Changes in the rice terrace landscape and factors playing a role in the survival of the rice terraces in a mountainous area of the Tango Peninsula

Abstract

In the rice terrace area of Kamiseya on the Tango Peninsula, the traditional landscape has become dotted with abandoned paddies. Factors that played a role either in the continuation of cultivation or in the abandonment of paddies were investigated with the aim to identify factors favorable to continued use. The study showed that location, easy access and a good link to the irrigation system were favorable factors for continued cultivation. The conservation of the terraces should go hand in hand with improvement of paddy management conditions such as the creation of clusters of paddies with good links to units of the irrigation system.