Rice Terraces Research Articles

Comparative Evaluation of Machine Learning Algorithms for Rice Terrace Extraction from RapidEye, Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 Images

Comparative Evaluation of Machine Learning Algorithms for Rice Terrace Extraction from RapidEye, Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 Images

Novel Method for Correcting Land-Cover Misclassification in Mountainous Paddy Fields: a Case Study of the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces in Yunnan, China

Novel Method for Correcting Land-Cover Misclassification in Mountainous Paddy Fields: a Case Study of the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces in Yunnan, China

Heterogeneity of the rice microbial community of the Chinese centuries-old Honghe Hani rice terraces system.

SummaryThe Honghe Hani rice terraces system (HHRTS) is a traditional rice cultivation system where Hani people cultivate remarkably diverse rice varieties. Recent introductions of modern rice varieties to the HHRTS have significantly increased the severity of rice diseases within the terraces. Here, we determine the impacts of these recent introductions on the composition of the rice‐associated microbial communities. We confirm that the HHRTS contains a range of both traditional HHRTS landraces and introduced modern rice varieties and find differences between the microbial communities of these two groups. However, this introduction of modern rice varieties has not strongly impacted the overall diversity of the HHRTS rice microbial community. Furthermore, we find that the rice varieties (i.e. groups of closely related genotypes) have significantly structured the rice microbial community composition (accounting for 15%–22% of the variance) and that the core microbial community of HHRTS rice plants represents less than 3.3% of all the microbial taxa identified. Collectively, our study suggests a highly diverse HHRTS rice holobiont (host with its associated microbes) where the diversity of rice hosts mirrors the diversity of their microbial communities. Further studies will be needed to better determine how such changes might impact the sustainability of the HHRTS.

Long-Term Stochasticity Combines With Short-Term Variability in Assembly Processes to Underlie Rice Paddy Sustainability.

Revealing temporal patterns of community assembly processes is important for understanding how microorganisms underlie the sustainability of agroecosystem. The ancient terraced rice paddies at Longji provide an ideal platform to study temporal dynamics of agroecosystem sustainability due to their chronosequential records of soil physicochemistry and well-archived microbial information along 630-year rice cultivation. We used statistical null models to evaluate microbial assembly processes along the soil chronosequences of Longji rice paddies through time. Stochastic and deterministic assembly processes jointly governed microbial community composition within successional eras (less than 250 years), and within-era determinism was mainly driven by soil fertility and redox conditions alone or in combination. Conversely, across successional eras (i.e., over 300 years), stochasticity linearly increased with increasing duration between eras and was eventually predominant for the whole 630 years. We suggest that the impact of stochasticity vs. determinism on assembly is timescale-dependent, and we propose that the importance of stochastic assembly of microbial community at longer timescales is due to the gradual changes in soil properties under long-term rice cultivation, which in turn contribute to the sustainability of paddy ecosystem by maintaining a diverse community of microorganisms with multi-functional traits. In total, our results indicate that knowledge on the timescales at which assembly processes govern microbial community composition is key to understanding the ecological mechanisms generating agroecosystem sustainability.

Pressures on the Balinese world cultural landscape heritage: The case of Jatiluwih Subak Village

Since is declared by UNESCO as the World Cultural Landscape Heritage in 2012, Jatiluwih and some rice terraces and their water temples increasingly got the attention of the world community. Jatiluwih Village area with its outstanding rice paddy terrace and the subak system becomes a magnet for tourists in Bali to visit it, especially foreign tourists. This paper is concerned with the pressures faced by the village of Jatiluwih as it develops as a cultural tourism attraction. It aims to examine activities especially which relate to tourism that may support or give negative impacts to the sustainability of the village. It also examines the management system of the area and questions whether that system is able to maintain its outstanding value and integrity. Descriptive and qualitative approaches are used based on field observation, FGD and deep interviews. This paper notes that the development of tourism activity has become the pressures for the rice terrace. Although physically the landscape of Jatiluwih still shows its character as a traditional village with outstanding rice terraces, some changes have happened, and threats toward its sustainability is clearly seen caused by the weakness in the management system. This becomes the challenges of Jatiluwih to maintain its predicate as part of the world cultural landscape heritage.

