Expansion of rice agriculture in Southeast Asia

A study examines the rise of rice cultivation across coastal Southeast Asia. Southward expansion of paddy rice farming in Asia is not well documented, despite rice agriculture being foundational to Asian civilizations south of the Yangtze River. To identify when paddy rice farming became a major component of Asian agriculture, Barry Rolett, Zhuo Zheng, and colleagues examined fossil pollen records from both lowland sites in the coastal area of southern China and Southeast Asia. The authors also examined paleoenvironmental data of coastal landform history, including sediment cores and topography of bays and deltas. Prior to 3,000 years ago, southern China and Southeast Asia were heavily forested with little grass. A shortage of adequate land for paddy fields limited rice agriculture during the mid-Holocene. However, between 2,700 and 2,000 years ago, levels of evergreen flora decreased, whereas grasses, including those associated with rice, experienced significant increases, suggesting anthropogenic deforestation and expansion of rice agriculture. Over the past 3,000 years, rapid expansion of coastal landscapes coincided with increased suitable land for growing rice. The findings suggest that after originating in freshwater wetlands, paddy rice farming and populations of rice farmers rapidly expanded in southern China and Southeast Asia during the late Holocene, according to the authors.

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Article #19-19217: "Holocene coastal evolution preceded the expansion of paddy field rice farming," by Ting Ma, Barry V. Rolett, Zhuo Zheng, and Yongqiang Zong.

MEDIA CONTACT: Barry Rolett, University of Hawaii at Manoa, HI; tel: 808-384-3509; e-mail: <rolett@hawaii.edu>