The Nature of Herbaceous Vegetation Associated with Termitaria in North- Eastern Australia

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Abstract
(1) The distributions of herbaceous species on and around the termitaria of grass- and litter-feeding termites were examined at four locations in tropical north-eastern Australia. (2) Plant growth on the upper mound surfaces is largely confined to extended periods of high humidity during the summer wet season but occurs most extensively on the bases of the mounds. (3) Species composition changes markedly with increasing distance from the mound margin. A higher proportion of rapidly growing annual grasses and functionally-annual herbs occurs on the mounds and close to the mound margins. Slower growing perennial grasses and sedges are predominant further out. (4) The altered species composition is largely attributed to the higher nutrient status of the materials eroded from the mound surfaces, diffusion from the mounds, modified drainage conditions and, possibly, differential grazing by vertebrates and invertebrates. (5) At one site, the standing crop was shown to diminish with increasing distance from the mound margin. (6) Some ecological consequences of these vegetation patterns are discussed.