Academic Journal
Contrasting macro- and meso-litter accumulation in managed and unmanaged beach sectors of the northwestern Adriatic Sea.
| Τίτλος: | Contrasting macro- and meso-litter accumulation in managed and unmanaged beach sectors of the northwestern Adriatic Sea. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Passetti JP; Department of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Urbino, Campus E.Mattei, 61029, Urbino, Italy. j.passetti@campus.uniurb.it., Varricchione M; EnviXLab, Department of Biosciences and Territory, Contrada Fonte Lappone, University of Molise, Via Duca Degli Abruzzi, I-86039 , I-86090, Pesche, IS, Italy., de Francesco MC; EnviXLab, Department of Biosciences and Territory, Contrada Fonte Lappone, University of Molise, Via Duca Degli Abruzzi, I-86039 , I-86090, Pesche, IS, Italy., Carranza ML; EnviXLab, Department of Biosciences and Territory, Contrada Fonte Lappone, University of Molise, Via Duca Degli Abruzzi, I-86039 , I-86090, Pesche, IS, Italy., Penna A; Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino, Campus Enrico Mattei, Via Ca Le Suore, 2/4, 61029, Urbino, Italy.; CoNISMa, National Inter-University Consortium for Marine Sciences, Piazzale Flaminio, 6, 00184, Rome, Italy.; Fano Marine Center, The Inter-Institute Center for Research On Marine Biodiversity, Resources and Biotechnologies (FMC), Viale Adriatico, 1, 61032, Fano, Italy., Casabianca S; Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino, Campus Enrico Mattei, Via Ca Le Suore, 2/4, 61029, Urbino, Italy. silvia.casabianca@uniurb.it.; CoNISMa, National Inter-University Consortium for Marine Sciences, Piazzale Flaminio, 6, 00184, Rome, Italy. silvia.casabianca@uniurb.it.; Fano Marine Center, The Inter-Institute Center for Research On Marine Biodiversity, Resources and Biotechnologies (FMC), Viale Adriatico, 1, 61032, Fano, Italy. silvia.casabianca@uniurb.it. |
| Πηγή: | Environmental monitoring and assessment [Environ Monit Assess] 2026 Oct 07; Vol. 198 (11). Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Oct 07. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Springer Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 8508350 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1573-2959 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01676369 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Environ Monit Assess Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: 1998- : Dordrecht : Springer Original Publication: Dordrecht, Holland ; Boston : D. Reidel Pub. Co., c1981- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Bathing Beaches*/statistics & numerical data , Waste Products*/analysis , Waste Products*/statistics & numerical data , Environmental Monitoring*, Italy ; Seashore |
| Περίληψη: | Beach management practices are widely implemented in coastal environments, yet their association with litter size structure remains poorly understood. We evaluated macro- and meso-litter across vegetated (unmanaged) and non-vegetated (managed) beach areas along the northwestern Adriatic coast (Italy) through seasonal stratified surveys comprising 448 plot-level sampling events across 112 plots. Meso-litter accounted for approximately 84% of all recorded items. Negative binomial generalized linear mixed models revealed a significant interaction between litter size class and area type (p < 0.001). Macro-litter abundance was 53% lower in non-vegetated areas (p < 0.001), whereas meso-litter abundance did not differ significantly between area types (p = 0.539). Binomial mixed models further indicated a higher predicted proportion of meso-litter within the combined meso- plus macro-litter total in non-vegetated areas (OR = 2.70, p < 0.001), revealing a compositional shift toward smaller debris fractions in managed beach sectors. These findings suggest that beach management is associated with changes in litter size structure and that monitoring approaches based exclusively on macro-litter may not fully capture variation in coastal litter composition. Incorporating meso-litter into monitoring programs could therefore improve assessments of coastal litter dynamics and support more comprehensive management strategies. (© 2026. The Author(s).) |
| Competing Interests: | Declarations. Ethical responsibilities of authors: The authors have read and complied with the Ethical Responsibilities of Authors as outlined in the journal’s submission guidelines. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests. |
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| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Beach management; Coastal monitoring; Litter size structure; Marine litter; Marine spatial planning; Plastic debris fragmentation |
| Substance Nomenclature: | 0 (Waste Products) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20261007 Date Completed: 20261007 Latest Revision: 20261010 |
| Update Code: | 20261010 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC13645939 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10661-026-16011-8 |
| PMID: | 42842055 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1573-2959 |
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| DOI: | 10.1007/s10661-026-16011-8 |