BALI – A Traditional Society in Transformation

The purpose of this article is to highlight the cultural and environmental erosions in Bali caused by the effects of globalization through mass tourism, worldwide communication, international fashion and culinary as well as other aspects of modernity. Bali is not only inundated by countless hotels, malls, restaurants and never-ending concrete roads that clutter the once unique rice terraces and breathtaking vistas to fulfill the needs of the ever growing influx of mass tourism but is also suffers erosion of its age long tradition and heritage due to the same external threats. These foreign onslaught have posed negative impacts on the biocultural diversity of this small island of some 3 million inhabitants who have to bear the brunt of a mass tourist invasion of more than twice its population.The Balinese has potent traditional ecological knowledge (tek) and a philosophy of life called Tri Hita Karana that can deter those negative influences, because their philosophy of life forms a sacred balance as a basis to face all life challenges. However, to what extent and for how long can they be staved off is another question that this article aims to analyze and provide some provoking thoughts. Keywords: Bali, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Tri Hita Karana, Sacred Balance. DOI: 10.7176/JCSD/59-03 Publication date: May 31 st 2020

Farmers\u2019 landslide risk perceptions and willingness for restoration and conservation of world heritage site of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, China

The Honghe Hani Rice Terraces (China) is an ancient world heritage agricultural landscape that has been evolved in centuries as a result of farmers’ indigenous practices and knowledge. The area, however, is prone to landslides that can burden the conservation of these landscapes including their social, cultural, economic and aesthetic value. In June 2018, a landslide threatened the villages of Duosha and Mengpin affecting 138 inhabitants and the terraces structure. This event marked the need to understand how farmers coexist with these natural hazards and which are the behaviours people adopt to conserve their environment and safeguard their livelihood. Results from 125 in-person interviews showed that farmers feel threaten by landslide events derived by their personal experience, but their poor perceived preparedness and the inefficient disaster information make them more vulnerable to those events. Nevertheless, they demonstrated a desire to increase their knowledge on terraces restoration and conservation practices. This is an important signal for public authorities and practitioners that need to underpin training activities and create momentum for discussion. The demonstrated high trust in authorities’ decisions is a crucial element to pursue the objective and sustain the conservation of the terraces and the tourism economy.

The Roles of Farmers in the Development of Belimbing Village Agrotourism and Its Effect on Satisfaction and Loyalty of Tourists

Belimbing Village Agrotourism is an agriculture-based sustainable agrotourism that has extensive terraced rice fields and stretches with a variety of natural potential around. Development of Belimbing Village Agrotourism is a tourism activity without changing the use and damage of agricultural land and can help the economy of the community in Belimbing Village. This study aims to determine the effect of farmers' knowledge, farmers' skills and farmers' attitudes on the satisfaction of Belimbing Village Agrotourism, the effect of tourists’ satisfaction on visitor loyalty visiting Belimbing Village Agrotourism and Belimbing Village Agrotourism contribution to the welfare of the community in Belimbing Village. Data analysis method used is quantitative and qualitative analysis methods. The population in this study were farmers in Belimbing Village Agrotourism and tourists visiting Belimbing Village Agrotourism using 60 respondents, 30 people for farmers and 30 people for tourists. The model was designed using a Smart PLS-based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach that was analyzed using a computer. The results showed that farmers' knowledge had a significant influence on tourists’ satisfaction (p = 0.031). Farmer skills have a significant influence on tourist satisfaction (p = 0.024). Farmer's attitude has a significant effect on tourist satisfaction (p = 0,000). Tourist satisfaction has a significant effect on tourist loyalty (p = 0,000). The contribution of the Belimbing Village Agrotourism in terms of economy, environment and social has a positive impact on the welfare of the community in the Belimbing Village. Based on the results of the study, it is hoped that the Belimbing Village Agrotourism can maintain and improve farmers' knowledge, farmers' skills and farmers' attitudes, so that visiting tourists are satisfied and generate tourist loyalty to visit again.
 Keywords: Role of Farmers, Agrotourism Development, Tourists’ Satisfaction, Tourists’ Loyalty

Locally situated rights and the ‘doing’ of responsibility for heritage conservation and tourism development at the cultural landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, China

This study examines the understandings and practices of responsibility for heritage conservation and heritage tourism from a multiple-stakeholder perspective at the Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, a unique World Heritage Site in China. Data were mainly collected via participant observations and semi-structured interviews. Local villagers comprised of ethnic minorities are conserving the heritage landscape in this protected heritage site through their traditional agricultural production and integrated religious and cultural practices. Conflict has arisen over the years due to inequities between the responsibilities they assume to maintain the cultural landscape and their ability to acquire compensation and share tourism’s benefits. Other stakeholders (e.g., local government, the state-owned tourism enterprise, hostel operators) have benefited greatly from tourism to this area, but have not shared the responsibilities of actually maintaining the heritage landscape. The findings also show that an emphasis on the material heritage and technical approach towards the conservation of the heritage landscape by local authorities exacerbate the conflicts as the roles and needs of the local residents are not recognized. The study suggests that heritage responsibility discourses and practices justify and reinforce systematic unequal power relations between local community residents and the state at the Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces. The villagers play the greatest role in sustaining the cultural landscapes for current and future generations of Chinese citizens and visitors, yet experience numerous restrictions and impediments in the process. This study reveals complex relationships between the “doing” of responsibilities through local cultural practices of the Hani ethnic minority and their “rights,” both of which are situated locally and socially constructed.

