IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2014) 5-1

Research article
erdFactors affecting paddy landscape from the perspective oflandscape structure
YAMAMOTO TADAO*Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan
Email: tady@env.agr.hokudai.ac.jp

NOMOTO KEN
Foundation of Hokkaido Agricultural Modernization Technology Research Center, Hokkaido,
Japan
Received 22 November 2014

Accepted 1 March 2014(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract The current landscape was constructed by the first settlement in approximately
120 years at the Shinotsu region located in the Ishikari River Basin, Hokkaido. The
objective of this study was to investigate landscape elements and factors found duringlandscape changes as well as the problems associated with future developments. Data
regarding landscape changes during each period were collected using topographic maps,
and changes because of human actions and related projects in this region were recorded
from town history and other related documents. Landscape changes occurred through thefollowing steps: (a) primal natural landscape (peatland, primarily occupying thelandscape); (b) natural and partial agricultural landscapes occurred during only goodsettlement conditions (alluvial plain); (c) decrease in natural landscape and gradualdevelopment of a dry field landscape with drainage of peatland (farmland expanded inhockmoor from niedermoor); and (d) paddy field landscape established using an advanced
agricultural water-use system. From these landscape changes, it was clear that the changes
in elements and factors were primarily human plans (motive), peatland characteristics(depending of Fudo, which is a holistic phenomenon based on the complex of interactions
between factors such as climate, geography, and soil) and agricultural water-use system(tools and facilities). In addition, these elements and factors interactively affected
landscape changes; thus, evaluation using each element or factor alone is difficult.
Keywords drainage, peatland, colonization lot-plan, irrigation, landscape change

INTRODUCTION
A landscape is not simple scenery. An agricultural landscape is formed by interactions between theecosystem, climate, geomorphology, and human actions (Forman & Godorn, 1986). Any particular
rural area (farming village) is composed of various combinations of farmlands and land
improvement facilities, including production facilities, homes for living space, rivers, ponds,forests, and other natural environmental elements. Most studies have evaluated rural areas
primarily on the basis of their production function or structure and function as individual elements
because production was considered the first priority in rural areas. However, sustainable
development is expected because of recent changes in circumstances surrounding life in rural areas
as well as agriculture. Thus, natural environments can provide a fulfilling environment based on
agricultural production, which generally indicates ecosystem stability. So, the holistic evaluationconsidering the relationship between each element is necessary for sustainable development. Thereare few evaluations like this in actually. Therefore, we suggest the landscape evaluation is effective.
A landscape is formed in a rural area by various elements. Landscape evaluation is aneffective method to understand the relationships among the natural environment, life, production,and other elements. We can regard the landscape as an interaction between the visible phenomenaon the land surface and the land-use pattern, which exhibits a material circulation and humaninteraction between natures in this region. Furthermore, evaluation of these phenomena is anⒸ ISERD148

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effective method to understand the regional environment.
The objective of this study was to investigate landscape elements and factors observed duringlandscape changes as well as the problems associated with future developments.
METHODOLOGY
The target area of the study was the Shinotsu region located downstream of the Ishikari River Basin.
In this area, the landscape represents the overview of pattern of land use.
We considered that investigation of land use and its patterns is an effective way to analyze thelandscape. The distinguishing landscape forms and elements during each period were identified
using Hokkaido soil maps (1985) and topographic maps issued by the Geographical Survey
Institute as well as human actions and related projects for this area that were collected from town
history and other related documents, including the history of irrigation, drainage and reclamationengineering in Hokkaido (1984), Shinshinotsu town history (1975), Tobetsu town history (1972),and others. Subsequently, a conceptual diagram was prepared from the collected data.

