Geography and Agriculture: Key Concepts and Practices
Isohyets and Jet Streams
Isohyets are lines on a map connecting points of equal rainfall. In Spain, they decrease from northwest to southeast and from the coast inland.
The Jet Stream is a stream of westerly winds flowing at an altitude above 8000 meters and at speeds ranging from 150 to 600 km/h. When it slows, its ripples get bigger and there are valleys that sometimes cause the phenomenon known as a cold drop. In winter, it is located between 30º and 45º north latitude; in spring, it moves northward.
Acid Rain and Mediterranean Vegetation
Acid rain is a phenomenon that occurs as a result of the concentration of nitrogen and sulfur gases in the atmosphere, which, when combined with moisture and water from the clouds, fall to earth as rain, causing corrosive effects on the physical environment, animal health, plants, and humans.
Maquis is a type of Mediterranean scrub vegetation of perennial shrubs and exuberant growth. Characteristic vegetation includes wild olive, rock rose, arbutus, rosemary, and heather. It appears with the degradation of Mediterranean forests in siliceous soils.
Garrigue is a Mediterranean vegetable form found on calcareous soils. It is a mix of oaks and brush. It appears with the degradation of Mediterranean forests by dry weather, fire, or overgrazing. Notable species include rock rose, lavender, Kermes oaks, rosemary, and arbutus.
Marshes and Landscapes
A marsh is a saltwater wetland located near the coast, mostly near the mouths of rivers. An example in Spain would be the marshes of the Guadalquivir.
The term landscape refers to our environment. It is the outward appearance of an area. It is a subjective concept, because in reality, the landscape is a human perception. It is essential that there be an observer (human) to appreciate a landscape, to bring it to life. Who would perceive the landscape if we were not there?
Protected Areas and River Regimes
A protected area is an area preserved for its aesthetic and cultural values. It must be used in a way that is compatible with environmental conservation.
A river regime is a way to present the flow of a river throughout the year. The flow variations depend on the source of its water supply and physical and human factors.
Climate and Weather
Weather refers to the states of the atmosphere for short periods; they are highly variable and depend on the temporal conditions of the atmosphere. Climate is the succession of weather types that occur regularly and repeatedly over a region over a long period of time (values every 30 years).
Water Transfer and Landforms
Water transfer involves bringing water from one river basin to another through the construction of reservoirs, canals, tunnels, siphons, and viaducts. In Spain, the most important is the Tajo-Segura, and the construction of the Ebro transfer is planned, which will supply the entire Levant.
Heathland is a temperate plant formation characteristic of the European parts of the oceanic climate. It occurs in northern Spain on the upper floors of the relief as a result of the degradation of the deciduous forest. Representative species are heather, gorse, broom, gorse, bracken, and gorse.
Aquaculture and Part-Time Farming
Aquaculture is the breeding and cultivation of aquatic animals and plants for commercial purposes. It seeks total control of both the exploited species and the mechanisms for breeding and cultivation. These holdings are also known as fish farms or hatcheries.
The high standard of living in developed countries brings up part-time farming, where small farms are highly productive to generate additional income for people who have their main activity in another sector. Holdings are getting some products but high added value. These holdings are maintained, too, for family consumption.
Plasticulture and Agricultural Systems
Plasticulture is a farming technique that involves covering crops with plastic prayed with small holes to retain moisture and prevent evaporation. Both crops under plastic and greenhouses (in addition to retaining moisture) shelter from cold temperatures. They are generally used in areas of low rainfall and south of the Peninsula and Islands. The area where most are proliferating is in Almería greenhouses, especially in El Ejido.
Extensive agriculture is an agricultural harvesting system involved in the small amounts of labor and capital per unit area, so you get a low output per unit surface. It is based on the amount of cultivated land rather than the intensity of their use.
Intensive agriculture is which is obtained in the shortest possible space, lots of quality products through the use of techniques such as seed selection, use of fertilizers, irrigation, and crop rotation. This causes agriculture is very expensive but provides high yields. It applies in areas with little arable land and large population, in Spain, an example can be seen in the Levant.
Fallow, Fishing Grounds, and Land Consolidation
Fallow is a traditional agricultural practice of allowing land to rest for some time to retrieve its qualities and nutrients. It was used mainly in Spain cerelística, is now disappearing.
A fishing ground is a particularly suitable sea area for fishing by the presence in them of large numbers of fish, usually very specific species, and where ships calan. Among the factors that determine the abundance of fish highlight the abundance of plankton, the extent of continental shelves, the proximity of cold water, and contact between cold and warm water. Spanish fishing grounds currently have problems due to the poor state of water resources, the overuse and small size of the continental shelf. However, among the most important fishing grounds can be cited Andalusian Atlantic coast, with abundance of anchovy, sardine, mackerel, and mullet.
Land consolidation consists in reducing the number of parcels per farm. The policy of land consolidation started in Spain in the 50s and it was this factor along with the rural exodus which determined the passage of 13.5 parcels per farm in 1962 to 8.7 in the present.
Sanding and Livestock
Sanding is preparing crop ground with a layer of manure and other sand, so that the sand filter the water and manure the plants returned to the hold gradually. Temperature also increases and acts as a fertilizer. Farming employs new techniques like this.
Extensive livestock is the existence of large herds in large spaces, the modalias adapting to climate and orient the large market in general, its purpose is to obtain meat, wool, and small labor pieles.Necesita of work, little care, and little expense, ad & d the use of pastures and rangelands, reduce costs but not Yield