Assessment of Seed Dispersal Mechanisms through Vehicular Movement in the District of Charsadda, Pakistan

Abstract

Different seeds are dispersed from infested to uninfested areas possibly due to several biotic and abiotic mechanisms, and this spread of seed aids the invasion process across the landscape. Currently, in District Charsadda KP, Pakistan, there are about thousands of motorized vehicles, each capable of carrying infested seeds and therefore spreading crop seeds and plant seeds. Studies were conducted in 2019 to investigate the role of the utility vehicles in the dispersal of seeds in District Charsadda. A large number of seeds were found on vehicles. In the current study undertaken in KP, the maximum number of species from the family Apiaceae (3.00), Poaceae (3.00) and Solanaceae (3.00) were found dominant on the vehicles. Whereas, the minimum species number from the family Asteraceae (1.00), Fabaceae (1.00), Ebenaceae (1.00), Umbelliferae (1.00) and Cucurbitaceae (1.00) were associated with the vehicle. These seeds were found on several parts of the vehicles and were contained within mud or dust that had presumably transferred to the vehicle as it undertook its routine activities. The early implications from this present study is that utility vehicles are capable of collecting, carrying, and presumably distributing large numbers of seeds that seed is carried on many parts of the vehicle. Thus, any washing or cleaning procedure used to remove seeds from vehicles will need to concentrate on all parts of the vehicle. Cleaning vehicles at appropriate places should be seen as a possible way to reduce seed spread by utility vehicles.