Field experiment confirms high macroplastic trapping efficiency of wood jams in a mountain river channel.

ABSTRACT: Identifying macroplastic deposition hotspots in rivers is essential for planning cleanup efforts and assessing the risks to aquatic life and the aesthetic value of river landscapes. Recent fieldwork in mountain rivers has shown that wood jams retain significantly more macroplastic than other emergent surfaces within river channels. Here, we experimentally verify these findings by tracking the deposition of 64 PET bottles after 52-65 days of transport in the mid-mountain Skawa River (Polish Carpathians) under low to medium flow conditions. Despite variations in river channel management and the resulting morphological patterns along the study reach, the majority (71.9%, n = 46) of tracked bottles were trapped by wood jams near the low-flow channel. The trapping efficiency was three times hig

SUBMITTER: Liro M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11758022 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature