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Back-shore vegetation as trap for marine plastic pollution, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Summary
This study investigated plastic litter abundance, type, and spatial distribution on five Dar es Salaam beaches, finding significantly higher plastic litter density in vegetated back-shore zones (10.9 ± 7.2 items/m²) compared to unvegetated zones (3.4 ± 2.6 items/m²), with 5,098 total items collected. The results demonstrate that back-shore vegetation acts as a plastic trap, and the authors recommend beach monitoring programs include vegetated zones to accurately account for total plastic pollution levels.
Dar es Salaam in Tanzania is challenged by extensive plastic pollution, which accumulate at the local beaches. This study investigates abundance, type and spatial distribution of plastic litter (>2 cm) on five beaches in Dar es Salaam. Each studied beach consisted of an unvegetated zone closest to the sea and a vegetated back-shore zone. A total of 5098 beached plastic items were collected, corresponding to 3.4 ± 2.6 items m-2 in the unvegetated zone and 10.9 ± 7.2 items m-2 in the vegetated back-shore. The results show that significantly more plastic litter occurs in the vegetated zone of the beach compared to the unvegetated zone. Consequently, this study suggests that beach litter monitoring programmes should include the vegetated back-shore to more accurately account for the level of beach plastic pollution.