Edible waterscapes: Cultural food heritage ecosystem and the flood-plain landscape in Thailand

Food studies and food design increasingly emphasize food as a cultural practice shaped by ecological, social and material conditions. This article contributes to this dialogue by examining flood-responsive food practices in the flood-plains of central Thailand as a form of living cultural heritage and place-based food design. Focusing on the Sena Trough and the Noi–Lopburi flood plain in Ayutthaya, the study explores how seasonal inundation structures local foodways, including wild plant foraging, aquatic vegetable cultivation and seasonal mushroom harvesting. Using ethnobotanical methods such as seasonal observation and participatory foraging walks, the research documents how food practices emerge through long-term interaction between hydrological rhythms, ecological knowledge and everyday life. The study argues that authenticity in flood-plain food heritage lies not in fixed traditions but in adaptive continuity shaped by environmental cycles. Framed as ‘edible waterscapes’, these practices reveal how food design can be understood as an ecological and cultural process rather than a purely industrial or product-based activity. By linking food studies, heritage discourse and food design, the article positions edible waterscapes as a model for culturally grounded and climate-responsive approaches to sustainable food futures.