3 ms·
on a slightly related note...turns out termites are responsible for 1-3% of all earth's atmospheric methane. https://phys.org/news/2018-11-termite-mound-filter
by jelliclesfarm 6y ago
on a slightly related note...turns out termites are responsible for 1-3% of all earth's atmospheric methane.
https://phys.org/news/2018-11-termite-mound-filters-methaneand-greenhouse.html https://phys.org/news/2018-11-termite-mound-filters-methanea...
[..]Just like cattle and other ruminants (that is, an animal that brings up food from its stomach and chews it again), termites have bacteria in their guts that break down plant material. And just like cattle and other ruminants, one of the by-products of this breakdown is methane.[..]
[..]Globally, it is estimated that termites are responsible for about one to three per cent of all methane emissions. It may sound small, but that's up to 20 million tonnes of methane each year coming out the rear ends of these humble insects.
However, unlike us humans, termites have a built-in filter system in their dwellings to remove this greenhouse gas before it's emitted into the wider atmosphere.[...]
- s1artibartfast 6y agoWhat does it mean that they simultaneously are responsible for 1-3% of emissions and have a filter? If it is filtered, it isn’t released?
- jelliclesfarm 6y agoIt’s released from their mounds and into the atmosphere.
- s1artibartfast 6y agothen it isn't filtered in their dwellings to remove the greenhouse gas before it's emitted into the wider atmosphere
- jelliclesfarm 6y agoHalf of all methane emitted from termites is broken down by bacteria within the termite mounds and underlying soil before it enters the atmosphere. ... A group of bacteria called methanotrophs live in the soil and consume methane as their primary source of energy.[..] https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/how-a-termite-s-mound-filters-methane-and-what-it-means-for-greenhouse-gases https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/how-a-termite-s-moun...