Chemical and Geotechnical Properties of Termite Mounds and Surrounding Soils

Anusha R, Dr. Arvee Sujil Johnson and Sreedevi C Department of Civil Engineering College of Engineering Trivandrum. anusharadhakrishnan@yahoo.co.in, arveesujil@yahoo.co.uk
Abstract Termites are the most dominant macroinvertebrates in many tropical and subtropical ecosystems. They significantly change the soil environment within the soil nest. The present study attempts to do a comparison of chemical and geotechnical properties of the mound soil and the surrounding surface soil and also to explore the possibilities of using the cellulase enzyme which is present in the mound soil for improving the unconfined compressive strength of laterite and black cotton soil. Chemical and geotechnical studies indicated that mound soil differ from the surrounding surface soil in various aspects. With the addition of commercially available cellulase enzyme the unconfined compressive strength of the two soils improved. The percentage increase in strength in lateritic soil is 19.16% and in black cotton soil is 21.37%. Keywords-termite mounds; trace elements; cellulase

with increase in shear strength, reducing coefficient of permeability and highly resistant against soil erosion [1]. The objective of the research was to study (1) the physiochemical and geotechnical properties of the termite mound soil and to compare with the controls. (2) about the stabilising chemicals of the mound soil and to check the influence of cellulase on the unconfined compressive strength of laterite and black cotton soils. II. MATERIALS AND METHODS

I. INTRODUCTION The world of social insects provides us with a variety of complex structures. Colonies of ants or termites construct nests that, on a relative scale as comparable in size to human cities. Termites are often mentioned as an example of ecosystem engineers. They significantly alter the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil environment [3]. They build organo-mineral structures of different stability such as galleries, casts, sheetings, fungus-comb chambers and mounds [6]. Termites that form large, stable nest can concentrate the organic materials they collect as forage in the vicinity of the nest, in the form of inedible debris, stored food and waste products. Comparative studies of termite mound and the adjacent soils had been carried out in previous research. Chemical analysis showed that pH and the contents of organic C and N, P, Ca and Mg were significantly higher in termite mounds compared with adjacent areas [9]. The clay content of the termite mound is significantly high compared to the surrounding surface soil [2]. The microbial biomass of mound material was approximately six times that of the surface soil [5]. Termites can degrade cellulose by virtue of their symbioses with mutualistic microbes and can produce their own cellulases also. A Bacillus sp. strain isolated from termite mound soil was found to produce extracellular carboxymethyl cellulase [7]. In soils, stability is usually a function of the organic (largely polysaccharide and glycoprotein) content of the micro and macro aggregates and of the availability multivalent cations. The increase of polysaccharide within soil matrix is associated

A. Study Site The investigation was conducted on five pairs of samples which were collected from different localities of Thiruvananthapuram and Nagercoil areas during February to August 2010. Each pair of samples consist of termite-affected soil taken from an active mound and the samples of the control adjacent surface soils (without visible termite activity) collected approximately 1.0 m from each mound sampled. Fig.1 shows one of the termite mounds under investigation. B. Sampling The termite mounds were excavated and dismantled (Fig. 2). Lateritic soil was collected from the campus of College of Engineering, Trivandrum. Black cotton soil was collected from Chittur in Palakkad district. As the drying of soft clays significantly affects the physical and engineering properties care was taken to use the clay in their moist condition itself for all the tests. In order to maintain uniformity of test results soil sample was collected from a single pit from a depth below 1.2m. Soil was collected in polyethylene bags and directly transported to the laboratory. The packed polythene bags were stored in water filled containers to preserve the natural condition. The enzyme used for the study, cellulase which was derived out of Aspergillus Niger was brought from Kaypeeyes biotech private limited, Mysore, India.

