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A LiDAR-based flood modelling approach for mapping rice cultivation areas in

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DOI: 10.1016/j.apgeog.2016.12.020

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 Applied Geography 80 (2017) 34e47

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Applied Geography
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apgeog

A LiDAR-based flood modelling approach for mapping rice cultivation

areas in Apalit, Pampanga
Luigi L. Toda a, c, John Colin E. Yokingco a, *, Enrico C. Paringit b, Rodel D. Lasco a, d
a
The Oscar M. Lopez Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management Foundation, Inc., Pasig City, Philippines
b
Phil-LiDAR 1 Hazard Mapping of the Philippines using LiDAR, National Engineering Center, University of the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines
c
Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
d ~ os, Laguna, Philippines
World Agroforestry Center, International Rice Research Institute, Los Ban

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Majority of rice cultivation areas in the Philippines are susceptible to excessive flooding owing to intense
Received 23 November 2015 rainfall events. The study introduces the use of fine scale flood inundation modelling to map cultivation
Received in revised form areas in Apalit, a rice-producing municipality located in the province of Pampanga in the Philippines. The
22 March 2016
study used a LiDAR-based digital elevation model (DEM), river discharge and rainfall data to generate
Accepted 27 December 2016
flood inundation maps using LISFLOOD-FP. By applying spatial analysis, rice cultivation zone maps were
derived and four cultivation zones are proposed. In areas where both depth and duration exceed
threshold values set in this study, varieties tolerant to stagnant flooding and submergence are highly
Keywords:
Flood modelling
recommended in Zone 1, where flood conditions are least favorable for any existing traditional lowland
LiDAR irrigation varieties. The study emphasizes that a decline in yield is likely as increasing flood extents and
GIS longer submergence periods may cause cultivation areas for traditional irrigated lowland varieties to
Rice cultivation areas decrease over time. This decrease in yield may be prevented by using varieties most suitable to the
flooding conditions as prescribed in the rice zone classification. The method introduced in this study
could facilitate appropriate rice cultivation in flood-prone areas.
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction
Climate change impacts such as flooding pose threats to food
production and agricultural communities in Asia. Located in
floodplains, majority of rice cultivation areas in the Philippines are
susceptible to severe flooding due to excessive rainfall. The
Philippines is one of the countries most exposed to typhoons and
floods due to its location in the western rim of the Pacific Ocean. An
estimated 20 typhoons pass through the Philippine Area of Re-
sponsibility (PAR) every year (PAGASA, 2009). These typhoons are
usually accompanied by heavy rains which can cause adverse ef-
fects particularly flooding.
There are a total of 18 major river basins in the Philippines,
covering approximately 36% of the country's landmass (DENR).
These river basins provide a natural source of irrigation favorable
for agricultural activities, of which approximately 32% of the
country’s population is involved in (The World Bank, 2012). Areas
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: yokingco.jce@omlopezcenter.org (J.C.E. Yokingco).
found within these river systems are regularly flooded com-
pounded by past flood events (Zoleta-Nantes, 2000). Notwith-
standing its susceptibility to flooding, many of the country's highly
populated areas lie in the banks of river systems, Pampanga river
basin included. The effect of climate change has increased the fre-
quency and intensity of flooding events and is projected to have
adverse effects on crop production particularly in subsistence sec-
tors (IPCC, 2007). Flooding is considered a major problem partic-
ularly for rice production in the Philippines. From 2007 to 2010
alone, an annual average of 23.76 million US dollars of damage to
