Research note: Trail runners as agents of alien plant introduction into protected areas

Abstract Sporting events are becoming more prevalent within protected areas. To investigate the potential for trail runners to facilitate alien plant introductions into a protected area, we identified plants germinating from material from shoes obtained from 682 trail runners prior to four races in a South African national park. Runners’ perceptions of their potential role in spreading plant seeds were assessed. We identified 33 species (152 plants) from 9 families; 45% of species and 82% of plants were alien and 97% of the species are weeds elsewhere. Each race contributed, on average, 11 species of which 6 were alien. Poaceae, Asteraceae and Caryophyllaceae were the most speciose families, and Poa annua the most abundant species. All species were herbaceous, mostly with small, persistent seeds and unspecialized dispersal syndromes – traits facilitating dispersal and persistence. Eighty percent of participants agreed that trail runners could potentially transport seeds although Management implications Our findings confirmed that trail runners can act as vectors for seed dispersal and that sporting events in protected areas can increase the potential for alien plant introductions. Biosecurity measures and awareness raising initiatives need to be implemented by protected area authorities in collaboration with sporting event organizers.