296
H. Elbasiouny and F. Elbehiry
Keywords Rice production · Climate change · Water deficiency · Soil carbon
sequestration · Egypt
1 Introduction
Rice (Oryza sativa) is one of the main field crops and a major staple food in most
parts of the world. More than 160 million ha of arable land dedicated to its production, and more than 730 million tons produced in 2012. The top producers in
the world are China, India, and Indonesia [1]. Flooding/Basin irrigation is the most
common pattern for irrigating rice; it is always called paddies or paddy basins. Basin
irrigation is useful if leaching is required to remove salts from the soil [2]. Rice crop
is stunningly diverse and unique because of its ability to grow in wet ecosystems,
while other crops cannot survive. Rice paddies are estimated by a large portion of the
wetland ecosystem; mainly in Asian countries [3]. It is the most broadly grown under
irrigation [2]. Paddy soils are featured by high organic material inputs with rather
a low decomposition rate under anaerobic conditions, which favors organic matter
accumulation [4]. Also, paddy rice is best grown on clayey soils which are almost
impermeable to decline losses by percolation. Rice could also be cultivated on sandy
soils, but losses by percolation are high without maintaining a shallow water table.
Such conditions sometimes take place in valley bottoms. Loamy soils are preferred
with basin irrigation to avoid waterlogging (permanent saturation of the soil) [2].
Climate change has been one of the main topics in environmental policy. It is
highlighted as a major security issue. Climate change impacts include increased
frequency of flash flood events, droughts, or periods of water deficiencies and rising
temperatures. As well, sea level rise is also an important issue. Future observed
trends and projections indicate a strong susceptibility to changes in hydrological
regimes, a rising general deficiency of water resources and thus threats to water
availability and management. The volume of water consumed in Egypt is about
68 km
3 of which 86% is dedicated to agriculture. Ninety-five percent of the water
consumed in Egypt derives from the Nile River. In the context of the construction
of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam under establishment on the upper Nile,
geopolitical stability requires better knowledge of water threats over the region [5].
Mitigation atmospheric GHGs (CO 2 , CH 4 and N 2 O) which contributes considerably to global warming is generating a major challenge in recent day agriculture.
Soil organic carbon (SOC) content is one of the most important indicators of soil
fertility or quality. Soil carbon, as included globally in an important biogeochemical
C cycle, is of great significance to climate change. Therefore, enhanced agricultural
management practices have been studied to reduce the loss of SOC and crop residues,
sequestering SOC, reducing atmospheric GHGs, especially there is need to reduce
GHG emissions from agriculture and rice production while increasing or maintaining
rice production levels which consider a major challenge [6, 7].
H. Elbasiouny and F. Elbehiry
Keywords Rice production · Climate change · Water deficiency · Soil carbon
sequestration · Egypt
1 Introduction
Rice (Oryza sativa) is one of the main field crops and a major staple food in most
parts of the world. More than 160 million ha of arable land dedicated to its production, and more than 730 million tons produced in 2012. The top producers in
the world are China, India, and Indonesia [1]. Flooding/Basin irrigation is the most
common pattern for irrigating rice; it is always called paddies or paddy basins. Basin
irrigation is useful if leaching is required to remove salts from the soil [2]. Rice crop
is stunningly diverse and unique because of its ability to grow in wet ecosystems,
while other crops cannot survive. Rice paddies are estimated by a large portion of the
wetland ecosystem; mainly in Asian countries [3]. It is the most broadly grown under
irrigation [2]. Paddy soils are featured by high organic material inputs with rather
a low decomposition rate under anaerobic conditions, which favors organic matter
accumulation [4]. Also, paddy rice is best grown on clayey soils which are almost
impermeable to decline losses by percolation. Rice could also be cultivated on sandy
soils, but losses by percolation are high without maintaining a shallow water table.
Such conditions sometimes take place in valley bottoms. Loamy soils are preferred
with basin irrigation to avoid waterlogging (permanent saturation of the soil) [2].
Climate change has been one of the main topics in environmental policy. It is
highlighted as a major security issue. Climate change impacts include increased
frequency of flash flood events, droughts, or periods of water deficiencies and rising
temperatures. As well, sea level rise is also an important issue. Future observed
trends and projections indicate a strong susceptibility to changes in hydrological
regimes, a rising general deficiency of water resources and thus threats to water
availability and management. The volume of water consumed in Egypt is about
68 km
3 of which 86% is dedicated to agriculture. Ninety-five percent of the water
consumed in Egypt derives from the Nile River. In the context of the construction
of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam under establishment on the upper Nile,
geopolitical stability requires better knowledge of water threats over the region [5].
Mitigation atmospheric GHGs (CO 2 , CH 4 and N 2 O) which contributes considerably to global warming is generating a major challenge in recent day agriculture.
Soil organic carbon (SOC) content is one of the most important indicators of soil
fertility or quality. Soil carbon, as included globally in an important biogeochemical
C cycle, is of great significance to climate change. Therefore, enhanced agricultural
management practices have been studied to reduce the loss of SOC and crop residues,
sequestering SOC, reducing atmospheric GHGs, especially there is need to reduce
GHG emissions from agriculture and rice production while increasing or maintaining
rice production levels which consider a major challenge [6, 7].