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In Central Java, the effects of El Niño of 1994 were more marked than those ofEl Niño of 1991. In Grobogan, Blora, Pati, and Rembang areas of Central Java (Fig.3), although the harvested area from 1990 to 1991 for the first crop showed a slightincrease, the total harvest that year decreased by almost 5,000 ha. But the decrease inharvested area in 1994 was almost 4 times higher for the first crop compared with thetotal harvest that year. In the rainfed lowland rice areas of Central Java, further decreasesin harvested area occurred after El Niño, as indicated by the reduction in areain 1992 and 1995 for the first crop harvest. The poor harvest of El Niño affected theharvest of the coming year probably because of the delayed planting time and unavailabilityof seed for planting.In the eight districts of the north and in all areas of East Java, harvested areadecreased significantly during El Niño of 1991 and 1994 (Fig. 4). However, the decreasewas more pronounced in the eight districts of the north, which have a higherproportion of rainfed lowland area. The reduction in harvested area of the first cropfrom 1990 to 1991 in the eight districts accounted for 72.5% of the total reduction in30 districts of East Java. Although it was not as high as in 1991, there was a significantreduction in harvested area in El Niño of 1994, with a further decrease in 1995.Harvested area (× 1,000 ha)500TotalFirst crop400300200Eight districts ofnorthern East Java1,6001,4001,2001,000800600East JavaHarvested area (× 1,000 ha)300900Sinjai and WajoSouth Central Sulawesi Java800700200600500100400300020089 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96Year (19..)Fig. 4. Effect of climate on harvested rice area in East Java andSouth Sulawesi.Biophysical characterization of rainfed systems . . . 151