Community structure of epigaeic ants in a pine plantation and in newly burnt fynbos

Abstract

The epigaeic ant community was sampled in a firebreak in the summer months following a spring burn, and compared with that in two sites of adjacent, unburnt fynbos. Ants were simultaneously trapped in a nearby pine plantation. The ant species diversity in the newly burnt firebreak was higher than in the unburnt vegetation, whereas diversity in the pine plantation was low.