Abstract
In the history of agricultural development in Asia, farm ponds represent the traditional and ingenious techniques of farmers and reflect the management and application of water in the agricultural heritage system based on local conditions. Residents in Taiwan's mudstone badlands often dig out ponds for the convenience or the need for agricultural development, resulting in the prevalence of farm ponds in the region. Compared with the farm ponds in the plains, those in the badlands have their characteristics and significance in terms of geographical distribution, functional evolution, geological environment, and status in current research.This study investigates the farm ponds in the mudstone badlands, which cover seven townships in Tainan and Kaohsiung with a geological distribution of mudstone. The study utilises the methods of literature review, descriptive statistics, overlay analysis, and logistic regression to analyse the characteristics, distributions, and the transformation of five types of farm ponds in the designated areas from 2007 to 2015, as well as their influencing factors. A review of the historical data on Taiwan's farm ponds shows that their development, transformation, and preservation are affected by three main dimensions: environmental, social, and policy/regulatory. The descriptive statistics illustrate the characteristics, distribution, and transformations of the ponds. The overlay analysis visualizes the preliminary influencing factors of the distribution and transformations of the ponds. Finally, the logistic regression results demonstrate a significant correlation between the various types of transformations, the characteristics of the farm ponds, and the influencing environmental and social factors. These results verify the findings from the overlay analysis and the descriptive statistics and identify the factors that have significant effects on the transformations of the ponds.
From the perspective of preserving globally important agricultural heritage systems, this study considers the characteristics of the distribution of the disappearing and shrinking mudstone farm ponds and concludes the trend and significant influencing factors of their demise, which helps us understand the urgency of preserving mudstone ponds as agricultural heritage. The study presents proposals for the monitoring, management, and sustainable use of the ponds to forge a better relationship between the ponds and the local agricultural production, tourism industry, conservation, and disaster prevention.
| Date of Award | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Original language | Chinese (Traditional) |
| Supervisor | Hsiu-Tzu Chang (Supervisor) |