Abstract
Between 1985 and 1989 and in 1994 an agroecologicaI research was carried out at the Mediterranean coast of Andalucia (Southern Spain). Comparison of aerial photos of 1950 and 1978, interviews with farmers and field work made clear that the landscape is subject to enormous changes. The innovation of agricultural practices cause manifold ecological consequences. Main results are: The traditional land use pattern was replaced by market oriented agricultural practices. The changes of the land use pattern occurred very quickly starting in the early eighty's, not reaching their peak up to now. Main feature of the development is the destruction of the landscape by ecologically non - adapted methods of terracing steep slopes, which were formerly protected by traditional terraces. Heterogeneous development of the higher Alpujarra and the coastal plains with respect to the emigration and immigration pattern is threatening the interaction between both areas, especially the water management. The coastal plains are entirely dependent on the water resources of the Sierra Nevada and upper Alpujarra. Dryland farming has been abandoned nearly completely.
Highlights
ABSTRACT.- Between 1985and 1989andin 1994 an agroecológica I research was carried out at the Mediterranean coast of Andalucía (Southern Spain)
The Mediterranean coastal areas and mountainous hinterlands are highly sensitive ecological systems (Brueckner & Hoffmann, 1 992), which are increasingly threatened by different types of overexploitation
After a long period of hard w o r k on the land, farmers today have recognised and adopted the advantages offered by a highly technified and simplified plant production. This evolution leads to a merciless exploitation of the resources, with all the disastrous consequences which this implies for the economy and the ecology
Summary
HINTERLAND IN THE MEDITERRANEAN - AN EXAMPLE FROM SOUTHERN SPAIN (COSTA GRANADINA). Dept. of Applied Physiogeography of the Tropics and Subtropics (APT), Institut fur Physische Géographie der Universitat Freiburg i. The advantageous climate allows the practice of an intensive agricultural use of coast sites, especially for the production of early vegetables, citrus and subtropical and tropical fruit trees. A major part of the early vegetables sold on the Central-European markets are grown on the production sites of the Mediterranean coast, such as the south of Italy (Sicily), Southern Spain, Greece (Crete) and in the south of Turkey, where greenhouse-landscapes have emerged on huge surfaces. These represent an important ecological burden for the agricultural ecosystems (Drescher, 1993)
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