Kan vildsvinsbök påverka markens kapacitet att lagra kol i en barrskog?

Sammanfattning: The wild boar is known to disturb the forest floor by rooting in the soil as they search for food. Soil is a vital part of the carbon cycle and stores large amounts of carbon. There is limited knowledge on how this feeding behavior may alter the content of organic matter in the soil and consequently the ability of the soil to store carbon. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of rooting on organic matter concentration by (1) comparing soil from rooted and un-rooted plots and (2) investigating whether the density of rooted areas within each plot affects organic matter concentration. Our results showed no effects of rooting on organic matter concentration. The soil in our study area contained very high concentrations of organic matter (83%) which could have been a factor in why no effects were detected. Our overall results indicate that rooting does not, in the short term, affect the ability of the soil to store carbon in a coniferous forest in southern Sweden. However, this does not exclude rooting as a potential factor influencing soil carbon storage, as several other studies have detected significant differences in soil concentration. The complexity of ecosystems and factors influencing their properties leads to contrasting results between studies. It is relevant in a climate change perspective to further investigate the effects rooting may have on carbon storage in the soil.