Potential rainwater storage capacity of irrigation ponds

From antiquity to the present, Japan has irrigated many paddy fields from irrigation ponds. There are some 64,000 such irrigation ponds with a benefit area of over 2 ha each. These irrigation ponds not only function as a water-source for the stable production of food, but also are thought to reduce flooding in lower regions through temporary storage of rainwater and catchment runoff because they are located upstream of paddy fields, upland fields and residential land. Centering our research on Kagawa and Osaka Prefectures, we assessed the potential of rainwater storage capacity created by free space in irrigation ponds resulting from irrigation at a macro level as an indicator of flood mitigation. In these prefectures, potential rainwater storage capacity of irrigation ponds in early September was 2.1 and 1.4 times that of the potential storage capacity of associated paddy fields in an ordinary year.     

Nitrogen and phosphorus runoff modeling in a flat low-lying paddy cultivated area

Chiyoda basin is located in Saga Prefecture in Kyushu Island, Japan, and lies next to the tidal compartment of the Chikugo River to which the excess water in the basin is drained away. Chiyoda basin has a total area of about 1,100 ha and is a typical flat and low-lying paddy-cultivated area. The main environmental issue in this basin is total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) load management because TN and TP, which loaded from farmlands, degrade surface water as a result of anthropogenic eutrophication. This paper presents a mathematical model of TN and TP runoff during an irrigation period in Chiyoda basin in order to elucidate the pollutant fluxes that accompany water transportation in paddy fields and drainage canals, and to evaluate pollutant removal from the study area to the Chikugo River. First, the water flow and the algorithm of gate operation were simulated by a continuous tank model and the accuracy of the model was then evaluated by comparing the simulated water levels with observed ones during an irrigation period. The observed and simulated water levels were in good agreement, indicating that the proposed model is applicable for drainage and water supply analyses in flat, low-lying paddy-cultivated areas. Second, the TN and TP runoff during an irrigation period was simulated based on the TN and TP loads that were determined by observed data in paddy fields. For TN runoff, the simulated results and observed data were in good agreement whereas for TP runoff, the simulated results were higher than the observed data. However, if the settled TP within the paddy tank was calculated as 6%, then the simulated results and the observed data were in good agreement. We concluded that TN runoff from paddy field to the drainage canal system was not affected much by the sediment related process. The present study could provide farmers and managers with a useful tool for controlling the water distribution in an irrigation period, and the TN and TP loads in the downstream area as well as the Chikugo River.     

Future potential impacts of climate change on agricultural watershed hydrology and the adaptation strategy of paddy rice irrigation reservoir by release control

This study is to assess the climate change impact on the temporal variation of paddy rice irrigation reservoir water level from the future evaluated watershed inflow, and to suggest an adaptation method of the future reservoir water level management for stable water supply of paddy irrigation demands. A 366.5 km² watershed including two irrigation reservoirs located in the upper middle part of South Korea was adopted. For the future evaluation, the SLURP model was set up using 9 years daily reservoir water level and streamflow records at the watershed outlet. The average Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiencies for calibration and validation were 0.69 and 0.65, respectively. For the future climate condition, the NIES MIROC3.2 hires data by SRES A1B and B1 scenarios of the IPCC was adopted. The future data were downscaled by applying Change Factor statistical method through bias-correction using 30 years past weather data. The results of future impact showed that the future reservoir storages of autumn and winter season after completion of irrigation period decreased for 2080s A1B scenario. Considering the future decrease of summer and autumn reservoir inflows, the reservoir operation has to be more conservative for preparing the water supply of paddy irrigation, and there should be a more prudent decision making for the reservoir release by storm events. Therefore, as the future adaptation strategy, the control of reservoir release by decreasing in August and September could secure the reservoir water level in autumn and winter season by reaching the water level to almost 100% like the present reservoir water level management.     

