01704naa a2200289 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001910000130006024500640007326000090013730000150014652008670016165000180102865000150104665000190106165000090108065000160108965000120110565000100111765000230112765000110115065000090116165000150117070000160118570000170120177301960121815454121999-07-16       1999    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d1 aZECH, W.  aOrganic matter in termite mounds of the Brazilian cerrados.  c1999  ap.198-202.  aThis study assessed differences between soil organic matter (SOM) in termite mounds and that of surrounding clayey and loamy Oxisols in the Brazilian savannas, also known as the Cerrados. Samples were fractionated into clay (&lt2 um), silt (2-50 um), and sand (50-250 um), and the fractions' SOM was characterized according to C, N, lignin, and carbohydrates. In the mounds, soil organic carbon (SOC) is enriched by a factor of 3.5 and 11.5 in the clayey and loamy Oxisols, respectively. Especially in the sand fraction, the SOC accumulated as particulate SOM. However, in all size fractions, we found higher lignin contents, lower ratios of acids to aldehydes of lignin-derived phenols, and lower ratios of microbial to plant-derived monosugars than in the fractions of the surrounding soil. These findings suggest that the SOM of the mounds is less decomposed.  acarbohydrates  aFerralsols  aorganic matter  asoil  aCarboidrato  aCerrado  aCupim  aMatéria Orgânica  aOxisol  aSolo  aTermitidae1 aAMELUNG, W.1 aNEUFELDT, H.  tIn: THOMAS, R.; AYARZA, M.A., ed. Sustainable land management for the oxisols of the Latin American savannas: dynamics of soil organic matter and indicators of soil quality. Cali: CIAT, 1999.