Beach music festivals are numerous and popular worldwide. The concerns about the environmental sustainability of these events have been increasing among scientists, coastal managers and local communities. Nevertheless, the negative effects of beach music festivals on the coastal environment have been poorly studied. This work identified, analysed and discussed the eco-geomorphological impacts of a massive beach music festival held on a Portuguese beach-dune system over three days in July 2022. Drone-based orthophotos and pictures collected in the field were analysed to evaluate the impact of pre- and post-festival works, which turned the beach into a construction site over about twenty days. Digital Surface Model (DSM) analysis showed that beach configuration was approximately restored to the pre-festival configuration after the event. In contrast, the comparison of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) maps revealed that 18,500 m2 of embryonic dune vegetation, which represented 35 % of the existing plant community, was removed by works on the beach and by trampling of festival attendees. To authors' knowledge, this is the first work that evaluates the eco-geomorphological impact of a massive beach music festival on the delicate coastal ecosystem. Overall, it contributes in raising awareness for making these events more respectful of the coastal environment.
Keywords: Dune vegetation; Environmental monitoring; Marine environment; Party; Remote sensing.
Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.