rice farming in the Philippines was attributed to flooding (Israel,
2012). Consequently, flood damage can lead to long term impov-
erishment of affected individuals (Arnall, Thomas, Twyman, &
Liverman, 2013). Farmers are particularly affected because in the
long run flood risks affect the viability of crop cultivation as a
source of livelihood (Gwimbi, 2009). With 12 million farmers
dependent on rice cultivation for livelihood (Altoveros & Borromea,
2007), the need to develop strategies to adapt to changing flood
conditions now becomes a great priority (Mitin, 2009).
Although rice are cultivated in flooded fields, prolonged sub-
mergence can cause serious damage (Ram et al., 2002).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2016.12.020
0143-6228/© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
 L.L. Toda et al. / Applied Geography 80 (2017) 34e47
Submergence can cause mechanical damage to the plants, but more
importantly it inhibits desirable bio-chemical processes of the
plant-like photosynthesis (Jackson & Ram, 2003; Ram et al., 2002;
Setter et al., 1997). Multiple approaches to address these impacts of
flooding to rice have been put in place. One of these is the devel-
opment of flood-tolerant varieties (Septiningsih et al., 2009) that
exhibit desirable physiological traits helpful for the plant’s survival
(Setter et al., 1997) and are embodied in the sub1-a gene (Bailey-
Serres et al., 2010). The sub1 gene has been isolated and bred into
rice varieties (Khanh, Linh, Linnh, Ham, & Xuan, 2013) including
those available in the Philippines such as the IR64 sub1
(International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) 2009) and NSIC Rc 194
(PhilRice, 2010).
Submergence-tolerant rice varieties can survive up to two
weeks of complete submergence without any adverse effects on
production (IRRI, 2009). However, while tolerance to submergence
is a desirable quality, other traits should be considered for adaptive
agricultural strategies. For instance, farmers have other trait pref-
erences such as yield and panicle quality (Manzanilla et al., 2010).
Also, depending on the flooding conditions, for instance those that
last for more than one week and with depth of one meter or more,
would require varieties that are tall or have stems that rapidly
elongate (Mackill et al., 2010).
In order to optimize the use of submergence tolerant varieties,
the flooding conditions should be identified and mapped. By
identifying the flood extent and duration in rice cultivation areas,
potential damage to property and/or crops can be estimated and
other countermeasures can be developed (Chau, Holland, Cassels, &
Tuohy, 2013; Wang, Colby, & Mulcahy, 2002; Thieken, Merz,
Kreibach, & Apel, 2006). Flood conditions are usually character-
ized through flood inundation modelling and are then displayed
through flood hazard maps. The hazard categories used in these
maps are a function of the product of depth and extent (Baky,
Zaman, & Khan, 2012) and/or velocity (Daffi, Otun, & Ismail,
2014; Kourgialas & Karatzas, 2014; Purwandari, Hadi, & Kingma,
2011; Toriman et al., 2009). These hazard maps are then used for
mitigation and preparedness purposes such as hazard assessments
(Daffi et al., 2014; Purwandari et al., 2011), flood propagation and
hazard estimation (Kourgialas & Karatzas, 2014), risk management
(Baky et al., 2012), and flood management (Toriman et al., 2009).
These hazard maps can take into consideration possible damage
and potential risks to agriculture (Daffi et al., 2014; Kourgialas &
Karatzas, 2014; Baky et al., 2012) but may not necessarily suggest
adaptation options. Flood modelling has been used to estimate
potential impact on agricultural land through either mapping flood
extents in different rain return scenarios (Chau et al., 2013) or
combining extent with flood duration (Hamdani & Kartiwa, 2014).
Flood models have also been used in combination with risk man-
agement to specifically optimize rice planning (Samantaray,
Chatterjee, Singh, Gupta, & Panighry, 2015) using flood extent,
duration, and depth to map suitable environments for specific rice
varieties.
Flood inundation models entail the use of flood depth, extent,
duration and flow velocity based on advanced algorithm and high-
quality data (Samantaray et al., 2015). Flood modelling software
