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Quantifying Sus scrofa rooting effects on the understorey of the deciduous broadleaf forests in Castelporziano Estate (Italy)

  • Coastal Forest Ecosystem near Rome
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Abstract

Wild boar (Sus scrofa) rooting activities may affect several taxonomic groups. In hardwood forests, wild boar’s diet is predominantly represented by plants of the ground layer. We here report a study conducted in two Mediterranean lowland forests in central Italy (the State Reserve of Castelporziano and the Circeo National Park). The aim of our study was to evaluate whether contrasting levels of rooting (high vs. low) determine different understorey species composition and diversity. Our results show that different rooting levels determine strong differences in the understorey composition. Furthermore, we found that the occurrence of different species (e.g. Ruscus aculeatus) was associated with contrasting rooting levels. Mediterranean species were significantly more frequent in plots with high levels of rooting. Plots sampled in the Castelporziano area were also characterised by species adapted to frequent disturbance and anthropogenic influence (e.g. Piptatherum miliaceum, Conyza albida); whereas species associated to low-rooting plots were typically related to deciduous forests. We found non-significant differences in diversity indices. This study demonstrates that wild boar activities cause substantial alterations in plant communities and underscores the need for long-term exclosure experiments.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the Scientific Committee for the monitoring of the Castelporziano Estate for funding this research; and the staff of the ‘Osservatorio Multidisciplinare per lo Studio degli Ecosistemi Costieri Mediterranei’ for support during the fieldwork. We also wish to thank the National Park of Circeo that allowed this research. Finally, we thank two anonymous reviewers for useful comments on a previous version of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy

    S. Burrascano, E. Giarrizzo, S. Bonacquisti, R. Copiz, E. Del Vico & C. Blasi

  2. Department of Biology and Biotechnology “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale dell’Università 32, 00185, Rome, Italy

    S. Fagiani

  3. Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian Research Council Centre for Environmental Decisions, National Environmental Research Program, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia

    A. Mortelliti

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  1. S. Burrascano
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Correspondence to S. Burrascano.

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S. Burrascano and E. Giarrizzo contributed equally.

This peer-reviewed article is a result of the multidisciplinary project coordinated by the “Accademia Nazionale delle Scienze detta dei XL”, Rome, Italy, in the area of the Presidential Estate of Castelporziano near Rome.

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Burrascano, S., Giarrizzo, E., Bonacquisti, S. et al. Quantifying Sus scrofa rooting effects on the understorey of the deciduous broadleaf forests in Castelporziano Estate (Italy). Rend. Fis. Acc. Lincei 26 (Suppl 3), 317–324 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-014-0350-9

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