Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Improvement of the agricultural effective rainfall for irrigating rice using the optimal clustering model of rainfall station network

  • Article
  • Published:
Paddy and Water Environment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this study, the clustering method was applied to improve the usage of effective rainfall (ER) for irrigating rice paddy in the region managed by the TaoYuan Irrigation Association (TIA) of Taiwan. A total of 16 rainfall stations and rainfall data from 1981 to 2000 were used. A traditional area-weighted method (Thiessen polygons method) and an optimal clustering model of ER were evaluated and compared. The optimal clustering model of ER comprised self-organizing map (SOM), k-means (KM), and fuzzy c-means (FCM) clustering algorithms. To obtain optimal clustering data of ER, the clustering groups from two to five of SOM, KM, and FCM algorithms were determined using root-mean-squared-error. The results show that three algorithms with group numbers from two to five are adopted for the monthly optimal clustering model in different months. However, for the annual optimal model, 12 sub-models are assessed and then compared. The results show that the SOM clustering with groups three was the optimal model for annual ER. The optimal clustering model of ER provides a new procedure step in preparation of the irrigation scheduling for the TIA, and the amount irrigation water waste can be reduced from 770.1 to 22.3 mm/year. The planned ER using the optimal clustering model significantly improves the irrigation water use efficient in agricultural water management.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adnan S, Khan AH (2009) Effective rainfall for irrigated agriculture plains of Pakistan. Pak J Meteorol 6(11):61–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Bezdek JC (1981) Pattern recognition with fuzzy objective function algorithms. Plenum, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bezdek JC, Ehrlich R, Full W (1984) FCM: the fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm. Comput Geosci 10(2–3):191–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brassel KE, Reif D (1979) A procedure to generate Thiessen polygons. Geogr Anal 11(3):289–303

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brouwer C, Heibloem M (1986) Irrigation water needs. Irrigation Water Management Training Manual 3, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome

  • Chang FJ, Chang LC (2007) Neural network, 1st edn. Tunghua, Taipei

    Google Scholar 

  • Chang FJ, Chiang YM, Cheng WG (2013) Self-organizing radial basis neural network for predicting typhoon-induced losses to rice. Paddy Water Environ 11:369–380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen S (1979) Estimation of effective rainfall. J Chin Agric Eng 25(1):44–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen S (1989) Research on effective rainfall for water management in Taoyuan of Taiwan. Dissertation, Hokkaido University

  • Chen FW, Chen S, Tsai SM (2003) A study on deep ponding cultivation to estimate effective rainfall in Paddy Fields. Proceedings of the 2003 conference on agricultural engineering, Kaohsiung, p. 701–712

  • Chen FW, Chen S, Tsai SM, Huang ST (2005) Comparison with irrigation associations for calculation method of effective rainfall in Taiwan. Proceedings of the 2005 conference on agricultural engineering, Miaoli

  • Chen LH, Hong YT, Hsu CW (2011) A study on regional drought frequency analysis using self-organizing map and l-moments. J Taiwan Agric Eng 57(2):57–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Chin LD (1965) Study on the effective rainfall. J Chin Agric Eng 11(4):17–27

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiu SL (1994) Fuzzy model identification based on cluster estimation. J Intell Fuzzy syst 12:267–278

    Google Scholar 

  • Chow VT (1964) Handbook of applied hydrology. McGraw Hill Book Co, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Chung S-O, Rodríguez-Díaz JA, Weatherhead EK, Knox JW (2011) Climate change impacts on water for irrigating paddy rice in South Korea. Irrig Drain 60:263–273

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cuenca RH (1989) Irrigation system design: an engineering approach. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

    Google Scholar 

  • Dastane NG (1974) Effective rainfall in irrigated agriculture. FAO irrigation and drainage paper NO.25, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome

  • Dhandapani KR (1980) Effective rainfall in the estimation of irrigation requirement of transplanted rice. Oryza 17(1):1–5

