Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: We provide a perspective on Walter (Walt) Whitford, a colleague and friend, who was a remarkable ecologist. Walt loved to study the fauna living in the soils of drylands. To study termites, Walt visited Australia in 1986 and 1987 as a guest of the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) Rangelands Research Laboratory in Deniliquin, New South Wales. Walt joined our research team at a site in the semiarid woodlands about 40 km northwest of Louth, NSW. Walt proposed studies to show that termite activities enhanced the ecosystem functionality of these woodlands. As described in two case studies, we confirmed this hypothesis. Termite activities functioned to increase water infiltration, soil fertility and herbage biomass and diversity within two common features found in these woodlands, mulga log mounds and mulga tree groves, creating fertile patches. Walt returned for a shorter visit in 1990 and encouraged further studies in Australia and elsewhere to confirm that termite-mediated processes enhanced functionality beyond fine-scale patch effects to local watersheds. While Walt’s time in Australia was limited, his mentoring expanded our studies into new areas of theoretical and practical research, including landscape ecology and restoration ecology.
Source: Cambridge Prisms Drylands
Authors: John Ludwig, David J. Tongway
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,893
OpenAlex ID: W7154128643
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