The Effects of Wild Boar Rooting on Epigeic Arthropods in Oak Forests

Abstract

The distribution of wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) on almost all continents brings with it a number of negative impacts, the intensity of which depend on the local population density. One of these impacts is the rooting of the soil surface as part of their foraging behavior, which represents an ecologically valuable disturbance to the forest ecosystem. In this study, conducted in 2022 and 2023, we placed 50 pitfall traps across 10 plots at 10 model sites to compare epigeic arthropod communities in areas affected by wild boar rooting with those unaffected by rooting activity. Our findings demonstrate the presence or absence of rooting is a highly significant factor in shaping arthropod epigeic community assemblies. Rooted plots predominantly hosted species from the taxons Araneae, Carabidae, Elateridae, and Diplopoda, whereas plots without rooting were significantly associated with the taxons Tenebrionidae, Opiliones, Gryllidae, and Geotrupidae. Diptera, and Staphylinidae were not affected by wild boar rooting activity. Throughout the study, a decreasing trend in species diversity was observed. Wild boar rooting notably impacted the composition of epigeic assemblages.