Fig. 1 Location of Shinotsu region
RESULTSAt present, an approximately homogeneous landscape, i.e., paddy fields, with a few land-use
changes can be observed in the Shinotsu area. During each period, the natural landscape condition
gradually changed because of policies, social and economic conditions, and progressive
agricultural technology. Based on this developmental process, we considered that gradualdevelopment, factors restricting development, and human activities in the landscape differed during
each period.
The elements and changing factors during each period are described as follows.
Landscape Changes, Elements, and Factors before the 1870s
Before reclamation and settlement, the region comprised a wilderness landscape with alluvial
plains, hockmoor and niedermoor, forest, and river landscapes. The forest landscape was located ona neighboring hill and was characterized as a mixed forest with needleleaf and broadleaf trees. The
wilderness landscape, located in the lower area, was characterized as the hinterland of the naturalriver basin. The wilderness landscape was formed by meandering rivers, floods, and sedimentation;
thus, was considered an extension of the river landscape. This regional landscape was divided into
hockmoor, niedermoor, and an alluvial plain based on its vegetation and pedogenesis.
The niedermoor formed the hinterland because of the effects of the Ishikari River. The
hockmoor was formed and recharged by rain. The landscape change depends on the altitude ofⒸ ISERD

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hockmoor, which was relatively higher than that of the other wilderness landscapes. The alluvial
plain expanded along the Ishikari River and primarily comprised fluvial deposits; the primaryvegetation was broadleaf forest. The alluvial plain landscape was characterized by the positional
relationships among the river, soil, and vegetation.

Fig. 2 Overview of landscape pattern changesⒸ ISERD

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The river landscape was characterized as a primeval river with spatiotemporal changes
including natural levees and former river channels.
This landscape was stable as a natural ecosystem because of an absence of human activities.
Landscape Changes, its Elements, and Factors from the 1870s to 1900
During this period, the landscape largely comprised forest, wilderness, and river landscapes. An
agricultural landscape formed by settlement was observed in a part of the landscape. With theexception of the agricultural landscape, each landscape element and the interrelationships are
essentially similar to those of the former period.During this period, the agricultural landscapeappeared in a part of the alluvial plain forming the wilderness landscape. However, it had notwidely expanded yet. Moreover, it had a small impact on the natural landscape because thesettlement comprised reclaimed land and houses. Although the colonization-lot plan had beenplanned by the government, it is yet to be regulated.
Landscape Changes, its Elements, and Factors from the 1900s to 1945
The regional landscape included forest, wilderness, agricultural, and river landscapes. It wascharacterized by paddy and upland spreads. The partial paddy landscape occurred under only good
settlement conditions on the wilderness landscape, and sustainable upland field landscapes werepresent. The paddy landscape, with intake from natural rivers, was at the border of the wilderness
landscape at the foot of a hill or an alluvial plain near river branches. The paddy landscape had not
expanded at this time. However, the upland field landscape had increased gradually from analluvial plain to the boundary between niedermoor and hockmoor. A large part of hockmoor
remained devoid of human intervention.
The upland field landscape expanded in the wilderness by channeling the Shinotsu Canal fordrainage to dry the peatland, and constructing a grid-like road, drainage ditch, and houses designedon the basis of the colonization-lot plan. Although these fields were upland fields, the current basic
constitution, such as grid-like lots and scattered houses, appeared at this stage. This upland fieldlandscape was influenced by floods and snowmelt run off from the river and wilderness landscapes.
Landscape Changes, its Elements, and Factors from 1946 to 1965
During this period, the regional landscape was characterized by forest, wilderness, extended
agriculture, and disconnected river landscapes. The river landscape was separated from the alluvial
plain and the agricultural landscape was improved with embankments. The agricultural and alluvial
plain landscapes were affected by hydrological influence due to advancing river water drainage
caused by construction. Moreover, preventing the damage from floods by improving riverembankments has enabled sustainable agricultural production; however, it requires furtherupgrading.
In the beginning of this period, a large part of hockmoor comprised the wilderness landscape.
After drainage, land reclamation and paddy construction were enhanced. Then, the alluvial plainarea decreased and changed to a paddy landscape. In addition, the upland field landscape waspresent with large qualitative changes. The paddy landscape appeared close to the Ishikari Riverand the upland field landscape decreased in size because of paddy construction on the alluvial plain.
Niedermoor was used as an upland field.
Landscape Changes, its Elements, and Factors after 1965: Quantitative Changes in the Paddy
LandscapeDuring this period, the regional landscape comprised forest, paddy, and river landscapes. Thepaddy landscape was homogeneous and the low-lying area was developed. Thus, most of theupland field and hockmoor landscapes changed to paddy landscape. Moreover, the wildernessⒸ ISERD151

