Origin of Paddy Fields and Functions for Environmental Remediation in the Urbanized Areas of Yangtze River Delta - Environmental Contamination: Health Risks and Ecological Restoration - page 411

order.to.prevent.possible.threats.to.the.lives.of.urban.residents..Paddy.ields.
with.standing.water.coverage.and.moist.atmospheric.conditions.produce.no.
dust.but.fresh.clean.air.and.so.may.help.with.counteracting.this.problem.
Summary
Buried.irrigated.paddy.ields.and.paddy.soils.were.discovered.at.a.Chuodun.
site.nearby.to.Suzhou.that.dated.back.to.the.Neolithic.age.of.6280.BP.(ca. 14 C)..
The.paddy.ields.located.at.the.Luojiajiao.site.nearby.Jiaxing.called.“Box.type.
ield”.have.shown.enough.evidence.that.rice.cultivation.was.taking.place.in.
this.region.dates.back.to.more.than.3000.years..A.rice.cultivation.chronose-
quence.of.50-2000.years.has.been.identiied.at.the.South.bank.of.Hangzou.
Bay. with. the. fertility. of. paddy. soils. increasing. with. rise. cultivation. years,.
these.results.strongly.indicate.that.the.Yangtze.River.Delta.may.be.the.origin.
of.irrigated.paddy.ields.and.paddy.soils.in.China..These.indings.also.sug-
gest.that.rice.cultivation.and.paddy.soils.are.the.most.suitable.and.sustain-
able. method. for. this. region.. Paddy. ields. are. important. not. only. for. food.
security. but. can. also. be. used. to. solve. many. environmental. problems. that.
have.appeared.in.the.region.due.to.rapid.urbanization.that.has.been.taking.
place.for.the.past.30.years..Paddy.ields.are.of.natural.selection.and.historical.
interest,.and.together.with.rice.cultivation,.they.work.as.a.constituent.of.har-
monious. development. beneiting.both. human. health. and. the.environment.
in. the. urbanized. areas. of. the. Yangtze. River. Delta.. This. could. also. be. the.
case.for.regions.with.similar.conditions.and.properties,.such.as.the.Pearl.and.
Yellow.River.Delta.regions.
Acknowledgments
This.work.was.supported.by.Chinese.Natural.Science.Foundation.with.the.
grant. of. NSFC. No.. 40335047.and. Sino-Germany. Scientiic. Center.(Beijing).
grant. GZ518.. Great. acknowledgment. to. my. colleagues:. Professors. Yang.
Linzhang,. Lin. Xiangui,. Hu. Zhengyi,. Dong. Yuanhua. from. the. Institute. of.
Soil. Science. Chinese. Academy. of. Sciences;. Professor. Ding. Jinlong. from.
Museum. of. Sunzhou;. Archeology. Research. Institute. of. Suzhou,. Jiangsu.
Province.China;.Professor.Fu.Jianrong.from.Zhejiang.Provincial.Academy.
of. Agricultural. Sciences;. and. Dr.. Zhen. Yunfei. from. the. Institute. of. Relic.
protection. and. Archaeology,. Zhejiang. Province,. China.. Many. thanks. also.
go.to.Dr..Yin.Rui,.Dr..Li.Jiuhai,.Dr..Lu.Jia,.Dr..Shen.Weishou,.Dr..Hu.Junli,.
Dr.. Chen. Yuqin,. and. postdoctor. Li. Chunhai.. They. have. all. contributed.