land use change from
natural vegetation to maize agro-ecosystems on termite diversity. It also provides a baseline for further studies on
termite diversity in Kenya and their ecological significance. | en_US |
