Grain Size and Major Oxide Analyses of Selected Anthill Soils from Winneba Area, Ghana

Abstract

Termites build their habitat in the form of anthills or termitaria or termite mounds which are characterised by soil of clayey texture. This paper investigated the relative grain size from the base, middle and near the peak of three anthills located 20 km west of Winneba near the Apam-Winneba highway in Ghana and also correlated their elemental compositions. The results showed significant grain size gradation of soils which range from <0.075 mm to 2 mm such that coarse grains occurred at the base while finer fractions were at higher parts of the anthills. Major oxides (wt. %) showed that SiO2 (51.70 - 60.24) was positively correlated with total FeO (12.22 - 15.24), Al2O3 (22.18 - 28.88), MnO (0.08 - 0.09), and K2O (0.4 - 0.61). However, as K2O decreased with height on anthill, SiO2, total FeO and Al2O3 increased. Probably soils used to construct these anthills were derived from different rock types and/or the termites were selective in the use of soils rich in silica or iron oxide.