Evaluation of pollutant removal in a constructed irrigation pond

A year-long study on the water quality and hydrology was carried out to investigate the characteristics of the pollutant concentrations and pollutant removal in a constructed irrigation pond. The pond is part of a circular irrigation system for paddy fields within Lake Kasumigaura watershed, Japan. The average concentrations of the total nitrogen (TN), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total phosphorus (TP), and suspended solids (SS) at the pond outlet were 7.4, 8.6, 0.2, and 18.8 mg L⁻¹, respectively. The average removed loads for the same indices were 0.14, 2.47, 0.11, and 24.2 g m⁻² day⁻¹, respectively. The percentages of pollutant removals from the inflow loads for the same indices were 3, 26, 42, and 63%, respectively. The pond discharged the TN loads of 128 kg due to sediments stirred by operation of a pump for April and May. The average TN removal was 19% from June to August and was smaller than that reported in published literatures (40–50%). Major reasons were considered to be that the turnover of water in the pond was rapid (86% per day) and that the TN concentration of inflow water was relatively low (5.9 mg L⁻¹). The percentages of pollutants that flowed into the pond to the outflow loads from the study site were 6.6, 4.8, 1.6, and 1.1% for TN, COD, TP, and SS loads, respectively. The pollutant removal will be increased if the design of the circular irrigation system is reconsidered to utilize a pollutant removal function in the irrigation pond.     

Effects of Rice-Fish Co-culture on Oxygen Consumption in Intensive Aquaculture Pond

Rice-fish co-culture has gained increasing attention to remediate the negative environmental impacts induced by intensive aquaculture. However, the effect of rice-fish co-culture on oxygen depletion has rarely been investigated. We constructed a rice-fish co-culture system in yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) and freshwater shrimp (Macrobrachium nipponense) ponds using a new high-stalk rice variety, and conducted a field experiment to investigate the effect of rice-fish co-culture on water parameters and oxygen consumption. The results showed that rice-fish co-culture reduced the nutrients (total nitrogen, ammonia-N, total phosphorous and potassium) and the dissolved oxygen content in fish and shrimp ponds. However, they showed similar seasonal change of dissolved oxygen in the water of fish and shrimp ponds. Rice-fish co-culture reduced the total amount of oxygen consumption and optimized the oxygen consumption structure in pond. The respiration rates in water and sediment were significantly reduced by 66.1% and 31.7% in the catfish pond, and 64.4% and 38.7% in the shrimp pond, respectively, by additional rice cultivation. Rice-fish co-culture decreased the proportions of respiration in sediment and water, and increased the proportion of fish respiration. These results suggest that rice-fish co-culture is an efficient way to reduce hypoxia in intensive culture pond.     

Study on agricultural benefits by increasing capacity of water ponds: a case study at Taoyuan paddy fields

In Taiwan, agricultural water is frequently reduced or suspended for reallocation of water resources during drought. To cope with such a situation, the irrigation district of the Shihmen Reservoir in the northern Taiwan fully utilizes the functions of water ponds to regulate water resources, so that industrial and domestic water demands can be met. Constructing new water ponds is indeed able to increase water storage for irrigation. However, when it is compared with the method of dredging or excavating the existing water ponds, constructing new water ponds is not easily accepted by the public because of environmental protection and land acquisition. Dredging water ponds is adopted to obtain a larger storage capacity, so that more flexibility may be acquired in water allocation during drought. Furthermore, it is more practical from engineering point of view. This study presents a formulation of the pond-dredging problem for an irrigation system. The formulation is implemented as optimization programs and applied to the area irrigated by the eighth lateral of the Taoyuan Irrigation Association. The irrigation area is a paddy field of 2,283.8 hectares and consists of 32 water ponds storage capacity of which is analyzed as dredging is conducted. Two models are presented; the first minimizes the water extracted from the Reservoir in a cropping season; while the second maximizes agricultural financial net benefits. Various allowable dredging ratios are used in the two models for different case studies. The first model shows that the water supplied by the Reservoir decreases as the ratio increases, and it reaches the minimum (2,520.3?×?10⁴m³) when the ratio is 0.5. The second model displays that the maximum agricultural financial net benefit increases as the ratio increases and it reaches the highest value (NT$ 6,996?×?10⁴) when the ratio is 0.5, a result similar to that of the first model. However, the dredging priorities of 32 water ponds for the two models are different because of the optimization objectives. The simulation results provide references to the performance improvement of water ponds. With such improvement, water ponds can possess an optimal capacity, and an optimal regional water allocation during drought can be achieved.     