such as Lisflood, HEC-RAS, and MIKE typically require rainfall,
discharge, topography, and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data to
generate flood models. The accuracy of the models depends on the
quality of input data and the quality of DEMs are considered
directly proportional to the reliability of the models (Brandt & Lim,
2012). To increase the accuracy of flood models, high resolution
DEMs from sources such as LiDAR are highly favored (Sole, Giosa,
Nole, Medina, & Bateman, 2008). LiDAR is a remote sensing tech-
nology that uses rapid laser pulses to map out the surface of the
earth and can be used to create high resolution terrain and surface
35
DEMs. LiDAR has been widely used because of its vertical accuracy
of ± 15 centimeter and spatial resolution of up to 1 meter. The
Philippines has recently obtained airborne LiDAR technology
(Paringit, Fabila, & Santillan, 2012) to map major river basins, with a
much higher degree of accuracy than what is currently available.
Apalit is one of the rice producing municipalities of Pampanga
which suffer from prolonged inundation and has a relatively flat
terrain due to its location within a flood plain. For the purpose of
this study, LiDAR surface models were used in the flood simulation
in the municipality of Apalit. Other topographic mapping technol-
ogies have difficulty in capturing flat terrains (Sole et al., 2008), but
LiDAR is able to produce highly accurate flood models due to its
capability to capture gentle terrain changes. The aim of this study is
to develop LiDAR-derived flood models to map rice cultivation
areas based on depth and duration. The maps allow the identifi-
cation of suitable rice varieties for each rice cultivation map. The
study therefore provides a tool in determining appropriate areas for
rice cultivation and in selecting and developing suitable rice vari-
eties based on different flooding condition sets.
2. Study area
The study was conducted in Apalit, one of the 20 municipalities
in the Province of Pampanga (Fig. 1). Apalit is located in the south
eastern portion of the province and has a total area of 6147 ha with
an estimated population of 101,537 (NSCB, 2010). The municipality
has an estimated 3799.95 has of agricultural land, as derived from
digitized orthophotos. The rice-producing barangays (villages) are
Balucuc, Calantipe, Cansinala, Capalangan, Paligui, Sampaloc, San
Juan, San Vicente, Sucad, Sulipan, and Tabuyuc. Barangay Colgante
and portions of barangay Paligui practice aquaculture through
fishponds.
The topography of the municipality is characterized by largely
flat and low with slopes ranging from 0 to 3% and an elevation not
exceeding 20 m (Municipal Government of Apalit, 2000). It is also
alluvial, dominated by streams and rivers attributed to its location
within the Pampanga floodplain. The Pampanga River runs through
the mid-eastern portion of the municipality and is a source of
irrigation in the municipality (Fig. 1). Its cropping cycle runs be-
tween the dry season from November to December and the wet
season from June to August. An average of 644 mm of rain is
experienced during the wet season. The riverine morphology and
flat terrain makes the municipality favorable for rice cultivation
while rendering it prone to flooding during the wet season. The
Pinatubo eruption have also significantly altered flooding condi-
tions (Siringan & Rodolfo, 2003). Flooding is largely characterized
by surface water inundation worsened by heavy rainfall during the
wet season. This is as verified from the focus group discussion
(FGD) and reports from Pampanga River Basin Flood Forecasting
and Warning Center (2012).
3. Data used
3.1. LiDAR DEM
The airborne LiDAR data used for the study area was acquired by
the University of the Philippines Disaster Risk and Exposure
Assessment for Mitigation (UP-DREAM) Program from October to
December 2012. The data was processed to produce a 1-meter
spatial resolution for the Digital Surface Model (DSM) and the
Digital Terrain Model (DTM) (Fig. 2) with a point density of two to
three points per square meter. The LiDAR point cloud data was
processed and refined using Terra Scan (Terrasolid, Inc.) to elimi-
nate stray points and normalizing elevations throughout the flight
paths.
36 L.L. Toda et al. / Applied Geography 80 (2017) 34e47