Mapping lateral and longitudinal hydrological connectivity to identify conservation priority areas in the water-holding forest in Honghe Hani Rice Terraces World Heritage Site

Hydrological connectivity (HC) reflects the flow processes of water and sediment thus affects hydrological services at different scales. Water retaining forest plays an important role in the sustainability of water regulation and provision. Used the water-holding forest area of the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces World Heritage Site as the study area and, with a modified HC, to calculate and analyze the lateral and longitudinal HC and to identify the conservation priority areas. We modified the popular Borselli’s index of connectivity (IC) into MIC by introducing soil factors with 81 samples, analyzed the HC characteristics by sampling belts, identified the conservation priority area by hotspots analysis at watershed and sub-watershed scales, and verified the MIC with field-measured water level and FIC index. The HC value follows a normal distribution with the average value of 8.03. Its lateral characteristics decrease from river valleys to mountain ridges, whereas its longitudinal characteristics decrease from lower to higher rainfall; this result reflects an obvious spatial gradient distribution of water-holding functions along elevation. Hotspot analysis shows that subwatersheds F and G are the conservation priority region for water-holding. The precision of the MIC is better than Borselli’s IC because of the addition of soil factors. The MIC is an effective index to reflect the spatial gradient or patchy pattern of hydrological services. Its patterns can be identified by their lateral and longitudinal directions or by the hotspots of spatially clustered yet connected areas of high water-holding capacity.

Economics of underproduction: A polycentric approach for a depopulated commons in Japan

This study investigates whether a polycentric approach can exceed its traditional aim of overproduction and address underproduction in a depopulated commons. Secondary data linked to a depopulated commons were analysed in a polycentric framework traditionally used by economists to address overproduction when numerous individuals collectively manage populated economic commons. The study focuses on Japan's rice terraces, which are emerging as depopulated new commons and generating positive externalities such as valuable ecosystem services. Results show that a polycentric approach comprising local, regional and national stakeholders can potentially address underproduction in depopulated rice terrace commons. Individuals produce rice in terraces despite incurring economic losses due to high production costs, a phenomenon that is difficult to explain using neoclassical economic theory. This study provides practical implications for utilising a polycentric approach to address a depopulated commons generating valuable ecosystem services.

Effects of Farming Activities on the Temporal and Spatial Changes of Hydrogen and Oxygen Isotopes Present in Groundwater in the Hani Rice Terraces, Southwest China

Landform changes caused by human activities can directly affect the recharge of groundwater, and are reflected in the temporal and spatial changes in groundwater stable isotope composition. These changes are particularly evident in high-intensity farming areas. In this study, we tested and analyzed groundwater stable isotope samples at different elevations of rice terraces in a typical agricultural watershed of the Hani Terraces, a World Heritage Cultural Landscape in southwest China. Thus, we determined the characteristic variations and factors that influence the temporal and spatial effects on groundwater stable isotopes in the Hani Terraces, which are under the influence of high-intensity farming activities. The elevation gradients of δ18O and δ2H in groundwater are significantly increased due to farming activities. The values were 0.88‰ (100 m)−1 and −4.5‰ (100 m)−1, respectively, and they changed with time. The groundwater circulation cycle is approximately three months. We also used the special temporal and spatial variation characteristics of the groundwater isotopes as a way to evaluate the source and periodic changes of groundwater recharge. In addition, high-intensity rice farming activities, such as ploughing every year from October to January can increase the supply of terraced water to groundwater, thus ensuring the sustainability of rice cultivation in the terraces during the dry season. This demonstrates the role of human wisdom in the sustainable and benign transformation of surface cover and the regulation of groundwater circulation.