Modeling waterbird diversity in irrigation ponds of Taoyuan, Taiwan using an artificial neural network approach

The study develops an approach adopted by artificial neural networks (ANN) to model the relationship between pondscape and waterbird diversity. Study areas with thousands of irrigation ponds are unique geographic features from the original functions of irrigation converted to waterbird refuges. The model considers pond shape and size, neighboring farmlands, and constructed areas in calculating parameters pertaining to the interactive influences on avian diversity, among them the Shannon–Wiener diversity index. Results indicate that irrigation ponds adjacent to farmland benefited waterbird diversity. On the other hand, urban development leads to the reduction of pond numbers, which reduces waterbird diversity. By running the ANN model, the resulting index shows a good-fit prediction of bird diversity against pond size, shape, neighboring farmlands, and neighboring developed areas with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.72, in contrast to the results from a linear regression model (r < 0.28).     

Transferring water from irrigation to higher valued uses: a case study of the Zhanghe irrigation system in China

The Zhanghe irrigation system (ZIS) is located in the Yangtze River Basin approximately 200 km west of Wuhan in Hubei Province. The reservoir was designed for multiple uses—irrigation, flood control, domestic water supply, industrial use, aquaculture, and hydropower. Over a period of more than 30 years a steadily increasing amount of water has been transferred from irrigation to other uses. Activities on the part of government, irrigation system managers, and farmers made this transfer possible with only modest decline in rice production. Most important factor was the steady increase in rice yields. The water pricing system provided an incentive for ZIS to reduce irrigation releases. With the steady decline in releases, farmers were forced to find ways to save water. Farmers improved existing ponds and built new ones to store water (improved infrastructure). Access to pond water on demand facilitated the adoption of alternate wetting and drying (technology) particularly in dry years. The establishment of volumetric pricing (price policy) and water user associations (institutions) may also have provided incentives for adoption of AWD, but more research is needed to establish their impact. These activities taken together can be seen as potentially complementary measures. Farmers received no direct compensation for the transfer of water, but recently farm taxes have been reduced or altogether abolished. Further reduction in water releases from the ZIS reservoir could adversely affect rice production in normal or dry years.     

Calculation of bed load based on the measured data of suspended load

This paper proposes a method for establishing both the velocity profile and concentration profile for suspended sediment based on measured data consisting of average velocity and average suspended sediment concentration in the river and the irrigation channel. In addition, a numerical model for computing suspended load and bed load was also developed for computing bed load transport rate when measurable load is available. In this study, bed loads for published laboratory and field sediment data were computed using the presently developed numerical model based on four different bed layer thicknesses. The computed bed loads were found to be in reasonable agreement with the values from Einstein’s bed load function when the thickness of the bed layer was taken at 10θd or 0.05D. The numerical model developed in this study may be used to evaluate the validities of other bed load formulas.     

