Plastic Debris in Lakes and Reservoirs
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Show full item recordTitle
Plastic Debris in Lakes and ReservoirsAuthor(s)
Date
2023Citation
Nava, V., Chandra, S., Aherne, J. et al. Plastic debris in lakes and reservoirs. Nature 619, 317–322 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06168-4
Abstract
[Abstract] Plastic debris is thought to be widespread in freshwater ecosystems globally1. However, a lack of comprehensive and comparable data makes rigorous assessment of its distribution challenging2,3. Here we present a standardized cross-national survey that assesses the abundance and type of plastic debris (>250 μm) in freshwater ecosystems. We sample surface waters of 38 lakes and reservoirs, distributed across gradients of geographical position and limnological attributes, with the aim to identify factors associated with an increased observation of plastics. We find plastic debris in all studied lakes and reservoirs, suggesting that these ecosystems play a key role in the plastic-pollution cycle. Our results indicate that two types of lakes are particularly vulnerable to plastic contamination: lakes and reservoirs in densely populated and urbanized areas and large lakes and reservoirs with elevated deposition areas, long water-retention times and high levels of anthropogenic influence. Plastic concentrations vary widely among lakes; in the most polluted, concentrations reach or even exceed those reported in the subtropical oceanic gyres, marine areas collecting large amounts of debris4. Our findings highlight the importance of including lakes and reservoirs when addressing plastic pollution, in the context of pollution management and for the continued provision of lake ecosystem services.
Keywords
Environmental impact
Limnology
Water resources
Limnology
Water resources
Description
This is an accepted version of the published document. This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06168-4
Editor version
Rights
Copyright © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited
ISSN
1476-4687