Abstract
A modified approach for marine debris investigation in mangrove forests is developed, including some practical programs, viz., sampling location, time, area, materials, size and sources data processing. The marine debris method was practiced in the Beilun Estuary mangrove forest region in Fangchenggang in 2019, viz., the debris items were classified, counted, weighed and recorded, and the marine debris pollution was assessed to understand the impact of human activities. The results show that the mass density is 21.123 (2.355~51.760) g/m2, and more than 90% came from the land-based and human activities. More than 60% of the total debris weights are plastics, followed by fabrics (17.91%) and Styrofoam (10.07%); the big-size and oversize debris account for 76.41% and 13.33%, respectively. The quantity density is 0.163 (0.013~0.420) item/m2, and ~95% came from land-based human activities. More than 75% of the total debris items were plastics, followed by Styrofoam (14.36%), fabrics (4.10%) and glass (3.59%); the big-size, medium-size and oversize debris are 76.41%, 13.33% and 10.26%, respectively. The results suggest that mangrove forests are barriers for the medium-/big-size marine debris, acting as traps for marine debris. Our study provides recommendations and practical guidance for establishing programs to monitor and assess the distribution and abundance of marine debris. The results show that mangrove areas in the Beilun Estuary are filled with some plastic debris (plastics plus Styrofoam) and that the density and type at Zhushan and Rongshutou near the China-Vietnam border are more than those at Shijiao and Jiaodong. The results of this study are also expected to not only provide baseline data for the future assessment of Beilun Estuary mangroves but also to help China and Vietnam strengthen marine land-based pollution control and promote coastal wetland and mangrove conservation, marine species conservation and sustainable use.
Highlights
A mangrove is one of the distinctive woody plants in the coastal wetland ecosystem with both terrestrial and marine properties, which can provide a variety of important goods and services to humanity [1,2,3,4,5,6], e.g., absorbing the waves/tides, protecting the shore, maintaining the biodiversity, accelerating the water purification and pollutants degradation, reducing the eutrophication and red tide, developing ecological tourism and popular science education
It is essential to develop an appropriate method of marine debris monitoring in mangroves to provide effective recommendations and practical guidance, and to conduct surveys to assess the impact of human activities on coastal zones
It is hoped that our study is useful for providing recommendations and practical guidance for monitoring and assessing marine debris in mangrove forests, and for understanding the basic information of the mangrove ecological threat factors and to assess the influence of human activities
Summary
A mangrove is one of the distinctive woody plants in the coastal wetland ecosystem with both terrestrial and marine properties, which can provide a variety of important goods and services to humanity [1,2,3,4,5,6], e.g., absorbing the waves/tides, protecting the shore, maintaining the biodiversity, accelerating the water purification and pollutants degradation, reducing the eutrophication and red tide, developing ecological tourism and popular science education. It is essential to develop an appropriate method of marine debris monitoring in mangroves to provide effective recommendations and practical guidance, and to conduct surveys to assess the impact of human activities on coastal zones. We provide a modified approach for marine debris investigation in mangrove forests, including some practical programs, viz., sampling location, time, area, materials, size and sources data processing. The marine debris method was applied and practiced in the Beilun Estuary mangrove forest region in 2019, viz., the debris items were classified, counted, weighted, recorded and assessed for the distribution and abundance of the marine debris pollution. It is hoped that our study is useful for providing recommendations and practical guidance for monitoring and assessing marine debris in mangrove forests, and for understanding the basic information of the mangrove ecological threat factors and to assess the influence of human activities. This study is expected to provide baseline data for the future assessment of the marine debris pollution in Beilun Estuary mangroves and help China and Vietnam strengthen marine land-based pollution control and promote coastal wetland and mangrove conservation, marine species conservation and sustainable use
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