Fig. 1. Location map of Pampanga.

The final DEM used for the model was resampled from the 1- flood model resolution limit of 12 million cells. The resampled
meter resolution DSM into a 5-meter resolution DEM to fit the model does not affect the resolution accuracy since the land use of

Fig. 2. LiDAR digital terrain model (DTM) with elevation values and outline of Pampanga River.
 L.L. Toda et al. / Applied Geography 80 (2017) 34e47 37

Table 1
~ o outflow.
Peak values of the Sto. Nin

RIDF Period Total Precipitation (mm) Peak Rainfall (mm. in 10 min) ~ o Peak Outflow (m3/s)
Sto. Nin Time to Peak

5yr 223.5 29.7 4591.2 2 days, 1 h, 12 min

25yr 328.8 41.4 7646.8 2 days, 2 h, 50 min
100yr 415.6 51.0 10,210.4 2 days, 6 h, 10 min

Source 1 Philippine Astronomical, Geophysical and Atmospheric Administration (PAGASA) and Disaster Risk and Exposure for Assessment of Mitigation (DREAM) Program.

the municipality is largely agricultural and does not greatly affect
flood behavior as opposed to urban areas (Tamiru & Rientjes, 2005).
3.2. Rainfall and river discharge data
The Rainfall Intensity-Duration-Frequency (RIDF) analysis data
for the flood models and the hypothetical, extreme validation
model were obtained from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophys-
ical and Astronomical Administration (PAGASA). The RIDF data
were spatially interpolated across the region through the theissen
poligon technique in ArcGIS 10.2. Port Area rain gauge station was
selected.
To produce the discharge for the flood scenarios, RIDF analysis
data gathered by PAGASA and water-level readings from ASTI were
used as inputs in the 2D HEC-HMS flood models of Pampanga for
the different rainfall-runoff scenarios. Table 1 shows peak values of
outflow and rainfall at the Sto. Nin ~ o station for the 5, 25 and 100
year rain return periods.
3.3. Land cover and roughness coefficient
Land cover was manually classified and digitized at a scale of
1:1250 from a combination of orthophotos obtained by UP-DREAM
Program from October to December 2012 and stitch maps taken
from Google Earth™ (Fig. 5). Land cover classes were assigned with
appropriate roughness coefficients based on Chow (1959) and
standardized by Brunner (2010).
4. Methodology
4.1. Framework for rice cultivation area mapping (Fig. 3)
4.1.1. Flood model development
The development of the flood models for the Pampanga River
Basin was done using LISFLOOD-FP model (version 5.9.6) developed
by the School of Geographic Sciences of the University of Bristol.
LISFLOOD-FP is capable of integrating 1D and 2D parameters into a
single model and can depict not only riverine flooding, but also
surface flooding. For 1D parameters, the study used LISFLOOD-FP's
diffusive solver. The diffusive solver models the behavior of the flow
of water within a river or stream over time by running the
discharge values through the channel and then computing the ef-
fects to water depth within the channel in relation to the channel's
cross-section, friction values, and gravity. When the river depth

Obtain flood modelling inputdata: Run LISFLOOD using inputs

rainfall-discharge, LiDAR DEM, to produce time series of
roughness coefficients, river cross- water depths and total
section inundation time outputs

Validate model results using

Stack time series images and
d historical flood maps and
convert to .img file focus group discussion

Calculate mean depth by Input mean depth raster and

using stacked time series .img t
total inundation time output in
file as input in compute mean Python program to produce
statistics tool in ENVI zone map

Clip zone map extent to rice

Rice cultivation zone map cultivation extent

Fig. 3. Framework for rice cultivation area mapping.

38 L.L. Toda et al. / Applied Geography 80 (2017) 34e47

Table 2
Model data requirements, format and description.

Data requirement Format Description of format (based on Bates et al., 2013)

