Mapping Freshwater Aquaculture’s Diverse Ecosystem Services with Participatory Techniques: A Case Study from White Lake, Hungary

Abstract

Freshwater aquaculture has a significant role in fish production and biodiversity conservation. Due to climate change, however, the sustenance of fish farms became more challenging, endangering both people and natural values. The establishment of multi-purpose fishpond systems, utilizing ecosystem services besides fish production, could serve as a long-term solution for this problem. However, the lack of knowledge about fishponds’ ecosystem services creates an obstacle in the process. We would like to lower this barrier by mapping 13 different ecosystem services of White Lake, one of the most prominent fishpond systems in Hungary. The results of two different participatory mapping techniques indicated that standing waters, reedy areas, and canals, possessed the highest potential values in the provision of the listed ecosystem services, marking them as the most important areas for future developments. In the case of current sources, local experts linked the highest values to reedy areas and lookout towers. Participatory mapping also indicated that microclimate regulation and bird watching were the most widely used ecosystem services after fish production. By collecting and visualizing experts’ spatial data about White Lakes’ ecosystem services, our unique paper has the potential to serve future decision-making and provide a basis for further studies on this topic.

Assessment of Ecosystem Services at Different Scales

“…Nine articles were published in this Special Issue. Two papers [20,21] focused solely on the assessment of ESs at a national scale, five [22][23][24][25][26] covered only regional scale assessments, and one paper [27] showed the results of a valuation at two scales (regional and national). There was an article [28] that analyzed the possibility of using the ES concept in environmental impact assessments.…”

“…Palásti and colleagues [23] carried out the participatory mapping of 13 ecosystem services provided by White Lake, which is an extensive fishpond system, situated in the southeastern part of Hungary. The list of ecosystem services was compiled based on preliminary interviews with the representatives of local stakeholder groups.…”