Diversity of Spanish Agricultural Landscapes

Posted on Nov 19, 2024 in Geography

Item 10 – Diversity of Spanish Agricultural Landscapes: Heterogeneity of the Countryside in Castilla y León

Introduction

Agricultural landscapes are defined by the morphology of rural areas. Spain exhibits a variety of agricultural landscapes.

Agricultural Landscapes of Wet Spain

  • Location: Comprise 20% of Spanish territory, covering the northern peninsula and some moist interior mountains (Central System and Iberian System).
  • Natural Factors: Rugged mountainous terrain, oceanic climate, dominance of forest and meadow (70% of the area), constant humidity favoring rain-fed agriculture.
  • Human Factors: Predominantly dispersed settlement, small-holder owned system, direct holding system utilizing forest and cultivated land, absence of fallow period.

Specific Characteristics

Galician
  • High proportion of population engaged in agriculture (over 30%).
  • Low-productivity agriculture.
  • Predominant small-holding.
  • Two main areas:
    • Litoral: Increased yield with technical advances in agriculture and livestock.
    • Interior: Predominant use of traditional techniques complementing mountain livestock, which is indigenous.
Astur-Cantabrian
  • Part-time farming.
  • Increased land use for cattle raising (97%) compared to agriculture (3%).
  • Vaccine-oriented livestock for milk production (186% of national production).
  • Livestock crisis due to dairy quota policy and competition from EEC milk.
Basque Country
  • Very small population devoted to agriculture (around 5%).
  • Predominant farming except in Álava province.
  • Rotation system in meadows and hills.

Agricultural Landscapes of Interior Mediterranean Spain

  • Location: Occupies 50% of the mainland (285,975 km2), including the Meseta and the Ebro Depression, with 44% of the surface cultivated.
  • Natural Factors: High average altitude, Mediterranean climate with strong seasonal contrasts and a notable frost period.
  • Human Factors: Predominantly concentrated settlement, significant investment in agriculture and cattle to enhance returns and diversify products.

Specific Characteristics

Campiñas and Upland Moors of Duero
  • Located in the central-eastern basin of the Duero (Castilla y León).
  • Prevalence of cereal farms (50-100 ha) with wheat, barley, and sunflower. Decreased fallow use.
  • Highly mechanized rainfed cereal and irrigated crops (beets, corn, alfalfa).
  • Extensive sheep husbandry with improvements in facilities and feed introduction.
  • Development of beef farming and intensive pig farming through semi-stabling or livestock quarters.
Plains of Castilla La Mancha
  • Located in the South Submeseta (Castilla La Mancha).
  • Dominance of medium-sized upland farms, slightly larger than in the Duero Basin.
  • Characterized by wine farms with vineyards (40-60 ha), often supplemented with olive groves and irrigated crops.
  • Common sheep farming.
West Peninsular
  • Located in the South Submeseta (Castilla La Mancha and Extremadura).
  • In Extremadura, only one-third of the surface is cultivated due to siliceous materials.
  • Extensive production in large operating units called dehesas (around 500 ha), with agricultural, livestock, and forest orientation.
  • Characterized by clear mountain hollows with oaks and cork oaks, allowing the use of branches for firewood, animal bedding, and hunting.
High Cuenca del Duero
  • Located in La Rioja and Navarre.
  • Alternates Atlantic characteristics with those of dry Spain.
  • Agriculture confined to valleys, with pastures on slopes leading to nomadic cattle between the Ebro Valley and the Pyrenees.
  • In plain areas, fragmented irrigation for industrial crops (sugar beet, fodder, vegetables). Greater dominance of dry land crops (cereals, vineyards, olive groves). High-quality wine production.
Ebro Valley
  • Located in the Ebro basin and foothills (Aragon).
  • Upland farming system is extensive, with barley predominating over wheat. Vine and olive cultivation.
  • Important irrigated farms with a long tradition, accounting for almost ¾ of agricultural production (cereals, fodder, fruit trees).
  • Physical difficulties, such as mountainous terrain, contribute to the neglect of the Aragonese field.

Agricultural Landscapes of Mediterranean Coastal Spain

  • Location: Mediterranean coastal area and suratlántico space from the Guadalquivir Valley to the Sierra Morena.
  • Natural Factors: Coastal Mediterranean climate with marked summer aridity and low rainfall.
  • Human Factors: Natural factors favor irrigation development (49% of Spain’s irrigated area). Upland dominated by cereal cultivation (more barley than wheat) and woody crops (olives, grapes, almonds). Unequal property distribution, with small and medium properties in Valencia and Murcia, contrasting with large estates in Western Andalusia.

Specific Characteristics

Catalonia
  • Significant livestock development (milk and meat) linked to industrialization.
  • Land conversion to horticultural crops (flowers, fodder).
  • Expansion of irrigation in some areas, notably south-central Lleida province.
  • Reduction of dry land crops (olives, vines) in favor of almonds and hazelnuts.
Levante
  • Located in Valencia and Murcia.
  • High-performance irrigation aided by mild climate, but faces water scarcity. Specializes in citrus irrigation.
  • Unproductive dry land, with abandonment of esparto products, carob, and fig trees, while barley and almond cultivation increases.
Balearic Islands
  • Strong contrast between dry and irrigated land, and between small and large estates.
  • Tourism development has reduced farming space and generated rural exodus.
  • Decreased rain-fed cereal and vine production, increased almond trees.
  • In Menorca, ranching predominates, associated with large properties and meadows over crops.
Andalusia
  • Large estates represent 40% of the region, occupying the best soils of the Guadalquivir Valley.
  • Rain-fed cultivation characterized by grains (wheat, barley) and fallow. Olive trees account for 584% of national production (Jaén monoculture, large deals in Córdoba).
  • Irrigated land uses new techniques (sanding, quilting, plastic crops) for horticultural and tropical crops.

Agricultural Landscape of the Canary Islands

  • Location: Canary Islands.
  • Natural Factors: Proximity to the tropics, volcanic soil, rugged terrain unfavorable for agriculture.
  • Human Factors: Cultivated area is less than one-fifth of the total, with one-third irrigated. Water uptake is a critical issue.

Specific Characteristics

  • Coastal areas feature irrigated agriculture for banana, tomato, and potato crops.
  • Higher elevation and interior areas have less stable rain-fed and irrigated agriculture, oriented towards subsistence, vine, and potato production.
  • Recent abandonment of marginal rain-fed agriculture in favor of irrigation with new techniques.