GIS-based land suitability analysis for the optimal location of integrated multi-trophic aquaponic systems

Aquaponics has witnessed global proliferation and a notable enhancement in sustainability in recent years. Consequently, it assumes paramount importance to delineate optimal locations for its implementation, in fact, the success of an aquaponic facility also depends on its geographical placement, necessitating consideration of many variables encompassing natural resources, socioeconomic factors, infrastructural availability and environmental constraints, whether natural or artificial. This paper focuses on the definition and test in the Emilia-Romagna region (Italy) of a GIS-based multi-criteria land suitability assessment model aimed at allowing the diffusion and environmental integration of innovative integrated multi-trophic aquaponic systems. The process has been implemented with a Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) model, where decisions and criteria were selected via a participatory mechanism involving experts in various fields. The region has been subdivided into 50 × 50 m grid cells, with each grid cell being associated with a value ranging from 0 to 8. In this context, a rating of 0 means unsuitability, while a rating of 1 denotes minimal suitability, and the highest rating of 8 designates maximal suitability. Notably, a substantial portion of the surveyed territory has been found to be completely unsuitable for the establishment of aquaponic facilities. More than 86.4% of the remaining suitable areas were rated 6, 7, or 8, affirming the overall favourability of the Emilia-Romagna region for aquaponic installations. Finally, the veracity and robustness of the results have been tested through a one-at-a-time sensitivity analysis, that has proven the appropriateness of the proposed model.