稻米為歷經數千年的栽培，擴散與演化的世界主要糧食作物。台灣自然條件適合稻作栽植，從沿海平原以至丘陵地皆有分布。自1961年至2010年，台灣稻作面積遞減至僅剩31 %；產量減為原產量的58%。此趨勢顯示台灣稻作面積與產量都快速下降，但遞減程度並不相等，此現象引起本研究對稻作空間變遷與影響因素相關問題探討的動機。本研究以苗栗縣苑裡鎮作為研究區域的理由，一方面是因苑裡鎮素有「苗栗穀倉」之稱，栽培以稻作為主；另一方面是因其稻田分布自沿海平原的水田以至丘陵地區的梯田皆有，有利於研究不同地形區稻作面積消長的差異。研究結果顯示，造成本區稻作面積減少的主要原因在於1980年代以後的交通建設徵收農地，以及都市計畫更改農地為其他類型用地；次要因素是農業政策的影響，譬如：休耕補助而單位面積產量增加，乃是受惠於稻作品種及栽培技術的改良至於目前必須面對的問題則是從事稻作人口的老化。
Rice is one of the world's major food crops, and has come through thousands years of evolution in cultivation, diffusion and evolution. The natural conditions in Taiwan are suitable for rice planting, and therefore sustain the crop on the island from coastal plains to the hills. From 1961 to 2010, however, Taiwan rice planting area down to remaining 31%; production was reduced to 58% of the original production. This trend indicates that Taiwan's the rice area and production are declining rapidly, but the decline rate is not equal, this phenomenon is caused by the motivation of this study to explore issues related to the rice space changes and influencing factors. This study takes research plots in Yuanli Township of Miaoli County. Yuanli is regarded as the " barn of Miaoli ". The paddy fields spans from the coast plains to the terrace terrain on the hills in Yuanli. Therefore, to study fluctuation factors of the different terrain area the rice area in the past 50 years, studies have shown to reduce the rice area is the transportation construction in the 1980s to impose agricultural land, change of agricultural land for other types of land use and urban planning, sub-to factor is the impact of agricultural policies ; unit increase in production, the benefit of improved the rice varieties and cultivation techniques; pressing issue at present is engaged in the rice population aging.
