Termites love global warming – the pace of their wood munching gets significantly faster in hotter weather
When we consider termites, we may think of the danger they can pose to our houses once they settle in and start eating wood. But in fact, only about 4% of termite species worldwide are considered pests that might, at some point, eat your house.
In nature, wood-eating termites play a broad and important role in warm tropical and sub-tropical ecosystems. In feeding on wood, they recycle essential nutrients to the soil and release carbon back to the atmosphere.
Our new research, published today in Science, quantified for the first time just how much termites love the warmth. The results are striking: we found termites eat deadwood much faster in warmer conditions. For example, termites in a region with temperatures of 30℃ will eat wood seven times faster than in a place with temperatures of 20℃.
Our results also point to an expanding role for termites in the coming decades, as climate change increases their potential habitat across the planet. And this, in turn, could see more carbon stored in deadwood released into the atmosphere.
Termites love global warming – the pace of their wood munching gets significantly faster in hotter weather
When we consider termites, we may think of the danger they can pose to our houses once they settle in and start eating wood. But in fact, only about 4% of termite species worldwide are considered pests that might, at some point, eat your house.
In nature, wood-eating termites play a broad and important role in warm tropical and sub-tropical ecosystems. In feeding on wood, they recycle essential nutrients to the soil and release carbon back to the atmosphere.
Our new research, published today in Science, quantified for the first time just how much termites love the warmth. The results are striking: we found termites eat deadwood much faster in warmer conditions. For example, termites in a region with temperatures of 30℃ will eat wood seven times faster than in a place with temperatures of 20℃.
Our results also point to an expanding role for termites in the coming decades, as climate change increases their potential habitat across the planet. And this, in turn, could see more carbon stored in deadwood released into the atmosphere.
Termites love global warming – the pace of their wood munching gets significantly faster in hotter weather