Figure1. A termite mound under investigation

D. Plastic Limit The plastic limit test was conducted according to ASTM (D424 59). Comparing the plastic limit values in Fig. 6, as the clay content of the mound soil is more than the surrounding surface soil, its plastic limit value is also higher. E. Plasticity Index Considering the plasticity index values in Fig. 7, the mound soils are more stable since the value is more for mound soil than the control soil. Higher values of plasticity index and low moisture content indicate that there is an increase in cohesion which makes the mound stable. Figure 2. A termite mound sample C. Laboratory Analysis Chemical and geotechnical investigations were carried out on the bulk samples and the corresponding soils without termites. The geotechnical analysis of soil samples were carried out following the Indian standard laboratory procedures. The mineralogy of both the mound soil and the surrounding soil were analysed by X-ray Diffraction (XRD). Chemical analysis were performed by X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) technique for the major elements and some trace elements III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The results are presented in successive sections that detail the data of the mound soil (TM) and the surrounding surface soil (Ssoil). A. Natural Water Content The first two pair of soil samples were collected during summer season and the other three samples during rainy season. From Fig. 3, for the first two samples the increase in water content for the mound soil may be due to the: (i) presence of organic content, (ii) increase in clay content, (iii) higher percentage of chemical/enzymes in the mound soil and (iv) presence of finer soil particles. B. Organic Content Organic content was determined using hydrogen peroxide method. It is observed that percentage of organic content for mound soils and the nearby soil is higher when compared to other normal soils. Comparing the mound soil and the nearby soil in Fig. 4, the reduction in organic content of mound soil may be due to the decomposition of organic matter by the action of termites. C. Liquid Limit The liquid limit test was conducted using the cone penetrometer method. From Fig. 5 the liquid limit obtained for mound soil is greater than that of Ssoil in all the cases. This increase in liquid limit for the mound soil may be due to: (i) presence of organic content, (ii) increase in clay content, (iii) higher percentage of chemical /enzymes in the mound soil and (iv) presence of finer soil particles. And the increase in water content of the surrounding in the other three samples is due to the impermeability of mound soil compared to the surrounding soil. Figure 3. Percent natural water content in soil

Figure 4. Percent organic content in soil

Figure 5. Percent liquid limit of soil

The other reasons for the increase in the plasticity values of the mound soils are the higher percentage of chemical/enzymes of termites, organic content and the clay content. A detailed study is required to analyze the type of chemical/enzymes present in the mound soils that contribute for the increase in plasticity values, though an effort is made in the present project study. F. Specific Gravity The specific gravity (G) values in Fig. 8 of all soil samples are less compared to normal soils found in the corresponding region. Generally reduction of specific gravity is mainly due to the presence of high organic content and lesser amount of iron content. G. pH To measure the pH of the soil, 10g sample mixed with 100ml of distilled water standing 24 hours. pH of the soil was determined using a digital pH meter. All the samples were acidic, mound soil being less acidic compared to the controls as shown in Fig. 9. H. Particle size Analysis Wet sieve analysis and hydrometer analysis was done for soil texture profiles. Table I gives the particle sizes of mound soil and surrounding surface soils.

Figure 8. Specific gravity of soil

Figure 9. pH values in soil I. Chemical Analysis The XRF analysis indicated that the main oxides present in sample pair 1 are SiO2, Al2O3 and Fe2O3. About 75 to 80 % of sample pair 2 is contributed by SiO 2. From the XRF studies it can be seen that the amount of Al2O3 is higher in both mound soils compared to nearby soils. Hence it may be possible to suggest that the higher percentage of Al2O3 may contribute to the cementation of mound soils. Table II and Table III shows the chemical composition of termite mounds (TM) and Surrounding soil (Ssoil). The XRD analysis indicated that the termite mounds consisted dominantly of clay minerals with quartz and mica, where as the corresponding soils without termites contained more iron rich clay minerals. The analysis indicated that there is no significant difference in clay minerals which is kaolinite in all the samples. J. Cellulase Enzyme Detection Previous studies indicate the presence of cellulase enzyme in the mounds. Activity of the enzyme was detected by conducting cellulase assay in the mound soil samples at Center for Tuber Crops Research Institute, Sreekaryam, Trivandrum. Strength tests were conducted on lateritic and black cotton soil with the addition of commercially available cellulase enzyme which was derived out of Aspergillus Niger. Fig. 10 represents the enzyme powder. Figure 7. Percent plasticity index of soil

