Spatial distribution of termite mound in terms of physical properties of soil in the pasture area in São Borja, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazi

Abstract

The termites of the Procornitermes genus are found in pasture areas and their presence has been associated with soil physical quality. The objective of this study was to determine the spatial distribution of termite in a pasture area linking it to the soil physical properties. Was determined the total number of termite nests and performing the analysis soil physics, the calculation of the frequency distribution and dispersion indexes. The termites had aggregated spatial distribution, with fit for the negative binomial distribution. The soil physical properties, when correlated to total number of termitaries per quadrant, obtained correlations with the amount of sand, silt and geometric mean diameter. Thus, the data obtained show that the physical properties of soil can determine spatial distribution of the termites in the area.