Wild boar rooting in a northern coniferous forest - minor silviculture impact

European wild boar (Sus scrofa) is expanding northwards beyond its preferred habitat of broadleaved forests. We studied wild boar habitat use in a northern coniferous forest, and noted whether their rooting damaged roots, thereby influencing timber quality and forest regeneration (n = 562 rootings). Overall, the animals selected older spruce (Picea abies L.) forest of higher soil fertility with sparse field vegetation for rooting. During winter, they rooted more in pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forest on lower soil fertility, possibly because the lichen cover can easily be removed even on frozen ground. Average size and depth of rootings were 6 ± 0.6 m2 and 10 ± 0.2 cm, respectively. Rooting occurred on