Figure 6. Percent plastic limit in soil

TABLE I. Sample pair 1 Composition TM 1 Gravel (%) Coarse sand (%) Medium sand (%) Fine sand (%) Silt (%) Clay (%) 0 5.6 10.8 7.7 51.5 24.3 Ssoil 1 11.8 23.2 14.6 10.6 30.3 9.6

PARTICLE SIZE OF MOUND AND SURROUNDING SOIL Sample Pair 2 TM 2 0 0.0 29.8 29.7 22.7 17.8 Ssoil 2 0.5 2.3 37.4 32.3 19.3 8.3 Sample pair 3 TM 3 0 0.3 14.0 20.8 38.9 25.9 Ssoil 3 0.3 2.9 28.1 24.7 29.9 14.1 Sample Pair 4 TM 4 0 0.05 33.6 33.9 24.7 7.8 Ssoil 4 0.3 0.9 34.2 50.2 8.2 6.2 Sample pair 5 TM 5 0 0.4 21.0 33.5 36.6 8.5 Ssoil 5 15.9 5.9 18.7 27.3 26.1 6.1

TABLE II.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF MOUND AND SURROUNDING SOIL Sample pair 1 TM 1 37.41 24.74 1.62 0.10 13.13 0.47 0.93 0.09 0.73 0.22 20.33 99.77 Ssoil 1 36.26 21.59 1.35 0.08 15.53 0.53 0.71 0.12 0.64 0.24 22.72 99.77 Sample pair 2 TM 2 75.24 17.52 1.21 0.01 4.07 0.51 0.43 0.19 0.54 0.10 NIL 99.81 Ssoil 2 83.20 10.25 1.25 0.02 3.10 0.61 0.38 0.38 0.49 0.14 NIL 99.82

TABLE III.

TRACE ELEMENTS IN MOUND AND SURROUNDING SOIL Sample pair 1 TM 1 243 232 19 166 59 91 44 38 953 24 228 59 124 32 Ssoil 1 286 396 14 94 31 72 28 48 966 24 193 48 93 33 Sample pair 2 TM 2 78 45 7 16 17 55 30 54 948 24 273 59 116 32 Ssoil 2 73 35 5 ND 13 53 20 42 965 24 142 43 92 33
ND- not detected

Compositi on SiO2 (%) Al 2O3 (%) TiO2 (%) MnO (%) Fe2O3 (%) CaO (%) MgO (%) Na2O (%) K2O (%) P2O5 (%) LOI (%) Total (%)

Trace Elements in g/g V Cr Co Ni Cu Zn Rb Sr Zr Nb Ba La Ce

K. Properties of Cellulase Enzyme Carboxymethyl Cellulase was derived out of Aspergillus Niger. The enzyme is active at pH, 4-6 and optimum temperature of 40C. 1g of enzyme can digest 100g of cellulose in 1 hour reaction time.

Pb

L. Properties of lateritic Soil Properties of the lateritic soil are presented in Table III M. Properties of Black Cotton Soil Properties of the black cotton soil are presented in Table IV. N. Effect of Percentage of Cellulase Enzyme on the Strength of Lateritic Soil Unconfined compression (UCC) tests were carried out on lateritic soil added with different percentage of cellulase (0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5) and also by giving different curing period (1-3 days) at 30% water content. Since the work has been done as a trial only 3 days curing has been taken. Load deformation plot

Figure 10. Cellulase powder

of soil was made for untreated and treated with different percentages and curing periods respectively (Fig. 11-13). It was observed that the strength of the soil increases with increase of percentage of cellulase up to 1% and does not shown a considerable increase with 1.5%. With increase in curing periods the UCC value increased till 2 days and does not shown a considerable increase in the third day. This is because the substrate available may become reduced or nullified by the enzyme at 1% and after 2 days. The cellulose present in the soil is converted into cellobiose and glucose. The increase of polysaccharide production within soil matrix was associated with the significant increase in shear strength [1]. Fig. 14 shows the variation of UCC value (kN/m2) for different cellulase content for different curing periods for lateritic soil.
TABLE IV. PROPERTIES OF LATERITIC SOIL 20.5 40 25 15 2.6 21.3 12.9 16.4 8.85 15 25.5 Brown 6.7 (30%) 13 1.96

Natural water content (%) Liquid limit (%) Plastic limit (%) Plasticity index (%) Specific gravity, G Gravel (%) Coarse sand (%) Medium sand (%) Fine sand (%) Silt (%) Clay (%) Colour Unconfined compressive strength kN/m2 ( water content %) Optimum moisture content (%) Maximum dry density (g/cc) TABLE V.

