Morales-Caselles Carmen, Viejo Josué, Montero Enrique, Cózar Andrés
Biology Department, Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Cádiz, Puerto Real, Cádiz 11510, Spain.
Institute of Marine Research (INMAR), University of Cádiz, Puerto Real, Cádiz 11510, Spain.
iScience. 2025 May 21;28(6):112701. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.112701. eCollection 2025 Jun 20.
Despite ongoing negotiations to establish a Global Plastics Treaty aimed at ending plastic pollution, agriculture remains an often-overlooked source of marine litter. While most global assessments emphasize take-out consumer activity and fishing as dominant contributors, these broad analyses may fail to capture regionally relevant sources. Here, we conducted field sampling across coastal and inland transects using a combination of shoreline surveys, dry riverbed inspections, and marine debris collection to quantify and classify plastic waste linked to agricultural activity. Our results show that agricultural plastic debris is prevalent even over 100 km downstream of cultivation hotspots. We identify dry riverbeds in agricultural landscapes as transient reservoirs that trap plastic during dry seasons, releasing large quantities into marine environments during episodic rainfall events. These findings underscore the need for management strategies that incorporate agriculture as a significant source of marine plastic pollution, particularly considering the projected rise in agricultural plastic use.
尽管旨在终结塑料污染的全球塑料条约的谈判仍在进行中，但农业仍是一个经常被忽视的海洋垃圾来源。虽然大多数全球评估强调外卖消费活动和渔业是主要贡献者，但这些广泛的分析可能无法涵盖与区域相关的来源。在这里，我们通过结合海岸线调查、干涸河床检查和海洋垃圾收集，对沿海和内陆样带进行了实地采样，以量化和分类与农业活动相关的塑料垃圾。我们的结果表明，即使在种植热点下游100公里以外，农业塑料垃圾也很普遍。我们将农业景观中的干涸河床确定为临时储存库，在旱季捕获塑料，并在暴雨事件期间将大量塑料释放到海洋环境中。这些发现强调了管理策略的必要性，该策略应将农业视为海洋塑料污染的一个重要来源，特别是考虑到农业塑料使用预计会增加。
