Rice Villages

Villages characterized by paddy rice

Rice villages are small agricultural communities (population ≥100 persons per square kilometer) that specialize in growing and cultivating rice, found most commonly in Asia. The land in these villages is usually divided into small plots of land, which must be primarily rice land (≥20%), are usually seeded using traditional farming methods, and often rely on the natural conditions of the land to grow their crops.\\The rice village anthrome has the fourth hightest population percentage globally while occupying the fourth smallest percentage of land area. Very little of this anthrome is protected or identified as a key biodiversity area, but it contributes the fourth highest percentage of global food calories. These food calories are primarily rice, which is a nutritional and cultural staple of many communities internationally. Rice villages store the fifth lowest percentage of carbon compared to the other anthrome classes. Furthermore, rice paddies are a known source of methane–a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide–so this anthrome has low climate mitigation capabilities.