​World’s Oldest Termite Mounds

  • The Buffels River landscape in South Africa's Namaqualand region features numerous sandy mounds known locally as heuweltjies, inhabited by the southern harvester termite, Microhodotermes viator.
  • These termite mounds are crucial in understanding the region's groundwater salinity.
  • Recently, researchers used radiocarbon dating to discover that these heuweltjies are the world's oldest inhabited termite mounds, dating back between 34,000 and 13,000 years.
  • Termites play a significant, though poorly understood, role in the carbon cycle, potentially aiding in carbon sequestration through their mound activities.
  • The termites' behavior of transporting organic material deep into the soil aids in carbon sequestration, creating long-term carbon sinks within the ....
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