Parameter file .par contains the information necessary to run the simulation including file names and locations and the main model and run control
parameters.
Rainfall .rain specifies a time-varying rainfall rate.
Discharge .bdy specifies time varying boundary conditions associated with varying discharge values per time step in the river.
Raster LiDAR DEM .dem.ascii consists of a 2D raster array of ground elevations in ARC ascii raster format
River profile .river river characteristics described in terms of its width, Manning's n friction coefficient and bed elevation
Roughness .n.ascii channel and floodplain friction - based on Chow (1959) and standardized by Brunner (2010) in a 2D array of friction values in ARC ascii
coefficients raster format.
Model time step (seconds) user defined time step

reaches the bank, water flows to the adjacent cells within the DEM.
The process is described in the 1D diffusive wave equation (1)
(Bates, Trigg, Neal, & Babrowa, 2013) where Qx is volumetric flow
rate at a given time t in the x Cartesian direction, A is the cross
sectional area of flow, h is the water depth, g is gravity, n is the
Manning's friction value, R is the hydraulic radius of the river sec-
tion, t is time, and x the distance in the x Cartesian direction which
can also predict backwater effects. The acceleration solver was used
for the 2D parameters which calculated flows between cells as a
function of friction and water slopes, and local water acceleration.
model would read based on the parameter file. The data re-
quirements and formats are described in Table 2. The model has the
capacity to generate time-series output images of inundation
extent and depth, maximum depth, hazard maps, flow velocity, and
total inundation time. For the purpose of this study, time series
output images were used along with the total inundation time. A
total of 1500 time series images were produced for each rain return
scenario.

! 4.2. Model validation

vQx v Qx2 vðh þ zÞ gn2 Qx2
þ þ gA þ
vt
|{z} vt A vx
|fflfflfflfflfflfflfflffl{zfflfflfflfflfflfflfflffl} R4=3 A
|fflfflffl{zfflfflffl} Flood maps showing observed flood events and their extents
|fflfflfflfflfflffl{zfflfflfflfflfflffl}
local acceleration
convective acceleration
water slope friction slope were used to subjectively validate the resultant flood models by
comparing actual flood accounts from key informant interviews
(1)
(KIIs) and focus group discussion (FGD). Observed flood maps were
Input data for the model included the rainfall and discharge used for visual comparison with the resultant flood models. These
data, raster DEM, river profile, channel and floodplain friction, and maps were gathered from MODIS satellite images acquired on
model time step. Model simulation time was approximated based December 4 and 9, 2004 and were digitized using ArcGIS 10.2. In
on discharge duration. The discharge simulation time was identi- particular, model simulated for Habagat 2013 (south-west
fied at 900,000 s (equivalent to 10.4 days). The input data were monsoon rain) (Fig. 4) event was generated using LISFLOOD-FP for
converted to text formats with specific file extensions that the comparison and validation purposes.

