Temporal variability of litter pollution of rivers in Germany - A long-term assessment by schoolchildren as citizen scientists.

Autor: Dittmann S; Kiel Science Factory, Kiel University (CAU) and Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN), Kiel, Germany; Geography Education, Department of Geography, Kiel University (CAU), Kiel, Germany. Electronic address: dittmann@leibniz-ipn.de., Kiessling T; Kiel Science Factory, Kiel University (CAU) and Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN), Kiel, Germany., Knickmeier K; Kiel Science Factory, Kiel University (CAU) and Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN), Kiel, Germany., Schönberg J; Kiel Science Factory, Kiel University (CAU) and Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN), Kiel, Germany., Brennecke D; Kiel Science Factory, Kiel University (CAU) and Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN), Kiel, Germany., Hinzmann M; Ecologic Institute, Berlin, Germany., Knoblauch D; Ecologic Institute, Berlin, Germany., Thiel M; MarineGEO Program, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, USA; Dpto. de Biologia Marina, Facultad Ciencias del Mar, Universidad Católica del Norte, Larrondo 1281, Coquimbo, Chile; Center of Ecology and Sustainable Management of Oceanic Island (ESMOI), Coquimbo, Chile.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Marine pollution bulletin [Mar Pollut Bull] 2024 Dec; Vol. 209 (Pt B), pp. 117253. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Nov 12.
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.117253
Abstrakt: Understanding litter dynamics on riversides is challenging due to the need for extensive data. A seven-year citizen science study with schoolchildren showed no major changes in litter density, composition, and sources on German riversides. The study categorized 26,757 macrolitter items (> 2.5 cm in size), mainly consisting of plastic and cigarette butts, with a median litter density of 0.28 items m -2 . We found that wide rivers (> 51 m) had significantly higher median litter densities (0.42 items m -2 ) than narrow rivers (< 10 m, 0.14 items m -2 ), indicating greater litter accumulation in downstream areas. A zero-inflated binomial hurdle model showed that litter density variations were influenced by the interaction of the river system with sampling campaign and river width. Schoolchildren identified visitors as the most likely source of riverine litter. These findings highlight the value of citizen science in understanding long-term trends and show the urgent need for political measures.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Doris Knoblauch is an unpaid co-chair of a working group of the Scientists' Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty.
(Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz: