Patterns of European Wild Boar Rooting in the Western Great Smoky Mountains

ABSTRACT
Analysis of vegetation survey plots from the western end of Great Smoky Mountains National Park showed wild boar ( <em>Sus scrofa</em>) rooting to be present at all elevations but tending to be concentrated in mesic sites, with the exception of those with <em>Rhododendron maximum</em> understories. Yellow pine and hemlock dominated stands were much less intensively utilized than hardwood and oak mixtures. Hogs disturbed wet areas in Cades Cove which are known habitats for rare herbs. During the poor acorn year of 1978-79, beech forests were intensively utilized in the winter. Recovery in previously hog-rooted exclosure plots was greatest in their first year. Herbaceous cover for some of the exclosure plots was within normal range within three years. Species number, however, remained less than expected.