Fuzzy optimization model for integrated management of total nitrogen loads from distributed point and nonpoint sources in watershed

A fuzzy optimization model is developed to allocate allowable total nitrogen (T-N) loads to distributed nonpoint sources (NPSs) and point sources (PSs) in a watershed for river water quality management using the linear programing technique. The watershed is divided into uniform grid cells on which T-N loads issuing from NPSs such as paddy fields, upland crop fields and cities are controlled. A geographic information system integrated with the digital elevation model facilitates computation of route lengths of surface and subsurface flows from cells to a river running through the watershed. The T-N loads discharged from their sources are assumed to decay, subject to distance-related first-order kinetics. As management goals, maximizations of total allowable NPS loads, total allowable PS loads and total yield of rice are considered from environmental and economic viewpoints. A prime constraint is an effluent limitation standard for the aggregate amount of loads that arrive at the downstream end of the river. The fuzzy sets theory helps appropriately describe vague attitudes of decision-makers (i.e., stakeholders and management authorities) in terms of constraints and conflicting goals. An application of the fuzzy optimization model, developed as an improvement over our last nonfuzzy model, to a real watershed in Shiga prefecture, Japan, demonstrates that the fuzzy model embodies our last model, and is capable of creating management alternatives for T-N load allocation in a more practical and flexible manner.     

A spatial aggregation index for effective fallow decision in paddy irrigation demand planning

As irrigation demands usually take the largest share of water supply, paddy fallow is considered as a drought relieving measure in some Asian paddy growing countries by transferring the water saved to the municipal and industrial sectors. But the relationship between fallow area and irrigation demand reduction is not necessarily linear, there may be more than dozens combinations of fallow farm that can meet the same amount of irrigation demand reduction requirement. The Joint Count Statistics (JCS), an index commonly used in spatial analysis to measure the spatial coherence among cells was modified as a spatial aggregation index for evaluating the irrigation demand reduction effectiveness from a spatial perspective. This Modified JCS is supposed to identify the degree of spatial aggregation by taking underlying irrigation network into considerations. The modified JCS was proved to be effective to identify better fallow pattern through a case study in Taiwan.     

Relationship between increment of groundwater level at the beginning of irrigation period and paddy filed area in the Tedori River Alluvial Fan Area, Japan

There are many paddy fields and large amounts of groundwater in the Tedori River Alluvial Fan in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. Water infiltration from paddy fields during irrigation may significantly contribute to groundwater recharge. Groundwater recharge is known to be one outcome of paddy farming, and in general is usually related to land use. However, a decreased area of paddy fields because of socioeconomic factors such as urbanization and increasing area of fallow fields has possibly affected the groundwater environment. Evaluation of the quantitative effect of paddy fields on groundwater is necessary for groundwater conservation. This study examined the relationship between differences in the depth of groundwater from just before the irrigation period to just after the first irrigation of paddy fields (increments of groundwater levels) in observation wells and the area of paddy fields around each well. The paddy areas within circular buffer zones, which were delineated at 0.2 km intervals between 0.2 and 2.0 km centered on each observation well, were calculated. A positive relationship was found between the rise in groundwater and the area of paddy field within different buffer zones at most wells. In addition, in the middle or upper part of the fan, the effect of changes in the area of paddy fields surrounding the well on the groundwater level rise was greater than that on the lower part of the fan.     

Modeling driving forces of avian diversity in a spatial configuration surrounded by farm ponds

Farm ponds provide a home for birds and numerous species of aquatic animals in Taoyuan, Taiwan. Urbanization and development of infrastructure resulted in the gradual disappearance of these ponds. Currently, only 3800 ponds originally approximately 15.4 % remain, and 84.6 % of the surface area of the ponds has vanished. Aiming to protect avian diversity, this study used logistic regression analysis and the geostatistical approach to analyze the relationship between avian diversity and landscape structure, in an effort to elucidate the spatial driving force of avian diversity. We detected that regression-kriging (RK) was even more accurate than logistic regression (LR). In addition, the value of diversity (H′) measures may decrease instead of increase when evenness (J′) is increased. The results of this study also indicated that an exceedingly strong relationship existed among avian diversity and landscape scale, agricultural landscape indices, and pond landscape indices. The models predict that preservation of large areas of waterscapes and paddy landscapes result in greater diversity of avian species. Spatial estimation of the research area indicated that human activity substantially affected avian ecology, leading to reductions in avian diversity. Thus, the reduction of the area of ecological corridors due to urban development is expected to further reduce avian diversity in the Taoyuan region. Our approach can be used to effectively analyze the correlations between characteristics of ecosystems and the environmental landscape, to ensure that pondscapes can be appropriately maintained and ecological reserves designated to prevent further decline in avian diversity.     