Fig. 4. Simulated maximum flood depth of south-west monsoon rain (Habagat) in August 2013.
 L.L. Toda et al. / Applied Geography 80 (2017) 34e47 39

Fig. 5. Land use classification map of Apalit municipality.

4.2.1. Focus group discussion and key informant interviews interpretation of land use (Fig. 5) from orthophotos that were taken
An FGD was conducted with farmers not only to validate the with the LiDAR data. This was used in conjunction with the rice area
flood maps with their experiences on flooding but also to elicit maps obtained from IRRI using MODIS images obtained from 2000
information about local agricultural adaptation practices and vari- to 2012.
etal types used. Twenty-five among the invited thirty six farmers
across all barangays (villages) took part in the FGD. These farmers
4.3. Classification of cultivation areas for rice varieties
represented nine of the 11 barangays that were mostly agricultural,
namely Colgante, Capalangan, Calantipe, San Juan, Cansinala, Tab-
ArcGIS 10.2 was used to overlay the map layers of rice cultiva-
uyuc, Sampaloc, Balucuc, and Sucad. Despite lack of representation
tion area and the extents of inundation time and mean depth to
from two barangays, the answers were treated collectively at the
generate the zone maps. The total area affected by inundation was
municipal level, not per barangay. Activities included introduction
calculated by clipping the flood extent given total inundation time
of FGD team and participants, overview of the topic, explanation of
and mean depth. The average depth over the whole inundation
the FGD process and ground rules, and discussion guided by semi-
time provides a picture of how depth would affect the rice crop over
structured questions. Specific information gathered included (1)
time. Mean depth was calculated by stacking the water depth result
historical accounts on flood duration and extent; (2) agricultural
produced from LISFLOOD-FP as raster time-series images and then
adaptation practices; (3) cropping patterns/calendar; and (4) rice
the image processing software ENVI™ version 4.7 computed the
varieties being used with respect to characteristics, yield, cost and
average of those images. Total inundation time and mean depth
cultivation area coverage.
were integrated using a Python script to produce a raster repre-
In addition to the FGD, semi-structured KIIs were also con-
senting the different depth-duration conditions (Table 3) and was
ducted on multiple visits to obtain information on actual/observed
then converted into polygons and overlain with the rice cultivation
flood records, flood impacts on agriculture, existing agricultural
area. The conditions used in the zoning were based on the depth
adaptation practices and land use changes, among others. To gather
threshold specified for shallow water rice in Mackill et al. (2010)
these information, the Municipal Agricultural Officer (MAO), the
and the duration threshold based on the short duration submer-
Municipal Planning Officer (MPO) and a few Municipal Agricultural
gence specified in Salam, Biswas, and Rahman (2004).
Technologists (MATs) were chosen for the KIIs because of the depth
of their knowledge and experience on the subject on which they
were interviewed. 5. Results and discussion

