5 - Environment and Agroecosystems

Figure I: Olive trees in the field (Poplasen, 2016)

In this week’s weblog we are looking at Spain’s climatic conditions and understand whether these are optimal for the production of olives. But it also covers the irrigation method and in which manner the crop is grown.

Figure II: Average Monthly Temperature and Rainfall in Spain from 1991-2015 (The World Bank Group, 1991 - 2015)

Spanish climatic conditions

Spain has got a predominantly warm Mediterranean climate, whereby it can be very dry in the summer and temperatures in winter are balanced (Spain, N.D.). As displayed in figure II, average temperatures in the summer are high, while in other seasons they are moderate. Additionally, in the same figure one can see the average rainfall measured between 1991-2015, whereby in the months of June, July, August and September there is little rainfall, and in the other months more rain (The World Bank Group, 1991 - 2015). Finally, since Spain is the biggest olive producer, with 5,276.899 metric tons, we can easily concluded that the climatic condition in the country are optimal in the production of olive tree (Sawe, 2017) (CABRERA, 2015).

Irrigation

It is important to know that olive trees are drought tolerant and therefore can survive on shallow soils with little water supply (University of California - UC Drought Management, N.D.). Besides, for centuries olive trees have been planted withoug irrigation in Mediterranean climate condition (Fereres, N.D.). Growing olives in the traditional manner, which is in mountainous or hilly areas, there one does not irrigate the tree but instead lies on rainfalls. While in modern process irrigation and mechanisation is involved (European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development , 2012). In areas with an annual rainfall higher than 600mm, olive production is maintained under rainfed conditions, with soils that have got good water-holding capacity (Fereres, N.D.). However, in case of extreme dryness one tend to use drip irrigation (ICARDA, 2014).

Figure III: Distribution of olvie groves in southern Spain (CABRERA, 2015)

Monoculture

Olive trees are mainly grown in monoculture. In Jaén alone, a province in Spain (See: Figure III and Figure I ), 91% of agricultural land within this province is occupied by olive trees, which has resulted in a forming of huge swathe of green that extends across neighboring provinces (CABRERA, 2015). By growing in this monoculture the producers can concentrate on a single variety and work on a single purpose, which are said to cut costs as far as possible. With the results in fruits reaching optimum levels of ripeness at the same time.

References

CABRERA, J. D.-M. (2015, September 15). THE OLIVE MONOCULTURE IN THE SOUTH OF SPAIN. Retrieved October 3, 2017, from European Journal of Geography: http://www.eurogeographyjournal.eu/articles/EJG020603CABRERA.pdf

European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development . (2012, July). Economic analysis of the olive sector. Retrieved October 2, 2017, from Europa: https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/olive-oil/economic-analysis_en.pdf

Fereres, R. G. (N.D.). 4.1 Fruit tress and vinos. Retrieved October 2, 2017, from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: http://www.fao.org/docrep/016/i2800e/i2800e09.pdf

ICARDA. (2014, August). Growing More Olives with Less Water. Retrieved October 2, 2017, from ICARDA: https://www.icarda.org/sites/default/files/Olive%20irrigation_FINAL.pdf

Poplasen. (2016). Olive trees grove by the sea. 616873196. iStockPhoto. Retrieved October 2, 2017, from http://www.istockphoto.com/ae/photo/olive-trees-grove-by-the-sea-gm616873196-107175761

Sawe, B. E. (2017, April 25). Leading Olive Producing Countries. Retrieved October 2, 2017, from World Atlas: http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/leading-olive-producing-countries.html

Spain. (N.D.). What is the weather like in Spain? Retrieved October 2, 2017, from Spain: http://www.spain.info/en/informacion-practica/consejos-viaje/consejos-practicos/clima/

The World Bank Group. (1991 - 2015). Country Historical Climate. Retrieved October 2, 2017, from The World Bank Group: http://sdwebx.worldbank.org/climateportal/index.cfm?page=country_historical_climate&ThisCCode=ESP

University of California - UC Drought Management. (N.D.). Olives. Retrieved October 2, 2017, from University of California - UC Drought Management: http://ucmanagedrought.ucdavis.edu/Agriculture/Crop_Irrigation_Strategies/Olives/