<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> Irrigation is a rural development technique widely extended in, and affecting the landscape of, areas of Mediterranean climate. In Spain, irrigation accounts for ⅔ of all water use. The country has over 3.5 million ha of irrigated land, some 15% of all its agricultural land. Valley bottoms and riversides are the landscapes most commonly associated with irrigation in Spain, followed by peninsular coastal and interior plains, basins, hollows and depressions. This paper describes the engineering infrastructures associated with irrigation, the structures involved in water capture, transport, storage and distribution, and water use and drainage in the irrigated lowlands of Spain. It also examines the environmental impact of such water use. Several descriptors are proposed to describe its association with the landscape.</p></abstract>

Irrigation is a rural development technique widely extended in, and affecting the landscape of, areas of Mediterranean climate. In Spain, irrigation accounts for ⅔ of all water use. The country has over 3.5 million ha of irrigated land, some 15% of all its agricultural land. Valley bottoms and riversides are the landscapes most commonly associated with irrigation in Spain, followed by peninsular coastal and interior plains, basins, hollows and depressions. This paper describes the engineering infrastructures associated with irrigation, the structures involved in water capture, transport, storage and distribution, and water use and drainage in the irrigated lowlands of Spain. It also examines the environmental impact of such water use. Several descriptors are proposed to describe its association with the landscape.

Irrigation engineering in Spain and how it has changed the country’s landscape

José María García Asensio, TRAGSA, C/Maldonaldo 58, 28006 Madrid,

PhD., BIPREE research group, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 280740 Madrid,

European Countryside

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Irrigation is a rural development technique widely extended in, and affecting the landscape of, areas of Mediterranean climate. In Spain, irrigation accounts...

Irrigation engineering in Spain and how it has changed the country’s landscape

Article Category: Short communications

Published Online: Apr 06, 2017

Page range: 211 - 229

Received: Jun 13, 2016

Accepted: Oct 26, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/euco-2017-0013

Keywords
Landscape, irrigation, water engineering, rural development, Mediterranean, Spain

© by José M. García-Asensio

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Irrigation engineering in Spain and how it has changed the country’s landscape

Article Category: Short communications

Published Online: Apr 06, 2017

Page range: 211 - 229

Received: Jun 13, 2016

Accepted: Oct 26, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/euco-2017-0013

KeywordsLandscape, irrigation, water engineering, rural development, Mediterranean, Spain

© by José M. García-Asensio

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Landscape, irrigation, water engineering, rural development, Mediterranean, Spain