Plastic pollution is a worldwide environmental problem, which affects all natural habitats, even in the most pristine areas. The PLASTICØPYR project explored the influence of mountain tourism on plastic transport and storage in rivers. The project has developed unique survey protocols for plastic quantification and identification. The surveys that were conducted in areas located in the Pyrenees of Catalonia, Andorra and France showing different levels of human impact, mainly associated with presence of ski resorts, residential and hiking areas. Here, we will present the results from these surveys, which show the link between tourism and plastic pollution in these Pyrenean fluvial ecosystems. We have found that i) riparian zones act as transient storage of large particles (>5 mm) with up to 36 Kg/ha in the vicinities of ski resorts); ii) riverbed and biota accumulate smaller particles (<5 mm), with a notable occurrence in the gut contents of trout; and iii) plastic downstream transport in the water column follows a similar pattern than plastic pollution in the riparian zone, reaching up to 3 g plastic/h in urban areas. Results from our holistic approach (sampling of different particle-sizes in riparian and stream habitats) demonstrate and describe how mountain tourism contributes to plastic pollution and confirm that fluvial ecosystems, even those located in headwaters at high elevations, are remarkable sources and sinks for plastic particles.  

Primary Presenter: Helena Guasch, Centre d'Estuds Avançats de Blanes, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (helena.guasch@ceab.csic.es)

Authors:

Henar Margenat, CNRS-Toulouse  (henar.margenat-hervas@univ-tlse3.fr)

Gaël Leroux, CNRS-Toulouse  (gael.leroux@toulouse-inp.fr)

Sophia Hansson, CNRS-Toulouse  (sophia.hansson@toulouse-inp.fr)

Delfina Cornejo, CEAB-CSIC  (dcornejo@ceab.csic.es)

Eugènia Martí, CEAB-CSIC  (eugenia@ceab.csic.es)

Anna Vila, University of Girona, Girona, Spain  (anna.vila@udg.edu)