While many controlled irrigation and drainage techniques have been adopted in China,
the environmental effects of these techniques require further investigation. This study was
conducted to examine the changes of nitrogen and phosphorus of a flooded paddy water system after
fertilizer application and at each growth stage so as to obtain the optimal drainage time at each
growth stage. Four treatments with different water level management methods at each growth stage
were conducted under the condition of ten-day continuous flooding. Results show that the ammonia
nitrogen (
4
NH -N
+
) concentration reached the peak value once the fertilizer was applied, and then
decreased to a relatively low level seven to ten days later, and that the nitrate nitrogen (
3
NO -N
−
)
concentration gradually rose to its peak value, which appeared later in subsurface water than in
surface water. Continuous flooding could effectively reduce the concentrations of
4
NH -N
+
,
3
NO -N
−
, and total phosphorus (TP) in surface water. However, the paddy water disturbance, in the
process of soil surface adsorption and nitrification, caused
4
NH -N
+
to be released and increased the
concentrations of
4
NH -N
+
and
3
NO -N
−
in surface water. A multi-objective controlled drainage
model based on environmental factors was established in
order to obtain the
optimal drainage time at
each growth stage and better guide the drainage practices of farmers. The optimal times for surface
drainage are the fourth, sixth, fifth, and sixth days after flooding at the tillering, jointing-booting,
heading-flowering, and milking stages, respectively