June 13. () –
The oldest inhabited termite mounds in the world have been discovered on the Buffels River, South Africa, dated to an astonishing 34,000 years.
These termite mounds, called “heuweltjies” in Afrikaans, meaning “little hills”, They are inhabited by the southern harvester termite, Microhodotermes viator, explains the study’s lead author, Dr Michele Francis, a lecturer in the Department of Soil Sciences at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at Stellenbosch University (SU). Her findings have been published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.
“Recent radiocarbon dating has revealed that these mounds are much older than any others known so far, with some dating back 34,000 years, which is older than the iconic cave paintings of Europe and even older than the Last Maximum Glacial, when large sheets of ice covered much of the northern hemisphere,” he said. it’s a statement.
The mounds are still inhabited by termites, and radiocarbon dating of the organic carbon within these mounds has shown ages ranging from 13,000 to 19,000 years, while the carbonate dates back up to 34,000 years. This makes the Buffels River Mounds the oldest active termite mounds yet dated with organic and inorganic carbon. The previous oldest inhabited mounds of different species in Brazil are 4,000 years old.
“To put it in perspective, these termite mounds were already old when woolly mammoths still roamed the Earth. During the Last Glacial Maximum, about 20,000 years ago, huge ice sheets covered parts of North America, Europe and Asia. “These mounds were already thousands of years old by then, providing a living archive of the environmental conditions that shaped our world,” he added.
These ancient mounds are more than a historical curiosity; They serve as valuable records of prehistoric climatic conditions, Francis says.
“The heuweltjies have shown that during its formation, the region experienced significantly more rainfall than today. This wetter climate allowed minerals such as calcite and gypsum to dissolve and descend into the groundwater. This process is crucial for understanding natural processes of carbon sequestration. What is interesting is that Namaqualand still has sporadic episodes of heavy rain, like last winter, that would reactivate the process.”
Not only are they the oldest termite mounds on Earth, but they also offer two mechanisms for sequestering CO2, Francis adds.
First, termites’ foraging activities inject younger organic material deep into their nests, leading to a continuous renewal of important soil carbon stocks at depth, where they are preserved for longer than when they were still on the surface.
Secondly, these calcareous termite mounds offer a way to remove CO2 when the mineral calcite in the soil dissolves. This is long-term carbon storage that companies are trying to replicate in projects to improve weathering or ocean alkalinity, and is important for calculating a country’s carbon budget, as set out in the Paris Agreement, and which is taken into account during land use change.
“The discovery of these mounds is akin to being able to read an ancient manuscript that changes everything we thought we knew about history. Their age and the insights they provide about ancient ecosystems make them candidates for global recognition as a natural wonder“says Francis.
“By studying these mounds, scientists can better understand how to combat climate change, using nature’s own processes for carbon sequestration. They also highlight the importance of preserving our natural world, as these little engineers have been shaping our environment for tens of thousands of years.
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