Abstract: Irrigation system could regulate eco-hydrological pattern and process of agricultural landscape to maintain its sustainability through management of water resources. In Bali of Indonesia, a traditional Indonesian Subak Irrigation System (SIS) is the wisdom of local people to effectively regulate eco-hydrological pattern and process of terraced landscapes, which is the key mechanism underlying the sustainability of Rice Terraces Landscapes (RTL). We used the published literatures on SIS as a data source to review its mechanisms in ensuring the sustainable development of RTL and the reasonable exploitation of agricultural water resources at basin and irrigation-unit scales respectively, and further analyzed its eco-hydrological effects. At basin scale, the dynamic multi-level temple structure of management in SIS enhances stability and adaptability of RTL. At irrigation-unit scale, the rules of tek-tek water distribution and awig awig-management in each subak organization increase water use efficiency and alleviate community conflicts. Due to the irrigation facilities and spatio-temporal management activities, SIS has eco-hydrological effects, namely increasing hydrological connectivity, controlling pests and improving ecosystem services. The existing researches on SIS are mainly based on the qualitative and static research of social sciences such as sociology, anthropology, and history, with few on the natural sciences such as ecology and hydrology. In future, we should strengthen the quantitative and dynamic research of natural sciences and multi-discipline, which would provide inspiration for the protection and management of other terraces systems globally.

Key words: Biodiversity, Functional group, Soil, Intensity of discordance, Coupling intensity