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall MJ, Minns AW (1999) The classification of hydrological homogeneous regions. Hydrol Sci J 44(5):693–704

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes GI, Buell JH (1955) Water and our forests: trees also need water at the right time and place. Yearbook of Agriculture. USDA, p 219–228

  • Hershfield DM (1964) Effective rainfall and irrigation water requirement. Proceedings of the ASCE. J Irrig Drain Div 90:33–37

    Google Scholar 

  • Horikawa N, Hayase Y (2006) Irrigation system operations and effective rainfall: case study on low land paddy irrigation area. Tech Rep Nat Inst Rural Eng 204:175–183

    Google Scholar 

  • Hsu KC, Li ST (2010) Clustering spatial-temporal precipitation data using wavelet transform and self-organizing map neural network. Adv Water Resour 33:190–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu CP, Qin XL (2008) Spatial classification and prediction based on fuzzy c-means. J Comput Res Dev 45(7):1183–1188

    Google Scholar 

  • IRRI (1981) Irrigation and water management, International Rice Research Institute Report for 1980. Los Banos

  • Jackson A (1992) Deciding how much to plant during a drought. Drought Tips 92-43, UC Department of Land, Air and Water Resource

  • Jensen ME, Burman RD, Allen RG (1990) Evapotranspiration and irrigation water requirements. ASCE-Manuals and Reports on Engineering Practice 70, New York

  • Kim SJ, Kwon HJ, Jung IK, Park GA (2003) A comparative study on grid-based storm runoff prediction using Thiessen and spatially distributed rainfall. Paddy Water Environ 1:149–155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohonen T (1995) Self-organizing maps. Springer, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kuo SF, Ho SS, Liu CW (2006) Estimation irrigation water requirements with derived crop coefficients for upland and paddy crops in ChiaNan irrigation association, Taiwan. Agric Water Manage 82:433–451

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kwedlo W (2011) A clustering method combining differential evolution with the K-means algorithm. Pattern Recogn Lett 32(12):1613–1621

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li DZ (1956) Estimation of effective rainfall for paddy irrigation. J Chin Agric Eng 1(8):98–99

    Google Scholar 

  • Li PH (2009) An investigation of artificial neural networks on regional classification and estimation of evaporation in Taiwan. Dissertation, National Taiwan University

  • Lin GF, Chen LH (2006) Identification of homogeneous regions for regional frequency. J Hydrol 324:1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin GF, Wu MC (2007) A SOM-based approach to estimating design hyetographs of ungauged sites. J Hydrol 339:216–226

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin GF, Chen LH, Kao SC (2005) Development of regional design hyetographs. Hydro Process 19(4):937–946

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu ZD, Duan AW, Xiao JF, Liu ZG (2007) Research progress on calculation methods of effective rainfall in growing period on dry crop. J Irrig Drain 26(3):27–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Lo AH (1962) The estimate and operation of water source for irrigation. J Taiwan Water Conserv 9(12):12–21

    Google Scholar 

  • MOAF, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Republic of Korea (2000) Agricultural water supply survey report. 566 Seoul

  • Mohan S, Simhadrirao B, Arumugam N (1996) Comparative study of effective rainfall estimation methods for lowland rice. Water Resour Manag 10:35–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Obreza TA, Pitts DJ (2002) Effective rainfall in poorly drained microirrigated citrus orchards. Soil Sci Soc Am J 66(1):212–221

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ogrosky HO, Mockus V (1964) Hydrology of agricultural lands. Sec 21 in handbook of hydrology. McGraw Hill Book Co, New York, p 1–79

  • Panigrahi B, Sharma SD, Behera BP (1992) Irrigation water requirement models of some major crops. Water Resour Manag 6:69–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patwardhan AS, Nieber JL, Johns EL (1990) Effective rainfall estimation methods. J Irrig Drain Eng 116(2):182–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rahman MM, Islam MO, Hasanuzzaman M (2008) Study of effective rainfall for irrigated agriculture in south-eastern part of Bangladesh. World J Agric Sci 4(4):453–457

