1173 | 634 | Macroplastic in mountain rivers: a challenges for geographers | Anna Zielonka1,2, Maciej Liro3, Justyna Liro1, Hanna Hajdukiewicz3, Paweł Mikuś3
Mountain rivers can be particularly affected by plastic pollution, because they typically support high biodiversity and are known as important water resources. At the same time some of their abiotic characteristics (e.g., high energy of water and sediment transport) can increase the risk of macroplastic fragmentation and secondary microplastic production, which can substantially affect biota living in rivers and humans utilizing rivers as water resources. In many regions of the world, valleys of mountain rivers are densely populated, which can favor illegal dumping and contributes to increased delivery of plastic litter to mountain river channels. Our works from the Carpathian Mountains (Central-East Europe) demonstrate that amount of mismanaged plastic waste (MPW) increases linearly as the watercourse elevation decreases with the maximal values detected along the fifth- and sixth-order stream [1]. The fieldwork conducted at the same region detailed this pattern and indicates that greater deposition of macroplastic occurred on woody debris occurring in river channels, suggesting these features as good locations for future river cleaning actions. We highlight the need and potential for future collaboration of environmental and social scientists with local citizens and stakeholders, which can help to: (i) explain macroplastic storage dynamics in mountain rivers, (ii) detect plastic accumulation hotspots, (iii) plan their removal from mountain rivers and (iiii) find the way to prevent their future developments._x000D_
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References_x000D_
[1] Liro, M., Zielonka., A., van Emmerik, T.H.M., Grodzińska-Jurczak, M., Liro, J., Kiss, T., Mihai, F.C., 2023. Mountains of plastic: Mismanaged plastic waste along the Carpathian watercourses. under review_x000D_
The study was completed within the Research Project 2020/39/D/ST10/01935 financed by the National Science Centre of Poland.
Anna Zielonka1,2, Maciej Liro3, Justyna Liro1, Hanna Hajdukiewicz3, Paweł Mikuś3
1Faculty of Geography and Geology, Institute of Geography and Spatial Management, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Krakow, Poland; 2Department of Forest Resources Management, Faculty of Forestry, University of Agriculture in Krakow, al. 29 Listopada 46, 31-425 Krakow, Poland; 3Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, al. Adama Mickiewicza 33, 31–120 Krakow, Poland
ID Abstract: 634