Agricultural Systems: Land Use, Farm Structures, and Livestock Dynamics
Major Soil Types and Their Distribution
Soil types differ broadly. Four main types of soil are:
- Arable land: Occupied by different crops, spread especially in the basins and inland valleys.
- Meadows and pastures: Intended for the production of grass for livestock feed. Three types of situations differentiate these: seasonal pastures, permanent pastures, and high-altitude grazing.
- Forest areas: Correspond to deciduous species.
- Other land uses: Including unproductive wasteland and urbanized areas.
Factors Influencing Land Distribution
Land distribution is determined by several factors:
- Natural conditions: These include three distinct climatic domains:
- The humid Atlantic climate, characterized by the presence of meadows and forests.
- The Mediterranean domain, characterized by a dry season.
- The subtropical arid domain, where aridity is a limiting factor for crops and forests.
- Geographical features: Another division exists between plains and mountainous areas.
- Historical evolution and property structure: Historically, under a subsistence economy and specific property structures, crops and pastures were supplemented by utilizing the largest possible area of land. The development of a market economy, however, led to the abandonment of some farmland.
Agricultural Spaces and Crop Contrasts
The first distinction among crop varieties is:
- Woody crops: Represented by arboreal or shrubby plants that remain in the field after the annual harvest. Two prominent types are olive groves and vineyards.
- Herbaceous crops: Require annual planting and include legumes, grains, vegetables, and other crops.
The second difference relates to irrigation:
- Irrigated areas: Occupy approximately a fifth part of the cultivated land.
- Rainfed areas: Dominant in terms of employed population, but their production is much lower and subject to greater variations (e.g., drought, flooding, etc.).
Characteristics of Farm Operations
A farm is an economic unit comprising all plots worked by the same farmer, along with additional facilities. The result of the average farm size is a duality between:
- Family farms: Often very small and less profitable.
- Farm businesses: Belonging to individuals, these are being upgraded and are generally more profitable.
There are significant regional differences in average farm size, particularly between regions dominated by dryland crops or pastures, and humid regions with livestock specialization.
Understanding Land Tenure Systems
Tenure establishes the relationship between ownership and exploitation. Distinctions can be made between:
- Direct holdings: Where the farm is worked by its proprietors.
- Leases: Where land not owned by the farmer is exploited in exchange for money.
- Sharecropping: Where exploitation is done in exchange for a percentage of the harvest obtained.
Evolution and Diversity of Livestock
The various livestock species have had very uneven growth and altered spatial distribution:
- Bovine livestock: With 6.5 million head, allocated to the production of meat and hides.
- Sheep: With 24 million head, suffered a serious setback due to the drop in wool prices and the migration of many shepherds.
- Goat herds: With 3 million head, have always been complementary to the aforementioned types.
- Swine: With 24 million head, has experienced rapid growth in recent decades. The latest increase in cottage-registered animals, particularly those resistant to influenza, represents the biggest growth in recent times, with almost 50,000 animals.