Subterranean termites create tunnels (macropores) for foraging that can influence water infiltration and may lead to preferential flow to deeper soil layers. This is particularly important in water limited ecosystems such as semi‐arid, agriculturally utilized savannas, which are particularly prone to land degradation and shrub‐encroachment. Using termite activity has been suggested as a restoration measure, but their impact on hydrology is neither universal nor yet fully understood. Here, we used highly replicated, small‐scale (50 × 50 cm) rain‐simulation experiments to analyse the interacting effects of either vegetation (grass dominated vs. shrub dominated sites) or soil texture (sand vs. loamy sand) and termite foraging macropores on infiltration patterns. We used Brilliant Blue FCF as colour tracer to make the flow pathways in paired experiments visible, on either termite‐disturbed soil or controls without surface macropores in two semi‐arid Namibian savannas (with either heterogeneous soil texture or shrub cover). On highly shrub‐encroached plots in the savanna site with heterogeneous soil texture, termite macropores increased maximum infiltration depth and total amount of infiltrated water on loamy sand, but not on sandy soil. In the sandy savanna with heterogeneous shrub cover, neither termite activity nor shrub density affected the infiltration. Termite's effect on infiltration depends on the soil's hydraulic conductivity and occurs mostly under ponded conditions, intercepting run‐off. In semi‐arid savanna soils with a considerable fraction of fine particles, termites are likely an important factor for soil water dynamics.

中文翻译：

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土壤质地会影响半干旱稀树草原白蚁大孔对土壤水分入渗的影响

地下白蚁产生了用于觅食的隧道（大孔），这可能影响水的渗透，并可能导致优先流向更深的土壤层。这在缺水的生态系统（例如半干旱，农业利用的稀树草原）中尤其重要，后者特别容易发生土地退化和灌木丛侵占。已经提出使用白蚁活动作为恢复措施，但是它们对水文学的影响既没有普遍存在，也没有得到充分理解。在这里，我们使用高度复制的小型（50×50 cm）降雨模拟实验来分析植被（草为主与灌木为主的地点）或土壤质地（沙与壤土壤土）和白蚁觅食的相互作用渗透模式的大孔。我们使用Brilliant Blue FCF作为颜色示踪剂，使成对实验中的流动路径在白蚁扰动的土壤或两个半干旱纳米比亚稀树草原（具有异质土壤质地或灌木覆盖）的无表面大孔的对照上可见。在稀疏草原地区土壤高度不均匀的灌木丛侵蚀地块上，白蚁大孔增加了壤质沙上的最大入渗深度和总渗入水量，但在沙质土壤上却没有。在灌木覆盖不均的沙质稀树草原中，白蚁活动和灌木密度均不会影响入渗。白蚁对渗透的影响取决于土壤的水力传导率，并且大多在池塘条件下发生，截留径流。在半干旱的稀树草原土壤中，有相当多的细颗粒，