5.1. Flood inundation models

4.2.2. Estimation of existing rice cultivation extent
The rice cultivation area (Fig. 6) for Apalit was digitized from Fig. 7 shows the west-east elevation (section A-B) profile from
40 L.L. Toda et al. / Applied Geography 80 (2017) 34e47

Fig. 6. Extent of areas planted to rice in Apalit, Pampanga.

Table 3
Zone value matrix representing the flood depth and duration conditions.
Zone Conditions
Depth (cm) Mean total duration (days)
1 20 7
2 20 7
3 20 <7
4 20 <7
the approximate mid-point of the river. It illustrates how Pampanga
River is planked by alluvial deposits that act as natural levees which
impered overflow from the Pampanga River. Increased river runoff
in the river partly elucidates why no significant overflow was
observed during rainfall events as confirmed during the FGDs. The
inundation models indicate increase in affected areas for both flood
inundation time and mean depth with rain-return period (Figs. 8
and 9). Of particular interest are the expanded coverage of floo-
ded areas located in the southwestern portion with increasing re-
turn periods. The apparent absence of overtopping in the
inundation models of Pampanga River is consistent with the ac-
counts obtained from the FGD.
5.2. Local rice varieties
There are a total of seven rice varieties that farmers use
throughout the year depending on the season, one of which (IR64)
is submergence-tolerant. IR64 was introduced and adopted by
majority of the farmers in the 1990s, but is no longer being grown
due to its low pest tolerance. In contrast, NSIC Rc 150 has a high
yield and good eating quality apart from its tolerance to submer-
gence. However, it fell out of usage due to age and thus was dis-
continued and replaced with other varieties by local farmers
according to our interview (Manzanilla, personal communication).
With its unintended floodresistant characteristic, NSIC Rc150 may
prove to be a better substitute to IR 64 due to its low cost, high yield,
and short days to maturity. This enables farmers particularly in the
barangays of Balucuc and Calantipe and some portions of Tabuyuc
and Cansinala to maximize their resources and have the opportu-
nity to harvest at the most three times a year.
5.3. Observed flood conditions
Contrasting flooding conditions were found between the
eastern and western portions of the municipality. The eastern
portion has greater flood depths, but recedes faster. Two of the
barangays, Calantipe and Balucuc, and some portions of Tabuyuc,
Capalangan, and Cansinala do not experience detrimental flooding
(Fig. 10) attributed to their comparatively higher elevation as dis-
cussed in the FGDs. Barangays in the western portion have shal-
lower flood depths, but have very long submergence periods. The
worst case is found in the Barangay of Colgante, where observed
flooding lasts between 4 and 7 months. The severe flooding con-
ditions are also seen as a result of the conversion from agricultural
lands to fish ponds of a portion of barangays Paligui and Colgante.
According to the FGD participants, the continuous outflow of lahar
from Mt. Pinatubo and the sea-level rise originating from Manila
Bay are major contributors to the constricted stream system which
engender the current flooding conditions. It is estimated that
 L.L. Toda et al. / Applied Geography 80 (2017) 34e47
Fig. 7. (a) Elevation map with (b) cross-section of Apalit along the section A-B.
around 1500 has or 25% of Apalit will be affected by a two-meter
rise in sea level (PEMSEA, 2012).
5.4. Rice cultivation at risk
Rice cultivation in Apalit is at risk as low-lying barangays
experience prolonged submergence that extend up to four months
during the wet season (June to August). During the FGD, farmers
stated that heavy rainfall was the main cause of submergence of
rice fields. In a typical year, floods affect between 50% and 80% of
rice cultivation areas across barangays. Based on the cultivation
zone maps (Fig. 11), increasing trend in flood extents of varying
flood depths is observed for 5-year to 100-year rain-return periods.
There will also be an increase in submergence period as more
intense rains occur more frequently.
Generally, the varying flooding conditions between the eastern
and western barangays may indicate the differences in their agri-
cultural practices and adaptation strategies. The eastern barangays
such as Calantipe and Balucuc are able to harvest up to a maximum
of three times a year because flooding does not affect them while
barangays on the western side have reduced their cropping season
41
to only once each year. Farmers in Colgante and Paligui have even
resorted to converting their lands to fishponds due to recurring
floods.
5.5. Cultivation zone classification
Cultivation areas were classified into four zones (Fig. 12) based
on four flooding conditions. Zone 1 is suitable for flood-tolerant
varieties and those tolerant to stagnant flooding. Depth and dura-
tion in this zone exceed the threshold values set in this study and
are least favorable for existing traditional lowland irrigation vari-
eties. Between 10 and 21% of current cultivated land should grow
only varieties that can withstand flooding conditions beyond
shallow depth and 7-day flood duration limit (Fig. 13). On the other
hand, there is a decreasing pattern of extent for traditional lowland
irrigation varieties, which means more areas might need to adopt
varieties with known submergence tolerance traits that last longer
than seven days and in depths greater than 20 cm. Areas which
might need of these varieties are located in the south eastern
portion mainly in Capalangan and Tabuyuc. Sucad may also adopt
these varieties as the area for Zone 3 decreases in the barangay per
42 L.L. Toda et al. / Applied Geography 80 (2017) 34e47

