A track of trash was pushed onto Vila Nova de Gaia beaches by the storm Helena
The storm Helena, felt in Portugal on 1st February 2019, produced heavy winds up to 110 kilometres an hour and provoked the agitation of the sea.
The effects of the storm were visible on the littoral coast, with the destruction of the gangways
and piles of marine litter on the beach. The city of Vila Nova de Gaia, wasn’t an exception, as we can see in the pictures of Madalena beach.
In all that litter, there is one item more common than any other: plasticus maritimus, an “invasive specie”, as Ana Pêgo refers to.
According to The National Geographic, it is estimated that about 8 million tons of plastic is washed down by the rivers and ends up in the ocean.
Plastic can take centuries to decompose, and it is responsible for the death of million marine species. Every year, nearly 700 species can be affected by it.
Odete Melo
Uma Garrafa a Caminho do Oceano
Esta foto foi tirada a uma garrafa de água, abandonada na areia basáltica da Praia Formosa, na ilha da Madeira. Esta pequena ação pode prejudicar vários seres vivos aquáticos.
JRA
Pamp grass, the invader of cutting leaves
Cortaderia Selloana is usually known as Pampas grass.
This exotic plant from ~South America was introduced in Portugal to adorn gardens.
Nowadays, due to its characteristics, it is on of the main invasive plants of the Portuguese northern coast.
One single seed will destroy your ecosystem
Two distant countries, yet there are so many similarities, like cultural or linguistic ones, between Portugal and Romania. Environmental issues, unfortunately, do not escape from these resemblances. The invasion of alien species (IAS) in both countries is something that we are used to seeing and the consequences are often the same, changing all the surrounding ecosystem and in the near future, possibly destroying it. All of this is being verified in the invasion and substitution of autochthonous species that, after their arrival, take advantage of the climate change in that country.
Diogo Martins
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