Japan turns abandoned rice fields into wetlands to bring wildlife back

For years, many rice fields in Japan have been left unused as fewer people continued farming and rural communities grew older. Without regular care, many of these fields became covered with weeds. The frogs, dragonflies and other small animals that once lived there also slowly disappeared.Now, an abandoned stretch of rice paddies in Japan's Aso region is getting a new life. Instead of turning the land back into farmland, local residents and researchers have restored it into wetlands that stay filled with water throughout the year.The idea is that the water that remains in the wetlands can slowly sink into the ground, helping refill groundwater, the water stored beneath the Earth's surface that many communities rely on.