Andalusian Agricultural Landscapes: Types & Challenges
Agricultural Landscapes of Andalusia
After what you have learned, it’s time to consider the reality of agricultural landscapes in Andalusia. While Andalusian agricultural landscapes share features with developed countries, many corners of Andalusia still maintain traditional agricultural landscapes with features from a past worth preserving and understanding. We will briefly examine the main types of agricultural landscapes found in Andalusia today.
Mountain Landscapes
In the Andalusian mountains, we find somewhat degraded traditional agricultural landscapes, which mix elements of farming with natural elements of great scenic value and beauty. The negative factor of rugged terrain has been overcome since time immemorial with the construction of terraces. These have allowed the practice of subsistence agriculture, supplemented by livestock farming and forest exploitation.
Presently, these agricultural landscapes are in crisis. Production is not competitive, and traditional agriculture has been abandoned, while young people from these areas have migrated to the city. Rural tourism is allowing the recovery of these towns and offers an alternative to the crisis of traditional agriculture and livestock. Given the crisis of traditional agriculture in mountain areas, rural tourism can help improve the economic situation of its inhabitants.
The regions of Andalusia where mountain agricultural landscapes are most prevalent are the provinces of Malaga, Granada, and Almeria, traversed by the mighty Betic Cordilleras. At least part of these ridges also affect Cadiz, Cordoba, and Jaen.
Landscapes of Fields and Plains
Sunset in the countryside.
The plains and gently rolling plains predominate in western Andalusia, largely covered by the Guadalquivir Valley. This landscape occupies most of the provinces of Huelva, Seville, Cordoba, Jaen, and Cadiz. In this area, the topography and climate are far more favorable for agriculture, and since Roman times, olives have been one of its hallmarks.
The fields and plains of inland Andalusia currently maintain a thriving and productive agriculture. These landscapes are dominated by monocultures of cereals and olive trees, creating a sense of monotony but favoring the profitability of agriculture. Also dominant are large estates (latifundios) that have traditionally been exploited with plenty of hired labor (day laborers and farmhands). The modernization of farms through the extension of irrigation and the introduction of machinery has secured better crops in these lands but has reduced the need for labor, creating the problem of rural unemployment for field workers.
In the plains, settlements tend to cluster in large nuclei, which are considered agro-cities. Due to their population, they would have city status, but many aspects of daily life have strong rural features. Carmona (Seville) is an example of an agro-city.
Coastal Agricultural Landscapes
The rural areas of the Andalusian coast have high environmental and scenic value, although mass tourism has dramatically altered these spaces. Today, much of the Andalusian coast, invaded by construction, has lost its traditional rural features.
The agricultural landscapes of coastal areas benefit from the mildness of temperatures. When this is added to water availability from irrigation, a unique position in Europe is obtained for the cultivation of certain tropical products, such as custard apples and avocados, which are grown on the coasts of Malaga and Granada.
A recent phenomenon in many coastal areas in Andalusia has been the extension of cultivation under plastic greenhouses. This intensive farming system, although…