Weed seeds on clothing: a global review

Weeds are a major threat to biodiversity including in areas of high conservation value. Unfortunately, people may be unintentionally introducing and dispersing weed seeds on their clothing when they visit these areas. To inform the management of these areas, we conducted a systematic quantitative literature review to determine the diversity and characteristics of species with seeds that can attach and be dispersed from clothing. Across 21 studies identified from systematic literature searches on this topic, seeds from 449 species have been recorded on clothing, more than double the diversity found in a previous review. Nearly all of them, 391 species, are listed weeds in one or more countries, with 58 classified as internationally-recognised environmental weeds. When our database was compared with weed lists from different countries and continents we found that clothing can carry the seeds of important regional weeds. A total of 287 of the species are listed as aliens in one or more countries in Europe, 156 are invasive species/noxious weeds in North America, 211 are naturalized alien plants in Australia, 97 are alien species in India, 33 are invasive species in China and 5 are declared weeds/invaders in South Africa. Seeds on the clothing of hikers can be carried to an average distance of 13 km, and where people travel in cars, trains, planes and boats, the seeds on their clothing can be carried much further. Factors that affect this type of seed dispersal include the type of clothing, the type of material the clothing is made from, the number and location of the seeds on plants, and seed traits such as adhesive and attachment structures. With increasing use of protected areas by tourists, including in remote regions, popular protected areas may be at great risk of biological invasions by weeds with seeds carried on clothing.