Journal
PLANT ECOLOGY
Volume 215, Issue 5, Pages 531-541Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s11258-014-0321-3
Keywords
Herbaceous plants; Species diversity; Mediterranean garrigue; Sus scrofa
Categories
Funding
- Ramat Hanadiv research project
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Native wild boar (Sus scrofa lybicus) populations in Israel increased in the last decades, and their rooting activity presents an apparent severe disturbance that may affect herbaceous plant communities. We studied the extent of wild boar rooting and its effect on herbaceous vegetation in an east Mediterranean garrigue. We compared the effects of rooting soil disturbance (RSD) between summer, winter, and RSD-free control plots on herbaceous plants. RSD affected four percent of the area covered by herbaceous vegetation in winter and spring, and only 2 % in summer. Summer RSD increased herbaceous species diversity in the following spring by decreasing the abundance of the dominant species, but it did not affect total herbaceous biomass. Winter RSD lowered herbaceous biomass but did not affect herbaceous plant abundance or diversity. We conclude that Mediterranean herbaceous plant community appears to be resilient to RSD, causing only minor changes in species composition and small decrease of their biomass. The contrast between the relatively large extent of wild boars RSD, and its limited impact on the herbaceous plant community, can be attributed to the long mutual evolutionary history of wild boars and these vegetation communities.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available