An evaluation of the River-OSPAR method for quantifying macrolitter on Dutch riverbanks
Abstract
Anthropogenic litter, plastic in particular, is an emerging ecological hazard. To effectively prevent, mitigate and reduce litter in river systems, accurate monitoring of litter in the Dutch rivers is necessary. Inspired by the OSPAR Guideline for monitoring marine litter on the beaches in the OSPAR maritime area, a riverbank litter monitoring protocol (River-OSPAR) was developed by Stichting De Noordzee. In this report, we present an evaluation of the River-OSPAR method in. We compared the River-OSPAR protocol with the original Beach-OSPAR protocol, as well as other methods for riverbank litter monitoring. Subsequently, we present the results of a data analysis based on the two years of available observations (2017 – 2019) at in total 211 unique measurement locations. We explored the variation of space and time, as well as the composition, sources and transport mechanisms. Finally, we discuss the learnings from monitoring efforts focusing on litter in other components of the river system, and potential use of additional data to study sources and pathways of litter in Dutch Rivers. The strengths of the River-OSPAR include the extensive geographical coverage and detailed item categorization. These data allow for detailed hotspot analysis along the rivers Meuse and Waal. Both incidental and consistent hotspots were found. Incidental peaks may be related to increased input or accumulation at that location. Consistent hotspots were found to be located close to urban areas with…
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