Fig. 8. Mean depth for (a) 5-, (b) 25- and (c) 100-year rain-return periods.
 L.L. Toda et al. / Applied Geography 80 (2017) 34e47 43

Fig. 9. Total inundation time for (a) 5-, (b) 25- and (c) 100-year rain-return periods.

rainfall scenario. tolerance is crucial. A decline in yield will be likely as cultivation

Accounts from the FGD indicate that inundation could extend up areas for traditional lowland irrigated varieties may decrease over
to several months. The need for rice varieties also tolerant to time due to expanding flooding and submergence. This decrease in
stagnant water for weeks to several months regardless of depth yield may be prevented by planting varieties most suitable to the
44 L.L. Toda et al. / Applied Geography 80 (2017) 34e47
Fig. 10. Map of observed flood depths accounted during FGD.
environment as prescribed in the rice zone classification. However,
more than one of the conditions can ensue in any particular flood-
prone environment. Therefore, it is desirable to develop varieties
that have a combination of tolerance traits for flood-prone areas.
Traditional (local) varieties are mostly grown in the municipality
despite flood risks. Adoption of submergence-tolerant varieties
however presents some drawbacks considering their cost and low
tolerance to pest. As some cultivation areas already suffer stagnant
inundation of at least a month, medium to deepwater rice varieties
might thrive for any flood scenario. However, more than one of the
conditions can ensue in any particular flood-prone environment.
Therefore, it is desirable to develop varieties which possess a
combination of tolerance traits for flood-prone areas when
possible. The potential re-adoption of IR64 and sustainability of use
of other submergence-tolerant varieties will be critical in the
development and accessibility of flood-resistant rice cultivars as
their adoption will depend on their productivity, yield, cost and
socio-economic factors. Alongside the development of low-cost
high-yielding flood-tolerant rice varieties, it is crucial that access
to sustainable agricultural services is in place. This, however, will
also depend on the availability of developed flood-tolerant
cultivars.
6. Conclusion
The study has demonstrated the use of LiDAR technology for
producing fine scale flood inundation maps to classify cultivation
areas for certain rice varieties, the results of which could facilitate
agricultural adaptation and help strengthen food security in Apalit,
a rice-producing municipality in Pampanga that is generally char-
acterized by surface flooding. Using LISFLOOD-FP model, inunda-
tion depth and duration conditions were simulated from
integrating river discharge and rainfall data and LiDAR-based DEM.
These conditions were chosen as they are crucial in the survival and
productivity of rice varieties. The inundation models provide an
illustration of the variation in the extent of flood depth and dura-
tion across rice cultivation areas given a rainfall scenario. Based on
the models, there is a potential increase in extent of flood depth and
duration as rain-return periods increase. The study found that a
decline in yield is likely as cultivation areas for traditional lowland
irrigated varieties may decrease over time due to increasing depth
and longer submergence periods. This decrease in yield may be
prevented by growing varieties that are more suitable to the
environment as prescribed in the rice zone classification.
Consequently, four zones are proposed. The flood-tolerant va-
rieties and those tolerant to stagnant flooding are recommended in
Zone 1 where both depth and duration exceed the threshold values
set in this study, meaning flood conditions are least favorable for
any existing traditional lowland irrigation varieties. More than one
of the flooding conditions can ensue in any particular flood-prone
environment, which makes it is desirable to develop rice varieties
that possess a combination of tolerance traits for flood-prone areas.
Apalit is naturally lowland so medium to deepwater rice varieties
might thrive for any flood scenario as some parts of the munici-
pality already suffer stagnant inundation of at least a month during
extreme rainfall events.
The flood models and the resultant rice zone maps were
designed to take advantage of LiDAR data sets generated through
the efforts of Disaster Risk and Exposure Assessment for Mitigation
(DREAM) Program of the University of the Philippines and the
Department of Science and Technology (DOST). While the findings
of the study relies heavily on models, the need for their validation
with observed flood information prompted the conduct of FGD. The
FGD was also necessary to obtain relevant information on impacts
of flood on rice cultivation, current rice adaptation strategies, and
varietal types used. Although LiDAR technology offers more accu-
rate topographic detail for specific purposes such as flood inun-
dation estimation, its accessibility and availability present some
drawbacks for studies that cover larger scale areas where flooding
conditions are critical to rice cultivation. Alternatively, free and
 L.L. Toda et al. / Applied Geography 80 (2017) 34e47 45

Fig. 11. Recommended varietal types and characteristics per cultivation zone.
46 L.L. Toda et al. / Applied Geography 80 (2017) 34e47
Fig. 12. Rice cultivation zone map for 5, 25 and 100-year rain-return periods.
Fig. 13. Area percentages of zones per rainfall return period.
accessible but scale-appropriate DEMs should be maximized using
the methodology employed in this study.
Acknowledgments
This study has been done as a part of a project titled ‘‘Flood
Inundation Mapping using LiDAR and GIS’’ of the Oscar M. Lopez
Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Manage-
ment Foundation, Inc., the Philippines (The Oscar M. Lopez Center).
The authors would like to acknowledge the Department of Science
and Technology (DOST) and the University of the Philippines (UP)
through the Disaster Risk and Exposure Assessment for Mitigation
(DREAM) Program for the LiDAR and discharge data and for
allowing us to use their flood modelling software; NAMRIA for the
administrative boundary; and PAGASA for the rainfall information.
The authors would also like to acknowledge Mark Joshua Salvacion
of DREAM Program who helped in executing the zone maps.
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