Bowé (hardened ferricrete soils formed by erosion, drought or deforestation) are often associated with termite mounds, but little is known about these mounds and their role in the restoration of soils and plant biodiversity on bowé. This study examined termite mounds on bowé and their effects on soil depth and plant richness. Sixty‐four sampling plots were laid out randomly on bowé sites with mounds and on adjacent bowé sites without mounds. The height and circumference of each mound were measured. Species inventories were made and soil depth measured in each plot. Linear mixed effects and generalised mixed effects models with Poisson error distribution were used to assess the variation in soil depth and plant species richness in mound and nonmound microsites. Two types of mounds (small vs. large) associated with different termite species were observed on bowé, with the small mounds being most common. Plots with either large or small mounds had deeper soils and higher plant richness than the adjacent plots without mounds. Conservation of termite mounds is important for restoring soils and plant richness on bowé, and termite mounds should be taken into consideration in biodiversity and soil management strategies for bowé.

中文翻译：

---

白蚁在西非鲍伊地区土壤和植物丰富度恢复中的作用

Bowé（由侵蚀，干旱或森林砍伐形成的硬化铁质土壤）通常与白蚁丘有关，但对这些丘及其在Bowé上土壤和植物生物多样性的恢复中所起的作用知之甚少。这项研究检查了白蚁丘在弓上的生长及其对土壤深度和植物丰富度的影响。在有土丘的鲍地点和邻近的鲍地区随机布置了64个采样区没有丘陵的地点。测量每个土墩的高度和周长。在每个样地中进行物种清单调查并测量土壤深度。使用线性混合效应和具有Poisson误差分布的广义混合效应模型来评估土丘和非土丘微场所土壤深度和植物物种丰富度的变化。在弓上观察到与白蚁种类不同相关的两种土墩（小土墩和大土墩），其中小土墩最为常见。与相邻的无土丘地块相比，有大土丘或小土堆的地块土壤更深，植物丰富度更高。保护白蚁丘对于恢复弓箭上的土壤和植物丰富性很重要和白蚁丘在弓的生物多样性和土壤管理策略中应该被考虑。