Abstract
The ecological role of ants in tropical annual cropping systems is discussed in general and with respect to a specific Mexican agroecosystem Generally, the potential positive contributions of ants to crop yields result from their impact on soil structure, nutrient cycling, and reduction of insect and weed pests
In annual wet lowland fields in eastern Mexico, the ant community is simple and dominated by the aggressive fire ant,Solenopsis geminata. The influence of vegetation structure and composition on the ant community and, specifically, on the foraging behavior ofS geminata is discussed
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Carroll, C.R., Risch, S.J. Tropical annual cropping systems: Ant ecology. Environmental Management 7, 51–57 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01867041
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01867041