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Rice's relationship to Climate, Soil and Geography

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Rice's relationship to Climate, Soil and Geography

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The cultivation of rice in China relies on relationships between climate, soil and geographic factors.

Climate:

Most of China's rice cultivation is done on the the east if China and the majority if that is done in the south-east of China. As it turns out these areas have a Humid Subtropical climate which means long, warm summers with heavy rainfall; short mild winters with lighter rainfall. this is the relationship that occurs between rice cultivation and climate.

Soil:

For rice and other crops to grow the soil and land have to be suitable for that crop. the land has to be able to be plowed (Arable Land). just like the ideal climate for rice cultivation, the most Arable Land is on the East and South-East of China. That is why the majority of rice cultivation occurs there.

Geographic Factors:

Like climate and soil there is a relationship that exists between rice cultivation and geographic features. For example the elevation of major farming areas is lower than other parts of China, it ranges from 1640ft-0ft. The terrain of farming areas are hilly so farmers have made terraces which means it can be easily flooded and hold a lot of water.

These are the relationships that exist between rice cultivation, climate, soil and geographic features.

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The role of rice in the Chinese economy is very complicated.  China is the world's largest producer of rice, however, it is also the largest importer of rice. The reasons are unclear as to why China would need to import, and pay for, rice when it actually produces so much itself. Some economists say that it's due to the relatively late arrival of China to the WTO (World Trade Organization) and the impact of operating under a Communistic government system. Because of the slowing economic growth, China has had to develop new economic plans based on four geographic regions. The agricultural areas have suffered from poor government management and because the Chinese agricultural processes are still fairly reliant on the old ways instead of highly mechanised techniques, competing in the world arena is much harder.

Other reasons why China is no longer able to be self-sustaining could be the urbanisation and industrialisation making the rice farms shift from south to north. This means that the product (rice) is further from the people who want to eat it and the transportation costs make it harder for farmers in the north to compete within their own country.

On final reason may be that the reputation of rice grown in China is not good. For many years the Chinese rice has been shown to contain higher traces of contaminates than those grown in neighbouring countries.

Whatever the case, the days of China being able to produce it's own supply of rice are over and therefore the impact economically could continue to mean importing rice from other countries is unavoidable.

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Rice production in China has more than tripled in the past five decades mainly due in increased grain yield rather than increased planting area. This increase has come from the development of high-yielding varieties and improved crop management practices such as nitrogen fertilization and irrigation. However, yield dullness of rice has been observed in the past ten years in China. As its population rises, China will need to produce about 20% more rice by 2030 in order to meet its needs if rice.This is not an easy task because of several trends and problems in the Chinese rice production system. Key trends include a decline in arable land, increasing water scarcity, global climate change, labor shortages, and increasing comsumer demand for high-quality rice. The major problems confronting rice production in China are narrow genetic background, overuse of fertilizers and pesticides, breakdown of irrigation infrastructure, oversimplified crop management.

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Environmental impact of Rice farming in China

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Environmental impact of Rice farming in China

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Somewhat surprisingly, there are 3 major environmental issued that can happen because of rice farming and these can cause other problems when not addressed.

1. Rice farming, especially in areas such as China, can increase the population of mosquitos and snails which can carry diseases such as malaria and encephalitis.

2. The pesticides used in modern rice farming, especially when not closely regulated, can cause damage to the surrounding plant and animal life due to the runoff from irrigated rice crops. Sometimes, the pesticides can be passed on to humans who eat the rice or even to the farmers during the cultivation processes.

3. High levels of CH4 emissions (greenhouse gasses) are associated with the cultivation of rice, especially in China where green manure is used to increase crop production.

Each of these three problems can have gigantic environmental impacts. In 1999 most rice farming countries were not looking at the amount of CH4 they were producing but the scientific community was already suggesting that new farming practices, such as the use of chemical fertilisers, more regulation of pesticide use and better water management practices needed to be adopted.

In 2012, it was predicted that China's production of greenhouse gasses would be more than 50% higher than the USA's in 2015. One study has found that the reason for this is;

'Rice paddies are one of the largest man-made sources of methane, and rice is the world’s second-most produced staple crop.'

However, scientists have found that stopping or lowering the amount of CH4 emissions due to rice farming is relatively simple. For instance;

'management practices such as mid-season drainage and using alternative fertilizers have been shown to reduce methane emissions from rice paddies. By switching to more heat-tolerant rice cultivars and by adjusting sowing dates, yield declines due to temperature increases can largely be prevented, reducing the effect of warming on methane emissions per yield.'

