HUN-REN 'Lendület' Seed Ecology Research Group, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, Alkotmány str. 2-4, Vácrátót 2163, Hungary; National Laboratory for Health Security, Centre for Ecological Research, Karolina str. 29, Budapest 1113, Hungary; Department of Ecology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem sqr. 1, Debrecen 4032, Hungary; Juhász-Nagy Pál Doctoral School, University of Debrecen, Egyetem sqr. 1, Debrecen 4032, Hungary.
HUN-REN 'Lendület' Seed Ecology Research Group, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, Alkotmány str. 2-4, Vácrátót 2163, Hungary; Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép Fasor 52, Szeged 6726, Hungary.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Jan 1;906:167675. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167675. Epub 2023 Oct 9.
In the Anthropocene, humans are among the most abundant long-distance seed dispersal vectors globally, due to our increasing mobility and the growing global population. However, there are several knowledge gaps related to the process of human-vectored dispersal (HVD) on clothing. In a multi-site field experiment covering various habitat types in three countries of Central-Europe, we involved 88 volunteer participants and collected 251 HVD samples and 2008 subsamples from their socks and shoes. We analysed the number of diaspores and species in the samples. Specifically, we studied the effects of site characteristics (variables related to habitat types and season), vector characteristics (activity type, gender, clothing type, shoe type) and plant characteristics (species pool of the visited habitats and plant traits) on the number of diaspores and array of species dispersed. We assessed the habits of people that could be relevant for HVD with a questionnaire survey. A total of 35,935 diaspores of 229 plant taxa were identified from the samples, which indicates a huge potential of HVD in dispersing diaspores across habitats and regions. Most diaspores were recorded in grassland habitats, and more diaspores were dispersed during fieldwork than excursions. Clothing type also played a decisive role: there were more diaspores and species when wearing short-top shoes and short trousers than long ones. Even though our study was carried out mainly in natural or semi-natural habitats, a large number of dispersed species were disturbance-tolerants and weeds and only a few were specialists, suggesting the controversial role of HVD in conservation. At the individual level, people can reduce the number of diaspores through their clothing choices and diaspore removal habits, while providing adequate equipment for staff, operating cleaning stations, and increasing awareness of employees are main ways in which unintended diaspore dispersal can be tackled at the institutional level.
在人类世，由于人类流动性的增加和全球人口的增长，人类成为了全球范围内最主要的远距离种子传播媒介之一。然而，关于人类介导的传播（HVD）在衣物上的过程，仍然存在一些知识空白。在一个涵盖中欧三个国家不同生境类型的多地点野外实验中，我们涉及了 88 名志愿者参与者，并从他们的袜子和鞋子中收集了 251 个 HVD 样本和 2008 个副样本。我们分析了样本中的种子数量和物种种类。具体来说，我们研究了地点特征（与生境类型和季节有关的变量）、媒介特征（活动类型、性别、衣物类型、鞋子类型）和植物特征（所访问生境的物种库和植物特征）对种子数量和传播物种种类的影响。我们通过问卷调查评估了与 HVD 相关的人的习惯。从样本中鉴定出 35935 个 229 种植物的种子，这表明 HVD 在跨生境和地区传播种子方面具有巨大的潜力。大多数种子在草原生境中被记录到，而且在野外工作中比远足时传播的种子更多。衣物类型也起着决定性的作用：穿着短上衣和短裤的鞋子比长的鞋子传播的种子更多，种类也更多。尽管我们的研究主要在自然或半自然生境中进行，但大量传播的物种是耐受干扰的杂草和少数的专家种，这表明 HVD 在保护方面具有争议性的作用。在个人层面上，人们可以通过选择衣物和去除种子的习惯来减少种子的传播，而在机构层面上，为员工提供充足的设备、运营清洁站和提高员工的意识是处理意外种子传播的主要方法。
