Fig. 4: Aboriginal people’s knowledge was analysed in parallel to a survey of pavements on Nyiyaparli country near Newman. | Nature Ecology & Evolution

Fig. 4: Aboriginal people’s knowledge was analysed in parallel to a survey of pavements on Nyiyaparli country near Newman.

From: First Peoples’ knowledge leads scientists to reveal ‘fairy circles’ and termite linyji are linked in Australia

Fig. 4: Aboriginal people’s knowledge was analysed in parallel to a survey of pavements on Nyiyaparli country near Newman.

a, Typical pavement at FC 2 surveyed in same plot area as Getzin et al.35. This pavement averaged 5.2 m diameter with no mound. The area has dense spinifex grassland unburnt since at least 1985; such long-unburnt areas are now rare in arid Australia (photo © Fiona Walsh). b, Termite structure extracted from the pavement showing termite chambers, spinifex chaff stored in chambers, chambers with blackened walls, and all within dense consolidated soil (photo © Fiona Walsh). c, Dark termite frass-filled chambers and the dense termite cement distinguished the on-pavement structures to the inter-pavement soils that were loose and easy to dig. Frass chambers were 1–3 cm long (photo © Fiona Walsh). d, As foretold by Aboriginal people (Ethnographic data, row 15; https://doi.org/10.26182/k3p0-hf57), observations showed that termite pavements can hold rainwater at the surface for periods longer than the inter-pavement sandplain areas which absorb more quickly (photo ©Emma Stock; <6 km west of site FC 2-1). All images in this figure are covered by Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND.

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