Nobumasa Hatcho

Water crisis and multifunctionality/ecosystem services – meeting the challenge

About the Author: Nobumasa Hatcho is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Management, School of Agriculture, Kinki University (Japan), teaching resources/environmental management and rural development. He has working experiences in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries in Japan, and in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He has served as a board member of the International Water Management Institute since 2001, and is currently serving as a board chair. He is a chairman of the Working Group on History, International Commission of Irrigation and Drainage, and also serving as a secretary general of the NGO, PAGE2050.

Characteristics of Drainage Water Quality and Loading from Paddy Field under Cyclic Irrigation and Its Management Options

The cyclic irrigation system has been practiced in Japan for reducing pollutant outflow loadings from paddy fields. The cyclic irrigation is an irrigation method to reuse water by pumping drainage water and re-distributing it to the farmland. Quantification and assessment of the effects of the cyclic irrigation are needed to identify management options for maximizing the benefits of cyclic irrigation. The study was aimed at assessing loading characteristics from paddy field area under the cyclic irrigation and developing a model for simulating water and material flow in paddy field area that can be used as a management tool. The study was carried out in a paddy field in the Asagoi District, Oumihatiman city in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Using the results of water quality analysis, the average net loadings of T-N and T-P were estimated for both cyclic and non-cyclic irrigation sites. The result indicates a higher nutrient absorption rate in the cyclic irrigation site than that in the non-cyclic irrigation site. The developed cyclic irrigation model showed good agreements between observed and simulated drainage volumes and nitrogen loadings. The scenario analysis by application of the model showed a potential of reducing the loading amount by increasing the cyclic irrigation ratio and reducing the amount of fertilizer application without affecting the rice yield.