Paisajes culturales del regadío tradicional e histórico en la Vega Alta de Segura

Resum

Cultural landscapes in traditional and historical irrigation in La Vega Alta de Segura. The use of water for irrigation in the high course of the Segura Valley has created a series of cultural landscapes that respond to the conditions of the environment and the agronomic interest of human groups. The result of this crop irrigation activity, over several centuries, is a succession of landscapes, such as the rice fields of Salmerón, Cañaverosa and Calasparra; the traditional irrigated fertile regions (huertas) of the valley floor, such as the Ricote Valley (oasis of palm trees and above-ground and ground crops, mixed cropping), and the stepped irrigation on the valley slopes with monoculture plantations of stone fruit trees (for example, apricot, peach, plum, etc.) or citrus fruits (for example, lemon, orange, mandarin, etc.). These landscapes of the Segura vales and basins are threatened by the urban sprawl of population centres, always initially located in foothills and river terraces in a river meander loop (Cieza, Abarán, Blanca, Ojós, Villanueva, etc.), in order to avoid the periodic flooding of the valley, and, at the same time, leave the best land, for its soil and accessibility to water, for growing crops. Likewise, the landscapes created from points like sources and springs, as in the case of La Fuente Grande in Ricote or La Fuente del Ojo in Cieza. As well as oases through small aquifer catchments with vertical and horizontal wells. In the case of lifting, it is done by different styles of water wheels, and collecting systems by gravity through galleries (qanats, mine water and subsidences). Changes in rural landscapes occur due to new economic conditions for the fruit and vegetable sector in the 20th century: the 1956 Stabilization Plan, the rural exodus and emigration in the 1960s and 1970s, the 1970 Preferential Trade Agreement with the EEC, or Spain’s Treaty of Accession to the European Union. The 21st century poses new challenges related with appellation of origin productions and geographical identity products, irrigation system modernization projects, valuation of water heritage, and the multifunctionality of rural areas when making the agricultural activity (sometimes part-time) compatible with leisure and recreation activities, such as rural tourism.