Figure 11. Load - deformation curve of cellulase treated lateritic soil (1 day curing)

Figure 12. Load - deformation curve of cellulase treated lateritic soil (2 day curing)

PROPERTIES OF BLACK COTTON SOIL 54.1 61 34 27 2.65 3.6 2.7 6.6 9.5 15.5 62 Black 3.9 (54.1)

Natural water content (%) Liquid limit (%) Plastic limit (%) Plasticity index (%) Specific gravity, G Gravel (%) Coarse sand (%) Medium sand (%) Fine sand (%) Silt (%) Clay (%) Colour Unconfined compressive strength kN/m2 (water content %)

Figure 13. Load - deformation curve of cellulase treated lateritic soil (3 day curing)

Figure 14. Variation of UCC values with number of curing days O. Effect of Percentage of Cellulase Enzyme on the Strength of Black Cotton Soil UCC tests were carried out on black cotton soil added with different percentage of CMCase (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2) and also by giving different curing period (1-3 days) in natural water content. . Load deformation plot of soil was made for untreated and treated with different percentages and curing periods respectively (Fig. 16-18).

Figure 18. Load - deformation curve of cellulase treated black cotton soil (3 day curing) It was observed that the strength of the soil increases with increase of percentage of cellulase up to 1.5% and does not shown a considerable increase with 2%. With increase in curing periods the UCC value increased till 2 day and does not shown a considerable increase in the third day. This is because the substrate available may become reduced or nullified by the enzyme at 1.5% and after 2 days. Fig. 19 shows the variation of UCC value (kN/m2) for different cellulase content for different curing periods for black cotton soil.

Figure 16. Load - deformation curve of cellulase treated black cotton soil (1 day curing)

Figure 19. Variation of UCC values with number of curing days IV. CONCLUSIONS The comparison between termite mound soil and nearby soil was carried out in this study. The soil organic matter decomposing microorganisms particularly soil fungi reduce the cellulose compounds into polysaccharides and amino sugars. These polysaccharides results in the soil particle aggregation. From the studies, main conclusions are given below. 1. 2. The liquid limit of mound soil is more than the surrounding soils The mound soil shows an increase in the plasticity index value. This indicates the termite mounds are having more cohesion and this makes the soil more stable. The specific gravity values obtained are in the range of 2.1 to 2.42, indicating the presence of organic content in the soils. This was confirmed by conducting organic content

Figure 17. Load - deformation curve of cellulase treated black cotton soil (2 day curing)

3.

test and shows that organic content is in the range of 5%9%. 4. From the sieve analysis results, it can be concluded that for the building up of mound, the termites are using more percentage of medium sand compared to fine sand and more percentage of silt content compared to clay content. That is proper gradation of soil is considered by the termites for the construction of termite mound, in order to make the mound stable. 5. The main difference in percentage between the chemicals present in mound and nearby soils is for Al2O3 and Fe2O3 and these chemicals might have given the cementation/cohesive property to the mound soils. 6. The strength of the cellulase treated lateritic soil is 1.19 times more for soil treated with 1 % cellulase for 3 days curing compared to untreated soil and does not gave significant difference in strength with soil treated with 1.5% cellulase for 3 days. Percentage increase in strength is 19.16%. 7. The strength of the cellulase treated black cotton soil is 1.22 times more for soil treated with 1.5 % cellulase for 3 days curing compared to untreated soil and does not gave significant difference in strength with soil treated with 2 % cellulase for 3 days. Percentage increase in strength is 21.37 %. REFERENCES
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