Details zur Publikation
Kategorie Textpublikation
Referenztyp Zeitschriften
DOI 10.1017/plc.2025.10027
Lizenz creative commons licence
Titel (primär) Suitability of river plastic monitoring methods for citizen science
Autor Schreyers, L.; van Emmerik, T.H.M.; Kirschke, S.; Pinto, R.; Schmidtke, L.; Schmidt, C.; Wendt-Potthoff, K. ORCID logo
Quelle Cambridge Prisms: Plastics
Erscheinungsjahr 2025
Department SEEFO; HDG
Band/Volume 3
Seite von e31
Sprache englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Keywords macroplastic; microplastic; environmental pollution; water quality; Accra; Ghana
Abstract Rivers act as long-term plastic storage and a pathway for land-based plastic pollution into the ocean. Monitoring river plastic at a global scale remains challenging, with only limited large-scale and long-term monitoring efforts to date. Citizen science approaches may ensure a more continuous basic knowledge of plastic pollution in rivers, which can be used to assess the efficacy of reduction measures. We evaluated the suitability of several river plastic monitoring methods for citizen science, through field monitoring and a subsequent survey with citizen scientists in Accra, Ghana. Four measurement techniques (visual counting, macroplastic net sampling, microplastic net sampling and hydrometric measurements) were tested in the field and evaluated by citizen scientists. The visual counting method, used to estimate floating macroplastic transport, emerged as the most promising method for citizen science–based river plastic monitoring. Using the data collected by citizens, we quantify the variability in transport and concentration of both macroplastic and microplastic.
dauerhafte UFZ-Verlinkung https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=31269
Schreyers, L., van Emmerik, T.H.M., Kirschke, S., Pinto, R., Schmidtke, L., Schmidt, C., Wendt-Potthoff, K. (2025):
Suitability of river plastic monitoring methods for citizen science
Cambridge Prisms: Plastics 3 , e31 10.1017/plc.2025.10027