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramos MC (2001) Divisive and hierarchical clustering techniques to analyse variability of rainfall distribution patterns in a Mediterranean region. Atmos Res 57:123–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ren M, Wang B, Liang Q, Fu G (2010) Classified real-time flood forecasting by coupling fuzzy clustering and neural network. Int J Sediment Res 25:134–148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ross TJ (1995) Fuzzy logic with engineering applications. McGraw-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruspini EH (1970) Numerical methods for fuzzy clustering. Inf Sci 2(3):319–350

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Satyanarayana P, Srinivas VV (2011) Regionalization of precipitation in data sparse areas using large scale atmospheric variables: a fuzzy clustering approach. J Hydrol 405:462–473

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith MA (1992) Computer programme for irrigation planning and management. FAO Irrig Drain Paper 46:49–62

    Google Scholar 

  • Stamm GG (1967) Problems and procedures in determining water supply requirements for irrigation projects. Chap. 40 in irrigation of agricultural lands by Hagan et al. Wisconsin, Amer Soc Agron Agronomy II

  • Tekwa IJ, Bwade EK (2011) Estimation of irrigation water requirement of maize (zea-mays) using pan evaporation method in Maiduguri, Northeastern Nigeria. Agric Eng Int CIGR J 13(1):1–5

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsai SM, Chen S, Wang HY (2005) A study on the practical model of planned effective rainfall for paddy fields in Taiwan. J Mar Sci Technol 13(2):73–82

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsao YS (1966) Effective rainfall in irrigation of upland crops. J Chin Agric Eng 12(1):33–41

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsao YS (1969) A study on calculation of effective rainfall in upland crop irrigation by using of computer and the effective rainfall in Huolung area. J Chin Agric Eng 15(1):19–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsao YS (1972) A study on the calculation and estimation of effective rainfall on paddy field by using electronic computer. J Taiwan Water Conserv 19(2):7–29

    Google Scholar 

  • USDA, the United States Department of Agriculture (1967) Irrigation water requirements. Technical Release 21. USDA Soil Conservation Service, Washington DC

  • Van Hulle MM (2011) Self-organizing maps. In: Rozenberg G, Baeck T, Kok J (eds) Handbook of natural computing: theory, experiments, and applications. Springer, Berlin, pp 1–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Vesanto J, Alhoniemi E (2000) Clustering of the self-organizing map. IEEE Trans Neural Netw 11(3):586–600

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Water Conservancy Bureau of Taiwan (WCB) (1982) Manual for working stations of irrigation associations, pp 109–117

  • Wei W, Chen L, Fu B, Huang Z, Wu D (2007) The effect of land uses and rainfall regimes on runoff and soil erosion in the semi-arid loess hilly area, China. J Hydrol 335:247–258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yager RR, Filev DP (1994) Approximate clustering via the mountain method. IEEE Trans Syst Man Cybern 24(8):1279–1284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yomota A, Ndegwa GM (1995) Water use for upland irrigation in a humid region of Japan. Agric Water Manag 28:185–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zahraie B, Roozbahani A (2011) SST clustering for winter precipitation prediction in southeast of Iran: comparison between modified k-means and genetic algorithm-based clustering methods. Expert Syst Appl 38:5919–5929

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang J, Hall MJ (2004) Regional flood frequency analysis for the Gan-Ming River basin in China. J Hydrol 296:98–117

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agricultural Engineering Research Center, Chungli, 320, Taiwan, ROC

    Feng-Wen Chen

  2. Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 106, Taiwan, ROC

    Chen-Wuing Liu & Fi-John Chang

Authors
  1. Feng-Wen Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chen-Wuing Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Fi-John Chang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chen-Wuing Liu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Chen, FW., Liu, CW. & Chang, FJ. Improvement of the agricultural effective rainfall for irrigating rice using the optimal clustering model of rainfall station network. Paddy Water Environ 12, 393–406 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-013-0395-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-013-0395-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation