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Wild Boar Rooting Reduced Surface Soil Organic Matter by 36–50% at Three Argentine Sites

Wild boar rooting in muddy ground for roots
Research · Ecology

Wild boar (Sus scrofa) rooting was associated with substantial losses of organic matter from the upper soil layer at three of four coastal study sites in Argentina. Compared with nearby non-rooted areas, surface soil organic matter was 36–50% lower at Campos del Tuyú, the Mar Chiquita dunes and the Mar Chiquita grassland. No detectable difference was found at Canal 1.

The researchers combined field comparisons of rooted and non-rooted 1 m² patches with an ongoing exclosure experiment that had prevented wild-boar access to selected plots since 2018. Measurements in summer 2024 covered four sites representing three coastal herbaceous systems: two salt-marsh sites, a flooding grassland and a coastal dune grassland. Surface soil organic matter, bare-ground cover and soil respiration were measured across the sites. Soil respiration — the release of carbon dioxide from the soil, used here as an indicator of biological activity — was one of several processes linked to carbon cycling. Decomposition of dead plant material (detritus) was also measured at three sites.

Rooting exposed soil and reduced organic matter

Rooting generally increased the amount of bare ground. At the three sampling sites where the difference was detectable, bare ground covered 60–75% of rooted patches compared with 5–16% of non-rooted patches. Soil respiration was 38% lower in rooted patches at Campos del Tuyú and the Mar Chiquita grassland, while no detectable difference was found at Canal 1 or the Mar Chiquita dunes; the exclosure comparisons likewise showed no significant effect on soil respiration. No detectable effect on detritus decomposition was found. In the Mar Chiquita grassland experiment, surface soil organic matter was also 23% lower in open control plots than inside the exclosures. The authors interpret the combined results as evidence that the loss and redistribution of vegetation and superficial organic material outweighed any increase in organic matter that could have resulted from mixing plant material into the soil.

The study therefore points to a direct ecosystem effect of an introduced large mammal beyond visible disturbance of vegetation. In these Argentine coastal systems, the researchers conclude that wild-boar rooting can reduce the amount of organic matter stored near the soil surface and may consequently alter longer-term soil-carbon dynamics.

Sources and image credit

  1. Rocca, C., Díaz de Astarloa, C., Montemayor, D. I., Daleo, P., Pascual, J., Bruschetti, C. M., Iribarne, O., & Alberti, J. (2026). Exotic wild boars consistently reduce superficial organic matter in Argentinean coastal herbaceous systems. Science of the Total Environment, 1025, 181683. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2026.181683Primary research article first available 12 March 2026. Field comparisons and exclosure experiments in Argentine coastal herbaceous systems found 36–50% less surface soil organic matter in rooted patches at three sites; rooting also increased bare ground and reduced soil respiration, while no detectable effect on detritus decomposition was found.

Image: Shubhayu69 — wild boar (Sus scrofa) rooting in muddy ground while digging for roots, photographed 7 February 2016; photographer's own work; Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 4.0; the verified source does not provide a more precise locality beyond the filename's reference to Sundarbans; representative image of the same rooting behaviour studied in Argentina, not an animal or site from the Argentine study · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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