Strategies and engineering adaptions to disseminate SRI methods in large-scale irrigation systems in Eastern Indonesia

The system of rice intensification (SRI) developed in Madagascar has been controversial in part because there have been no large-scale, long-term evaluations of the impact of its alternative methods. This paper summarizes experience with the dissemination of SRI practices across eight provinces in Eastern Indonesia over nine seasons from 2002 to 2006 under a major irrigation project. The Decentralized Irrigation System Improvement Project (DISIMP) was financed by the Japanese Government with project management by a Nippon Koei consultant team. SRI has been introduced in Indonesia via several organizations and in different parts of the country starting in 2000. The evaluation reported here, made by the DISIMP technical assistance team, is based on data from 12,133 on-farm comparison trials that covered a total area of 9,429 ha. Under SRI management, average paddy yield increase was 3.3 t/ha (78%). This was achieved with about 40% reduction in water use, 50% reduction in chemical fertilizer applications, and 20% lower costs of production. The farmers whom DISIMP was assisting to take up SRI were usually cultivating their paddy fields individually within irrigation systems where it was difficult to reduce water applications as recommended for SRI. Accordingly, innovations had to be made in soil and water management to create relatively aerobic soil conditions so that farmers could get the more productive rice phenotypes expected from SRI practice. This article describes the modifications made to adapt SRI concepts, pointing to the value of introducing in-field ditches, which was confirmed through paddy tract surveys. This experience and analysis showed how SRI methods could be utilized within irrigation systems where water management was not (yet) tailored to SRI production practices. Subsequently, modifications in irrigation system management are being made to be more supportive of SRI cultivation.     

The influence of seepage from canals and paddy fields on the groundwater level of neighboring rotation cropping fields: a case study from the lower Ili River Basin,Kazakhstan

In the large-scale irrigation schemes of the lower Ili River Basin of Kazakhstan, crop rotation combines paddy rice and non-rice crops. Continuous irrigation is practiced in paddy fields, whereas other crops are sustained from groundwater after only limited early irrigation. The water table in non-rice crops is raised by seepage from canals and the flooded paddy fields. We investigated the areal extent to which the groundwater level of non-irrigated fields is influenced by seepage from canals and paddy fields by examining the relationship between distance (from canal and paddy field) and groundwater level in upland fields. The groundwater level was influenced for up to 300 and 400 m from the canals and paddy fields, respectively. Geographic information system analysis of crop and canal patterns in the 11 selected years showed that if the zone of influence is 300 and 400 m from the canals and paddy fields, respectively, the groundwater level of most of the area of upland fields was raised by seepage. We conclude that the water supply to cropping fields by seepage from irrigation canals and paddy fields is adequate, but the spatial distribution of the paddy fields may be an important factor that needs more attention to help improve water use efficiency in this irrigation district.     

Quantification of the effect of rice paddy area changes on recharging groundwater

This study quantifies the effects of paddy irrigation water on groundwater recharge. A numerical model of groundwater flow was conducted using MODFLOW in a 600 ha study site in an alluvial plain along the Chikugo River, located in southwestern Japan. To specify the surface boundary condition, data on the land use condition stored in the GIS database were transferred into a numerical model of groundwater flow. The simulated results were consistent with the observed yearly changes of groundwater level. Thus, it was appropriate to use the model to simulate the effects of paddy irrigation on groundwater. To quantify these effects, the groundwater level was simulated during the irrigation period when all farmlands in the study site were ponded. In this situation, the groundwater level was 0.5 to 1.0 m higher, the ground water storage 20% larger, and the return flow of the groundwater to the river 50% larger than in the present land use condition.     

