The Environmental Benefits of the Box Turtle

Just like the Galapagos tortoise, the humble box turtle provides many benefits to its environment. The main environmental benefit of the box turtle is seed dispersal. Box turtles eat plants, fruits, vegetables, and seeds, so as these turtles migrate and move, they disperse the seeds in their waste. Fun fact: passing seeds through the digestive tract of the turtles actually increases the germination rate of the seeds. Who would've thought?

Figure 1: Box turtle munching on some blueberries
Image from: Google Images

Box turtles are also helpful in turning over land and leaves, especially when they dig in leaf litter to create new homes. This digging and movement of earth and leaves is good for the environment and helps to uncover fertile soil for new plants and seeds to grow. Because box turtles are similar to the Galapagos Giant Tortoise, so many of their environmental benefits are the same as those of the Galapagos Giant Tortoise.

So, what can we take from this? Well, because both the box turtle and the Galapagos tortoise are beneficial to the environment, it is important to work towards conserving these reptiles. In suburban areas where box turtles are sometimes found, we can plant gardens with foods that appeal to box turtles and create spaces with damp leaf litter for the box turtles to create habitats. This is just one way to help these threatened reptiles in our hometowns. And, of course, these reptiles will pay back our help with providing the land with environmental benefits of their own!


Sources: Information for this post can be found on http://www.bbg.org/gardening/article/box_turtles