Bioindication is a key tool for monitoring habitat quality and ecosystem dynamics under increasing anthropogenic pressure. Among model organisms, ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) play a particularly important role, and one of the widely applied functional indicators describing their assemblage structure is the Mean Individual Biomass (MIB). Introduced in the 1980s, this index reflects the average body mass of Carabidae and allows assessment of successional stages. Its computational simplicity and intuitive interpretation have led to its application in forests, agricultural landscapes, post-industrial areas, and glacier forelands. This paper synthesizes the development and applications of the MIB, highlighting both its advantages and methodological limitations (including variability of length-mass models, seasonal activity patterns, and dependence on sampling methods). Particular attention is given to the potential of the MIB in the context of global environmental change, including its role as an indicator of ecosystem responses to climate change and processes related to soil carbon sequestration. Based on a literature review, future research directions are identified, encompassing methodological standardization, integration of MIB with other ecological and molecular indicators, and expansion of analyses to regions beyond Europe. By linking classical bioindication with ecosystem functioning studies, the MIB may serve as a universal tool for environmental monitoring and the assessment of ecosystem services under accelerated global change.

The distribution of wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) on almost all continents brings with it a number of negative impacts, the intensity of which depend on the local population density. One of these impacts is the rooting of the soil surface as part of their foraging behavior, which represents an ecologically valuable disturbance to the forest ecosystem. In this study, conducted in 2022 and 2023, we placed 50 pitfall traps across 10 plots at 10 model sites to compare epigeic arthropod communities in areas affected by wild boar rooting with those unaffected by rooting activity. Our findings demonstrate the presence or absence of rooting is a highly significant factor in shaping arthropod epigeic community assemblies. Rooted plots predominantly hosted species from the taxons Araneae, Carabidae, Elateridae, and Diplopoda, whereas plots without rooting were significantly associated with the taxons Tenebrionidae, Opiliones, Gryllidae, and Geotrupidae. Diptera, and Staphylinidae were not affected by wild boar rooting activity. Throughout the study, a decreasing trend in species diversity was observed. Wild boar rooting notably impacted the composition of epigeic assemblages.