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Calcium Carbonate in Termite Mounds

Nature volume 247, page 74 (1974)Cite this article

Abstract

THE presence of appreciable quantities of calcium carbonate in termite mounds on non-calcareous soil has intrigued pedologists for many years. Milne6, for example, found a termite mound with 7% calcium carbonate and estimated that it contained about 2 t of calcium carbonate excluding the hard limestone (53% CaCO3) base of the mound. The soil below the base of a termite mound may also be calcareous. The soil underneath one termite mound in an area of non-calcareous soil was found to have a mean of 1.7% calcium carbonate to a depth of 6 m, or about 20 t of calcium carbonate9.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agriculture Department, University of Rhodesia, Salisbury

    J. P. WATSON

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  1. J. P. WATSON
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WATSON, J. Calcium Carbonate in Termite Mounds. Nature 247, 74 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/247074a0

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