Modeling effects of abiotic and anthropogenic factors to rice production - A case study in Sapa district, Lao Cai province, Vietnam

The famous terraced rice ecosystem in the mountainous areas as Sapa of northern Vietnam has expanded with unstable productivity over generations. However, the question arises of how natural and human conditions on terraces can boost the quality of rice provisioning ecosystem service supply with rice yields as an indicator. The study used a semi-structured interview method, the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) tool and general linear models to investigate the influence of natural and human-derived components on the rice provisioning service at six villages. The results showed that along with the importance of applying a fertilizer-based system in the terraced rice ecosystem, topology- and hydrology-based systems have been influencing significantly on water and nutrient supply for irrigation on terraced rice fields. Moreover, analyzing the natural components has been considered more efficient than human-derived components for a sustainable rice ecosystem. The results indicated that the high potential of rice provisioning service supply had found at the downstream of Ta Van sub-catchment and the Vu Lung Sung village where the distance from paddy fields to sinks or outlet of streams is lower than five kilometers. The last result of the synthetic model proving 74.28 percent of deviance of terraced rice production did not avoid many noises in collecting and standardizing data that also discuss in this study.

State-of-the-practice: Assessing community participation within Chinese cultural World Heritage properties

Community participation is a key part of heritage management. However, in practice, unlike natural heritage, the nature of community participation within cultural heritage is seldom assessed, nor are there theoretical frameworks developed to baseline such assessments. To fill this knowledge gap, this paper developed and tested an assessment framework, to assess community participation within cultural heritage. Based on the conceptualisation of community participation from heritage management policies, a literature review was conducted to develop an assessment framework, including four criteria and 23 indicators. This assessment framework was tested on the management practices of 36 Chinese cultural heritage properties inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List from 1987 to 2018. Using content analysis as a method, this research applied this assessment framework to UNESCO documents, reporting on the state-of-the-practice of heritage management as applied to Chinese World Heritage. The results provide an overview of the current situation on how community participation is positioned within World Heritage management in China. Several World Heritage properties in China have reported relatively high community participation in examples such as Honghe Hani Rice Terraces and Kulangsu. However, most of them demonstrate minimal community participation, such as the Yungang Grottoes and Lushan National Park. Moreover, the assessment framework of community participation in heritage management has been extended and improved, which is relevant to heritage management practices worldwide.

稳定氢氧同位素示踪水汽来源对哈尼梯田降水补给的影响

稳定氢氧同位素示踪水汽来源对哈尼梯田降水补给的影响

Climate change and traditional upland paddy farming: a Philippine case study

Traditional agricultural practices, including paddy farming on terraced uplands, have garnered renewed interest in recent years in response to increasing concerns on environmental sustainability and the expected effects of climate change on global food security. However, little systematic research on the potential vulnerabilities of these traditional agroecosystems to future climatic change has been conducted as most are located in remote areas with limited data availability. This paper is a case study on the Ifugao Rice Terraces of the Philippines, a centuries-old farming system whose success is dependent on the year-round allocation of water resources following an intricate agricultural cycle. We developed a site-specific hydrological model coupling the similar hydrologic element response (SHER) model for surface and vadose zone processes and the modular three-dimensional groundwater flow (MODFLOW) model for saturated groundwater movement to evaluate baseline conditions in a selected first-order catchment within the Kiangan terrace cluster. Output from the SHER–MODFLOW model showed good agreement with in situ observations of stream discharge and hydraulic head measured in 2014–2016. To elucidate the impacts of climate change, we downscaled future projections from three global climate models, MRI-CGCM3, GFDL-CM3, and UKMO-HadGEM3, under greenhouse gas concentration pathways RCP-4.5 and RCP-8.5. We used these future climate projections with the calibrated SHER–MODFLOW model to evaluate the combined surface water and groundwater resources in 2041–2050 and 2091–2100. Results indicated trends of increasing temperature for all months, decreasing rainfall and increased risks of water deficits for future dry seasons, and increasing rainfall and increased risks of excess runoff for future wet seasons. These trends will be more pronounced at the end of the century. These results are important in evaluating the sustainability of this traditional agricultural system under climate change, and in designing appropriate local adaptation measures.

Wild edible plants collected by Hani from terraced rice paddy agroecosystem in Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan, China

