Modeling Ecosystem Effects of Termite Mound Patterns

This activity guides the analysis of a published scientific figure from a study on how termite mounds can enhance an ecosystem’s resilience to drought.

Termites help plants grow by enriching the soil with nutrients and digging tunnels that improve water flow to roots. As a result, ecosystems with termite mounds may be more resistant to losing vegetation, especially during droughts. In this study, scientists mathematically modeled ecosystems with and without termite mounds. The figure shows the varying amounts of vegetation with increasing or decreasing rainfall, along with sudden changes in vegetation that occur at particular thresholds of rainfall.

The “Educator Materials” document includes a captioned figure, background information, graph interpretation, and discussion questions. The “Student Handout” includes a captioned figure and background information.