Wild pigs influence tropical forest soil microbial communities in a forest-agriculture mosaic landscape

Brearley, FQ ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5053-5693, Song, H, Tripathi, BM, Dong, K, Zin, NM, Abdul Rachman, AR, Ickes, K, Adams, JM and Luskin, MS (2024) Wild pigs influence tropical forest soil microbial communities in a forest-agriculture mosaic landscape. Forest Ecology and Management, 572. 122320. ISSN 0378-1127

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Abstract

Edge effects, the altered abiotic and biotic conditions on the borders of natural areas, have rarely been linked to altered soil biota, which shape ecosystem processes including carbon storage, biogeochemical cycling, and plant performance. Here, we investigated if increased wildlife populations (their increase mediated by foraging in nearby oil palm plantations) affect soil biota when they move between plantations and natural habitats. We used a 22-year fenced exclusion experiment in a primary rain forest in Peninsular Malaysia. We found that the presence of wildlife (mainly native pigs; Sus scrofa) was associated with greater bacterial diversity, an altered bacterial community composition, and indications of a reduced abundance of symbiotic ectomycorrhizal fungi. There were only minor effects of pigs on soil chemistry or microclimate, so we suggest that changes in soil communities are driven by pigs’ leaf litter removal and alterations to plant composition. Our study highlights that indirect effects from agriculture can be induced by wildlife more than1 km into protected areas and this could have important repercussions for ecosystem processes and plant-soil feedbacks.