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landscape disappeared during this period. The paddy landscape was formed by grid-like drainage aswell as irrigation channels and roads regulated by colonization-lot planning; Houses and facilities
filled these lots. The Shinotsu Canal, a dual-purpose canal, was located at the center of this area.
The establishment of an irrigation system and reinforcement of the regional drainage system
maintained the landscape.
This mixed area of paddy fields and upland fields changed by creating multipurpose paddy
fields in the paddy landscape.
The paddy landscape has been primarily sustained by a drainage and irrigation system, whichis centered on the Shinotsu Canal and takes water from the Ishikari River. Because such a systemcreated a new watershed, a new independent landscape appeared in the low-middle part of theIshikari River Basin.
DISCUSSION
Landscape Forming Elements and Factors
The pattern changes [from (i) to (ii)] in Fig. 2 characterize the appearance of an artificial landscapeand disappearance of the natural wilderness landscape. The artificial landscape formed byreclaiming farmlands and houses appeared along the reclamation settlements. This landscape islimited to appear in a relatively convenient location that is easier and effective in the developmentof an alluvial plain. Moreover, it is less common in inferior drainage areas such as peatlands andlower alluvial plains. This land condition makes it easier to reclaim settlements as well as set-up
water for agricultural use and houses as regulated factors of the landscape changes.
The changes from (iii) to (iv) in Fig. 2 were characterized as advanced systematic reclamationand the appearance and expansion of large-scale agricultural landscape in the niedermoor andalluvial plains. Social factors for landscape changes such as planning and implementation ofcolonization-lot plan form a base of agricultural development. This agricultural landscape
expanded with the advancement in drainage for using the alluvial and niedermoor areas.
Subsequently, the drainage specified the landscape changes during this period.
The changes from (iv) to (v) in Fig. 2 indicate a sustainable agricultural landscape which has
been unaffected by floods due to river improvement, thereby upgrading the condition for
agriculture with an advancement in river water drainage. Therefore, the factors specified for themaintenance of the Shinotsu Canal by the systematic improvement projects of agricultural
production base are implementation or advancement of regional drainage, soil dressing in peatland,and improvement of agricultural water management systems.
CONCLUSION
We evaluated the changes in regional landscape structure from the perspective of social and naturalfactors. The current Shinotsu area landscape was built based on the regional natural, social, andtechnical conditions in a low-lying area on the Ishikari River Basin. The landscape developed
because of the interaction between human actions and previous conditions. From the beginning of
the settlement to the present, the regional landscape has changed gradually due to systematic andlarge-scale human actions. The changes in the natural and agricultural landscape structures
influenced by human action were specified by the niedermoor characteristics. These changes
depended on land drying by drainage. The changes to farmlands and more sophisticated farmlands
occurred because of enhanced drainage. Moreover, the sustenance of drainage function can befurther advanced to drain water from wilderness plain around the areas that have been drained
before.
From these landscape changes, it is clear that the primarily changed elements and factors werethe motivation (planning), the peatland characteristics (depending of Fudo, which is a holistic
phenomenon based on the complex of interactions between factors such as climate, geography, andsoil) and agricultural water-use system (tools and facilities). Furthermore, these influences areⒸ ISERD152

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affected by a difference in perspective or the time of evaluation. In addition, these elements andfactors have an interactive effect; thus, evaluation using each element or factor alone is difficult.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Our deepest appreciation goes to emeritus Prof. UMEDA Yasuharu at Hokkaido University for hiscontinuing support and constant encouragement.
REFERENCESHokkaido national agricultural experiment station. 1985. Soil Map of Arable Land in Hokkaido, (inJapanese).
Editorial committee of History of irrigation, drainage and reclamation engineering in Hokkaido. 1984,
History of irrigation, drainage and reclamation engineering in Hokkaido, Hokkaido blanch of Japanesesociety of irrigation, drainage and reclamation engineering. Hokkaido, Japan, (in Japanese).
Richard T.T. Forman & Michel Godorn. 1986. Landscape ecology, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 3-31.
Shinshinotsu town. 1975, Shinshinotsu history, Shinshinotsu town, Hokkaido, Japan, (in Japanese).
Toubetsu town. 1972. Toubetsu town history, Toubetsu town, Hokkaido, Japan, (in Japanese).

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