Chapter 6

Terraced Fields in Spain:

Landscapes of Work and Beauty

Sabina Asins-Velis

Abstract The sheer diversity of approaches and the volume of scientific output underscore the growing social and policy interest in these landscapes. Recognition of their productive, environmental and cultural functions—and of the grave problems arising from their mismanagement or abandonment—shows the need to allocate resources to their study at both the national and European levels. Finally, the need for a Catalogue of European Union Terraced Landscapes is outlined as a preliminary step to considering these as EU Landscapes of Special Relevance. Such an initiative would be reinforced by activities being undertaken at the international level.

6.1Introduction

Over the centuries, farmers in mountainous areas of Spain have used their knowledge of the environment to build a valuable landscape with a unique “character” (Countryside Agency and Scottish Natural Heritage 2001; Wascher 2005): the terraced landscape. In its integrated design, they adapted their methods to climatic, edaphic, and topographic circumstances and the crops they wished to grow. Moreover, they went about this task in a holistic, socially organised way. These terraces constitute a superb agronomic, cultural and environmental heritage that still covers thousands upon thousands of hectares in rural Spain. They are particularly common along Mediterranean regions, especially in the Valencian Community, Murcia, Catalonia and The Balearic Islands; in certain parts of Andalusia and Aragon, and in The Canary Islands (which has its own chapter in this book). The terraced landscapes of Spain are a magnificent example of the work of

S. Asins-Velis (&)

Centro de Investigaciones Sobre Desertificación-CIDE, CSIC, Universitat de València, Generalitat Valenciana, València, Spain e-mail: sabina.asins@uv.es

M. Varotto et al. (eds.), World Terraced Landscapes: History, Environment, Quality of Life, Environmental History 9, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96815-5_6

farmers over the centuries and the beauty, uniqueness and intangible values that these “heritage landscapes” represent today.

At present, the analysis of these terraced landscapes is a complex matter given local differences in cause and effect. Broadly speaking, one can place these under three heads:

(1)Industrial–commercial terraced agriculture

–Those areas of terraces that survived the twentieth-century rural exodus because they were more suitable for mechanised agriculture. Examples are terraced piedmont or larger terraces (citrus trees in Murcia; vineyards, citrus and fruit trees in the Valencian Community; olive trees in Mallorca; vineyards in Ribeira Sacra-Galicia).

–New land terracing for highly profitable vineyards (in Catalonia, for example) or fruit trees (Valencian Community).

(2)Territorial agriculture: Small terraced fields kept up by their farmer-owners and of high ecological value (mainly in the smallest rural areas of the inland mountains of Mallorca, the Iberian Range and Pyrenees).

(3)Abandoned terraced fields (found throughout Spain).

(1) Industrial–commercial terraced agriculture shares similar opportunities and problems with farming in flat areas. In Spain, industrial capital-intensive agriculture (which is highly mechanised and competitive) tends to be quick to rise new challenges. The new opportunities arising in these mechanised, terraced landscapes stem from the world market and world demographic trends. The world’s population is forecast to reach 8.5 billion by 2030 (United Nations 2015: 1) but more significant than total population growth are the market opportunities created by the burgeoning middle classes in developing countries. Over the last two decades, domestic material consumption has soared in Asia-Pacific, eastern Europe and Central Asia and even in Africa. This sharp rise in consumption is attributable to the rapid growth in the middle classes (UNEP 2016). It is envisaged that the growth of the middle classes will continue apace. This new middle class is demanding quality food products, of proven origin and that meets the highest standards for agricultural produce. Such rigorous control is what sets wine and cava from the terraced areas of Catalonia, Valencian Community or Galicia. Then there is the olive oil and a great variety of fruits from Valencian Community, Murcia, Andalusia and Mallorca. Spanish products from terraced landscapes meet these quality criteria (Fig. 6.1).

The problems arising from this kind of agriculture fall, among others, under four heads: (i) how to overcome the environmental impact of emissions from the transport needed to serve faraway markets (Verburg et al. 2013); (ii) greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture (Sanz-Cobena et al. 2017); (iii) expansion of irrigation into former rain-dependent uphill areas or a shift to higher-value monoculture fruit crops with greater water requirements, etc. (Sese-Mínguez et al. 2017; MAAMA 2016); (iv) how to deal with land grabbing and land concentration (European Parliament 2015; Soler and Fernández 2015). Growing concentration of

Fig. 6.1 New land terracing for highly profitable vineyards in Priorat (Catalonia). Photo J.A. Martínez-Casasnovas

landholdings (land over > 100 ha) means that, in Spain, 55.5% of the Utilised Agricultural Area belongs to just 5.4% of the total country holdings, and that 1.3% of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) direct beneficiaries received, in 2013, 23.4% of CAP direct payments (Kay 2016: 12, 16). In Priorat (Catalonia), this key issue already affects the new mechanised, terraced vineyards: 12% of the farmers owned 61% of the new vineyards, 42% of the total agricultural land and received 68% of CAP subsidies assigned to the region (Cots-Folch et al. 2009). Highly profitable terraced fields also raise environmental issues, such as soil erosion and the constant cost of maintaining the terraces (Martínez-Casasnovas and Ramos 2006; Ramos et al. 2007; Ramos and Martínez-Casasnovas 2010).

(2) However, Spain’s agriculture presents strong contrasts. While produce from industrial, terraced agriculture competes in the international market, scores of small hill farmers are struggling to make ends meet. These terraced fields are mainly sited in areas stricken by the rural exodus that took place mostly between 1950 and 1990 (Collantes 2004). Back then, those terraced fields farthest from the villages—on land that was either marginal or hard to mechanise (mainly in the Central Pyrenees and the Iberian Range)—were abandoned (Lasanta 1988; Arnáez-Vadillo et al. 1990; Rodríguez and Lasanta 1992; García-Ruiz et al. 1996). Moreover, between 1990 and 2016, farmland declined by 3,185,101 ha (MMAMRM 2010:18; MAPAMA 2016) and, between 1990 and 2013, 48% of the agricultural holdings under 10 ha were abandoned (Kay 2016:14).