Maintaining economic value of ecosystem services whilst reducing environmental cost: A way to achieve freshwater restoration in China

26Citations
Citations of this article
72Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

Abstract

Freshwater fisheries are central to food security in China and this remains one of the most important priorities for the growing human population. Thus, combining ecosystem restoration with economics is pivotal in setting successful conservation in China. Here, we have developed a practical management model that combines fishery improvement with conservation. For six years, a ban on fertilizer and a reduction of planktivorous fish stocking along with the introduction of both mandarin fish Siniperca chuatsi and Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis was apparent in Wuhu Lake, a highly eutrophic lake located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Annual fish yield decreased slightly after the change in management, whereas fisheries income increased 2.6 times. Mandarin fish and Chinese mitten crab accounted for only 16% of total fisheries production but for 48% of total fisheries income. During this six year period, water clarity increased significantly from 61 cm to 111 cm. Total nitrogen, total phosphorus and chlorophyll decreased significantly from 1.14 to 0.84 mg/L, 0.077 to 0.045 mg/L, and 21.45 to 11.59 μg/L respectively, and macrophyte coverage increased by about 30%. Our results showed that the ecological status of shallow lakes could be rapidly reversed from eutrophic to oligotrophic using simple biomanipulation, whilst maintaining fisheries economic value. It also offers a better approach to shallow fisheries lake management in Asia where traditionally the stocking of Chinese carp and use of fertilizers is still popular.

References Powered by Scopus

DETERMINATION OF CHLOROPHYLL AND PHEO‐PIGMENTS: SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC EQUATIONS

3316Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Ecological networks - Beyond food webs

735Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Response of aquatic plants to abiotic factors: A review

672Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Cited by Powered by Scopus

A revisit to fishmeal usage and associated consequences in Chinese aquaculture

124Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Climate change and aquaculture: Considering biological response and resources

97Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Functional, signalling and transcriptional differences of three distinct type I IFNs in a perciform fish, the mandarin fish Siniperca chuatsi

61Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Lin, M., Li, Z., Liu, J., Gozlan, R. E., Lek, S., Zhang, T., … Yuan, J. (2015). Maintaining economic value of ecosystem services whilst reducing environmental cost: A way to achieve freshwater restoration in China. PLoS ONE, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0120298

Readers' Seniority

Tooltip

PhD / Post grad / Masters / Doc 29

60%

Researcher 15

31%

Professor / Associate Prof. 3

6%

Lecturer / Post doc 1

2%

Readers' Discipline

Tooltip

Environmental Science 22

50%

Agricultural and Biological Sciences 13

30%

Economics, Econometrics and Finance 5

11%

Earth and Planetary Sciences 4

9%

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free