Environmental multifunctionality of Indonesian agriculture

Industrial and urban developments in Indonesia focus on the economic merits, but neglect agricultural services that, when disappear, will destabilize the environmental and livelihood systems. A series of 5-year study has evaluated various aspects of multifunctionality and implications of paddy field conversion on the disappearance of multifunctionality. Soil loss from a series of 18 terraced paddy fields in central Java is negligible. Only a few terraces located along the streams directly caused sedimentation. The functions of flood mitigation, water-resource conservation, erosion reduction, organic waste disposal, heat mitigation, and rural amenity of paddy fields in Citarum watershed in West Java were significant. The ‘replacement costs’ of such functions was about 51% ($92.67 million yr⁻¹) of the total price of rice of $181.34 million yr⁻¹ produced in the 156,000 ha paddy field. This amount could be considered as free services by the farmers to the society. However, because of society's negligence and unawareness, conversion has been accelerating while development of new paddy fields has been decelerating in the last few years. Low and fluctuating price of agricultural products, unavailability or non-affordability of agricultural supplies and inaccessibility to market are among the major disincentives faced by farmers. Because of appreciable multifunctionality they produce, farmers deserve various incentives for the sake of environmental sustainability and other services.     

水稻对富营养化水体生态修复效应及其研究进展

水体富营养化是制约我国农业可持续发展的重要因素。水稻具有显著的水质净化能力,利用水稻对富营养化水体进行生态修复成为植物修复的一个重要的研究方向。通过文献调研,总结了水稻对不同富营养化水体(湖泊、水库、污水河道、养殖尾水、农田退水和生活污水)修复效率,综合分析了不同修复模式(浮床种稻、稻田湿地和稻鱼共作)的技术特点、适用范围和影响因素,归纳总结了水稻对富营养化水体修复的主要作用机制,并对下一步的研究提出了相关建议。     

Evaluation of water intake rate using the diffusive tank model in the low-lying paddy area

The subject of this study is water management in low-lying paddy fields. The objective of this study is to quantify the water requirement, and estimate an appropriate volume and facilitate management of irrigation water in areas where it is difficult to estimate the flow rate continuously. A field observation was conducted at a 14-ha study site located in the Kuwabara area, Fukuoka City, southwest of Japan, to evaluate water management conditions in the command area of the reservoir. This site near the reservoir was selected, because it was impossible to understand the water supply situation in the entire command area. The farmers in this region have been unable to retain sufficient irrigation water. The observation results indicate that the water depth fluctuates widely in every irrigation canal. The canals are frequently empty because rotational irrigation is conducted by water managers; this makes quantifying the flow rate in the irrigation canal very difficult. To quantify the water requirement, an improved tank model was introduced. The accuracy of the model was examined by comparing the observed and calculated ponding depths at a paddy field. The simulation results agreed with the observed data. Using this model, water management for the reduction of water managers’ labor was simulated. Simulation results indicated that rotational irrigation effectively reduces labor and saves irrigation water.     

Decision support system for reservoir operation considering rotational supply over irrigation blocks

This study aims not only to evaluate agricultural drought in paddy using the storage ratio of the corresponding reservoir, but also to develop a rotational irrigation scheduling system (RISS) for supporting both water supply scheduling and on–off control works for automated irrigation. From the present storage ratio of reservoir and an operation rule curve (ORC) as a guideline for releasing irrigation water, reservoir operators could determine the appropriate time to restrict the irrigation water supply, and calculate the deficient amount of irrigation water. The RISS based on the ORC and weekly rainfall forecasting information has been developed for decision support to minimize drought damage in irrigation districts during the irrigation period. The system was also applied to a test irrigation district with the Yedang irrigation reservoir, which is located in the mid-west of Korea. The RISS could be utilized as a water management program for irrigation reservoirs by interfacing with telemetering and telecontrol (TM/TC) technology.