Large Wood Debris Contributes to Beach Ecosystems but Colombian Beachgoer’s Do Not Recognize It

Abstract

Large Woody Debris (LWD) accumulation serves essential ecological functions and benefits society’s coastal ecosystems (e.g., beaches). Thus far, the ecosystem services perspective has paid little attention to LWD. Therefore, we aim to contrast social perceptions on LWD and its ecological significance in Puerto Velero beach, Caribbean, Colombia. In consequence, the contribution of LWD to the conformation and creation of Puerto Velero beach was analyzed, as well as how beachgoers perceive the importance of LWD and if they were willing to pay to remove LWD in this beach. To achieve this, a quantitative convergent approach was then proposed using GIS analysis and remote sensing to understand the contributions of LWD to the Puerto Velero beach ecosystem; and in addition, a survey was performed to determine how beachgoers perceived LWD and how they valued the phenomenon. Results indicate that LWD contributed to beach maintenance; nevertheless, most people neglected LWD values because of its lack of visual attractiveness. As such, ecosystem services targets become conflicted because people positively perceived ecosystem services provided by beaches, but they did not assign importance to the beach dynamics they deemed unattractive, regardless of their vast importance.

Use of Drone Remote Sensing to Identify Increased Marine Macro-Litter Contamination following the Reopening of Salgar Beach (Colombian Caribbean) during Pandemic Restrictions

“…A study conducted by Rangel-Buitrago et al [62] indicated a density of 0.8 items•m −2 at a nearby tourist beach, while the wood on non-tourist beaches (where the timber is not removed periodically) was as high as 3.8 items•m −2 . In this Caribbean region, wood plays an important role in maintaining the beach by decreasing erosion [63]. However, most people ignore the importance of wood in these processes because of its una ractiveness on the beach.…”

“…In this sense, our study highlights the impact of beach geomorphology, local oceanographic conditions, and anthropogenic activities on marine li er accumulation pa erns. For example, the Colombian Caribbean coast is influenced by longshore currents that carry substantial amounts of li er and wood from the Magdalena River [63] to Salgar Beach. In addition, the prevailing offshore winds play a crucial role in the distribution of marine li er along the beach, exacerbating contamination levels close to the strand line.…”

Recognizing, normalizing and articulating: An approach to highlight plural values of water ecosystem services in Colombia

“…For this reason, we found valuable the results provided by InVEST and the water regulation index, which contrasted with expert-based consultation and community perceptions. This represents a normal aspect in ES valuation, which is juxtaposition of values ( Manzolli et al., 2022 ; Peck and Khirfan, 2021 ; Suarez et al., 2021 ). We are aware on the complexity of applying several methodological steps, however, PV studies should face this load because resources, time and skills are necessary ( Maydana et al., 2020 ; Lopes and Videira, 2019 ).…”

Community Preferences for Participating in Ecotourism: A Case Study in a Coastal Lagoon from Colombia

“…Therefore, the community's perceptions of environmental quality and ecotourism in the swamp can be very insightful for developing the activity. Thus, perceptions about environmental quality could determine the values people might give ecosystems (e.g., Manzolli et al, 2022 ;Zhang and Lei, 2010 ;Enríquez-Acevedo et al, 2018 ;Nielsen-Pincus et al, 2017 ). Hence, identifying how locals understand their environmental context provides valuable insights into ecological systems and how communities understand positive or negative environmental interactions with them ( Lemahieu et al, 2018 ).…”