A study measured the impact of wild boars on climate change: the result is surprising

The climate impact of wild boars around the world is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions of 1.1 million cars per year, according to new research.

The model of an international team of researchers estimates that theWild boars release 4.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year around the world by pulling the ground.

University of Queensland researcher Dr Christopher O’Bryan explained that wild boars are one of the most common invasive vertebrate species on the planet.

“Wild boars are native to Europe and parts of Asia, but they have been introduced to every continent except Antarctica,” he said.

“When we think of climate change, we tend to think of the classic fossil fuel problem. This is one of the additional threats to carbon, and potentially to climate change, which has not really been explored in a global sense ”, added.

Wild boars uproot the land while foraging for food, in a process that O’Bryan likens to “Mini tractors that plow the earth”. This exposes the soil microbes to oxygen. Microbes “They reproduce at a rapid rate and can then produce carbon emissions [en forma de] CO2 “.

“Any form of land use change can have an effect on soil carbon emissions,” O’Bryan said. “The same thing happens when you put a tractor in a field or clear a piece of land. “

Researchers estimate that wild boars uproot an area of ​​more than 36,000 square kilometers (14,000 square miles) in areas where they are not native.

Oceania had the largest area of ​​land disturbed by these animals, about 22,000 square kilometers, followed by North America. Pigs in Oceania accounted for over 60% of the animal’s estimated annual emissions, emitting nearly 3 million metric tonnes of CO2, which is equivalent to about 643,000 cars.

The results of the study, published in the journal Global Change Biology, were taken from three models. A model predicted the density of wild boars around the world through 10,000 simulations, based on existing information on populations and locations of wild pigs.

A second model converted the density of pigs in an area of ​​disturbed soil, and a third estimated the amount of CO 2 emitted when the soil was disturbed.

Nicholas Patton, a doctoral student at the University of Canterbury, and one of the study researchers said there was some uncertainty in the modeling due to the variability in soil carbon content and densities. of wild boars in different areas.

“Areas that are peatlands or black soils, especially those with high humidity, are a carbon sink ”, Patton said. “When wild boars enter and feed on it, they have much more potential for this carbon to be released. [que de otros suelos]”.

In addition to its climatic impacts, the destructive impact of wild boars is well documented. O’Bryan said managing the animals was a challenge that would involve prioritizing whichever of their impacts deemed most important.

“At the end of the day, wild boars are a human problem. We have spread them all over the world. This is another human-mediated climate impact ”, concluded.

KEEP READING