EFFECTS OF TERMITES ON INFILTRATION INTO CRUSTED SOIL

In northern Burkina Faso (West Africa), a study was undertaken to expl ore the possibilities of restoring the infiltration capacity of cruste d soils through the stimulation of termite activity. Treatments consis ted of the application of a mulch of a mixture of wood and straw witho ut insecticides (resulting in ''termite plots'') and the application o f the same mulch and an insecticide (Dursban with chloropyrifos as the active ingredient) to prevent termite activity (resulting in ''non-te rmite plots''). Three rainfall simulations of 60 minutes duration with an intensity of 50 mm/h at an interval of 24 hours between the first and the second and 72 hours between the second and third simulation we re applied, to study the effect of consecutive showers on termite-modi fied soil characteristics. Cumulative infiltration amounts, final infi ltration rates, soil water content and porosity were larger and bulk d ensity was smaller on termite plots as compared to non-termite plots. This suggests that termites may be an important agent in soil-crust co ntrol and in the improvement of soil physical properties in Sahelian e cosystems.