BackgroundThe Hani people in the Honghe Prefecture of Southeastern Yunnan, China, have practiced terraced rice paddy farming for more than 1300 years. These rice fields, combined with the surrounding forests and water systems, form a special agroecosystem that has attracted both tourists and scientists. For centuries, the local people have traditionally collected wild edible plants (WEP) from the agroecosystem, but this unique traditional practice in this area has never been reported.MethodsEthnobotanical fieldwork was conducted in four counties (Yuanyang, Honghe, Jinping, and Lüchun) between 2014 and 2019. Local self-identified Hani people (186) were interviewed, and information concerning local WEP species was obtained, documented, and analyzed. Plant samples and voucher specimens were collected for taxonomic identification.ResultsA total of 224 WEP species, belonging to 90 families and 170 genera, were recorded as used by the Hani people in Honghe. The most common WEP parts used include fruits, stems, and leaves, and the most common preparation methods include eating as a potherb (wild vegetable) and eating fresh. Some WEPs, like Phyllanthus emblica and Dioscorea subcalva, have unique preparation methods. The use-value (UV) and frequency of utilization index (FUI) of WEP species were analyzed. The 20 WEP species with the highest UV were noted as particularly important to the Hani people’s daily life in Honghe.ConclusionA large majority of these WEP species possess tremendous economic potential for future development. However, the diversity of WEP species, the associated traditional knowledge, and the broader agroecosystem are facing challenges such as biodiversity loss and pollution from chemical pesticides and fertilizers. This study may help local people to recognize the value of local WEP species and associated traditional knowledge, as well as provide ethnobotanical information for the future development of this tourism region.

REDD+ Implementation in Community-Based Muyong Forest Management in Ifugao, Philippines

Ifugao province of the Philippines has a traditional muyong forest system that supplies water and prevents soil erosion of the world-famous Ifugao rice terraces. The socio-political structure of Ifugao has been the key to the maintenance and communal use of land, as well as the muyong forest, without causing excessive damage to the land. Recently, the Ifugao is facing various challenges viz. deforestation, slash-and-burn, introduction of commercial rice, and climate change. The aim of the study is to qualitatively assess the forest management practices in the muyong forest and the way forward to implement the United Nations—Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism. Community forestry can be an interesting option to reduce CO2 emissions from deforestation in Ifugao. This study qualitatively explores the societal problems in the area using focus group discussion (FGD) and key informant interviews (KII). The results show that the terracing lifestyle is at risk, due to mounting economic pressures from the domestic economy. Societal changes are altering the perceptions of the youth in terms of muyong sustainable management. They are threatening the sustainability of the terraces in the long-term because of outward migration and less value given to traditional practices. Furthermore, integration of commercial rice is changing the traditional agricultural system and placing less focus on forest maintenance. This study also discusses potential challenges and opportunities of REDD+ intervention and the role of REDD+ to foster sustainable muyong forest management as well as to find new innovative ways to maintain the Ifugao traditional system while coping with the modernization of the Ifugao economy.

Assessing the impact of climate change on the traditional hydrological system of the Cordillera Rice Terraces

This paper assesses the impact of climate change on the traditional hydrological system of the Cordillera Rice Terraces. The terracing method is a part of the whole complex and robust socio-ecological system (SES) built within the Tropical Montane Cloud Forest (TMCF). We devised assessment schemes that determine the vulnerabilities climate change brings about to this system. We listed SES specific variables based on the Turner Framework Vulnerability Analysis and utilized the Smith and Pilifosova vulnerability model in order to achieve a standardized value for comparison across different SES regions. After identifying factors of constant exposure, sensitivity, and resilience, we designated a value of 0-1 based on the factor’s degree of impact towards climate change as well as attributed a weight for each. We could then assess the vulnerability of an SES to a given stimulus over a given time. The most vulnerable SES would have the maximum value of 1 for the exposure and sensitivity factors, while the resilience factor would have the minimum value of 0. Given the context of the Cordillera Rice Terraces, we can conclude that the system’s vulnerability to climate change, is higher than average.

Emergence of Southern Rice Black-Streaked Dwarf Virus in the Centuries-Old Chinese Yuanyang Agrosystem of Rice Landraces.

Southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus (SRBSDV), which causes severe disease symptoms in rice (Oriza sativa L.) has been emerging in the last decade throughout northern Vietnam, southern Japan and southern, central and eastern China. Here we attempt to quantify the prevalence of SRBSDV in the Honghe Hani rice terraces system (HHRTS)—a Chinese 1300-year-old traditional rice production system. We first confirm that genetically diverse rice varieties are still being cultivated in the HHRTS and categorize these varieties into three main genetic clusters, including the modern hybrid varieties group (MH), the Hongyang improved modern variety group (HY) and the traditional indica landraces group (TIL). We also show over a 2-year period that SRBSDV remains prevalent in the HHRTS (20.1% prevalence) and that both the TIL (17.9% prevalence) and the MH varieties (5.1% prevalence) were less affected by SRBSDV than were the HY varieties (30.2% prevalence). Collectively we suggest that SRBSDV isolates are freely moving within the HHRTS and that TIL, HY and MH rice genetic clusters are not being preferentially infected by particular SRBSDV lineages. Given that SRBSDV can cause 30–50% rice yield losses, our study emphasizes both the need to better monitor the disease in the HHRTS, and the need to start considering ways to reduce its burden on rice production.