The Impacts of Climate Change on Paddy Water Demand and Unit Duty of Water using High-Resolution Climate Scenarios

Abstract

For stable and sustainable crop production, understanding the effects of climate changes on agricultural water resources is necessary to minimize the negative effects which might occur due to shifting weather conditions. Although various studies have been carried out in Korea concerning changes in evapotranspiration and irrigation water requirement, the findings are still difficult to utilize for designing the demand and unit duty of water, which are the design criteria of irrigation systems. In this study, the impact analysis of climate changes on the paddy water demand and unit duty of water was analyzed based on the high resolution climate change scenarios (specifically under the A1B scenario) provided by the Korea Meteorological Administration. The result of the study indicated that average changes in the paddy water demand in eight irrigation districts were estimated as －2.4 % (2025s), －0.2 % (2055s), and 3.2 % (2085s). The unit duty of water was estimated to increase on an average within 2 % during paddy transplanting season and within 5 % during growing season after transplanting. This result could be utilized for irrigation system design, agricultural water resource development, and rice paddy cultivation policy-making in South Korea.