There are some trying to solve these issues, such as seen in this video.

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As CNN's Stan Grant reports, genetically engineered rice seeds will be used to reduce greenhouse gases in China.

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Preparation:

Prior to planting, minimal soil manipulation is needed to prepare for cultivation.
If the rice is going to be grown on a hilly area, the area must be leveled into terraces. Then, the fields are plowed before planting.

Planting:

Rice seeds are soaked before planting. Depending on the level of mechanization and the size of the planting, seeding occurs in three ways. In many Asian countries that haven't mechanized their farming ways, seeds are sown by hand. After 30-50 days of growth, the seedlings are transplanted in bunches from nursery beds to flooded paddies. Seeds can also be sown using a machine called a drill that places the seed in the ground.

Harvesting:

Once the plants have reached full growth (approximately three months after planting) and the grains begin to ripen—the tops begin to droop and the stem yellows—the water is drained from the fields. As the fields dry, the grains ripen further and harvesting is started. Depending on the size of the area and the amount of mechanization, rice is either harvested by hand or machine. By hand, rice stalks are cut by sharp knives or sickles. Rice can also be harvested by a mechanized hand harvester or by a tractor/horse-drawn machine that cuts and stacks the rice stalks. If the rice has been harvested by hand or by a semi-automated way threshing is completed by flailing the stalks by hand or by using a mechanized thresher.

Drying:

Before milling, rice grains must be dried in order to decrease the moisture content to between 18-22%. This is done with artificially heated air or, more often, with the help of naturally occurring sunshine. Rice grains are left on racks in fields to dry out naturally. Once dried, the rice grain, now called rough rice, is ready for processing.

Hulling:

Hulling can be done by hand by rolling or grinding the rough rice between stones. The rough rice is first cleaned by passing through a number of sieves that sift out the debris. Blown air removes top matter.

Milling:

Since it retains the outer bran layers of the rice grain, brown rice needs no other processing. However along with added vitamins and minerals, the bran layers also contain oil that makes brown rice spoil faster than milled white rice. That is one of the reasons why brown rice is milled further to create a more visually appealing white rice.

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Websites used as reference:

http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/science/rice-history-rice-cultivation.html

http://www.china.org.cn/english/2002/Oct/44854.htm

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/china-greenhouse-gas-emissions-rise-past-us/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GAiLvtsEUA#action=share

www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Rice.html

http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/china/

http://reliefweb.int/report/china/china-world%E2%80%99s-largest-rice-importer-regional-implications

Documents:

"Environmental impacts of wetland rice cultivation"

ROGf<R Pierre A JOULlAN Catheriiie I .aboi aloiie ORSTOR.1 dc h'licrobiologie des Anaciobios (I .OMA) Univer>itb de Provcnce, CBSBIESIL. Case 925, 163 avcnue dc Luininy - 13288 h'liiiseille Cedex 9 - France

Accessed from: horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_6/b_fdi_49-50/010018096.pdf (Nov 2015)
Current Status and Challenges of Rice Production in China - ResearchGate. Available from: http://www.researchgate.net/publication/250059112_Current_Status_and_Challenges_of_Rice_Production_in_China [accessed Nov 5, 2015].

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There are records of Chinese cultivation of rice dating back to 4,000 years ago. In fact, there is some evidence that when the Chinese language was developing, rice was such a staple that the words for rice and agriculture are the same word. It is thought that the cultivation of rice was passed to all other Asian areas which were suitable for growing it. Therefore, in many Asian languages the words for rice and food are the same.

Another sign of the cultural importance of rice in Chinese history is how often it appears in cultural art pieces. From ancient times, artists showed the planting, harvesting and use of rice in their works and many traditional ceremonies are based around the cultivation of rice as well.

The "rice culture" as it's known happened almost accidentally when someone dropped some seeds in some low-lying areas near the Yellow River part of China. Previously, these people relied on hunting, fishing and fruit collecting. But after finding that the land was suitable for rice cultivation, they began to research and improve the land by irrigation, weeding and transplanting rice.

This humble start was the beginning of a culture that relied heavily on rice. The importance of rice production, improvements in irrigation and harvesting has had big impacts on the social, political and cultural development of the Chinese culture. There is evidence that throughout the ancient history of China, rice and it's production was of such great significance that it was written about in books (Twenty-Four Histories), was a big part of cultural festivals (The Spring Festival) and is a traditional staple eaten in many forms (rice wine, dumplings, etc).