The agrarian landscape refers to all those spaces and territories that are used for agriculture, livestock or forestry. Within this type of landscape, physical aspects such as relief, soil and climate are considered, as well as other humans, such as the type of work that is carried out, the techniques used in the treatment of the land and the use that is given to what produced.
Agriculture is the set of activities and techniques developed by humans to cultivate the land and obtain plant products such as vegetables, fruits, legumes or cereals. These can be used as food or as raw materials for industry.
Livestock, meanwhile, consists of raising domestic animals for their consumption and use, including obtaining meat, eggs, milk, wool and skins. Meanwhile, logging includes cutting down forests and natural forests to obtain products such as wood, cellulose, resin, rubber, artificial silk and wax, among others..
On the other hand, the agrarian landscape differs from the urban landscape in that the latter is that of large cities.
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The agrarian landscape is characterized by 3 key aspects: the plots, the use of the territory and the use of the generated.
The parcels are the parts in which the space is divided and, depending on the size, they are divided into latifundios (large extensions of land) and minifundios (small pieces of land).
On the other hand, based on the way of defining their limits, they are classified as: "openfield", which are the open fields or "bocage", which are those closed by fences, walls or stone walls for their protection..
The use of the territory can be for agricultural, livestock or forestry purposes.
In the first case, the lands are defined according to the type of plantations: monocultures are those in which a single type of seed is sown, and polycultures, which are those that include several types.
On the other hand, based on the use of the land, they are classified as intensive, when the largest possible amount is produced in minimal areas, or extensive, when large spaces are used in which it is not intended to maximize productivity in the short term..
Meanwhile, taking into account the irrigation system, they are divided into drylands (when they depend exclusively on rain) or irrigated (when they are artificially irrigated through canals, sprinklers or ditches).
For their part, livestock areas are distinguished according to the type of livestock. Thus, they can be cattle or bovine lands (cows, bulls and oxen), sheep (sheep), goats (goats), equines (horses, mares, donkeys and mules), pigs (pigs) or poultry (chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese).
What is produced in agricultural landscapes can be used for own consumption or for commercialization. In general, smallholdings are dedicated to polyculture and what is generated is destined for personal use.
Meanwhile, the large estates that practice monoculture usually sell what they have harvested in the different markets.
Within the agrarian landscape, certain physical aspects are vital, such as relief, soil and climate..
The relief refers to the set of shapes, levels and irregularities that the surface presents. These include valleys, depressions, mountains, plateaus, plains, dunes, and mountain ranges, among others..
In general, slopes and elevated areas hamper rural work and therefore terraces are built on the slopes of the mountains to take advantage of the land.
The soil, for its part, has to be fertile and allow the growth and development of crops. For this, it must have certain organic compounds and nutrients, such as nitrates, ammonium, potassium, phosphorus, sulfur, magnesium, calcium, sodium, iron or copper..
These can be reinforced through the use of fertilizers, being important to avoid those that are toxic. The sandy and clayey soils, meanwhile, make agricultural work difficult.
The climate is another important factor to take into account based on temperature, humidity, rainfall and the strength of the wind..
For example, a space with high temperatures and little rainfall is not very conducive to growing..
Cereal plantations such as corn, wheat, rice, barley, rye, oats, sorghum, millet, quinoa and farro are examples of agrarian landscapes.
Also those of fruits such as orange, banana, strawberry, blueberry, apple, grape, kiwi, peach, pineapple and cherry.
The same occurs with the fields where legumes such as alfalfa, chickpea, lentils, peanuts, soybeans, beans or broad beans are grown; or vegetables such as carrots, turnips, onion, garlic, beets, spinach, chard, cauliflower, broccoli, or artichoke.
On the other hand, other examples of agrarian landscapes are the spaces dedicated to raising cows, chickens, sheep, pigs, horses and other animals..
The agrarian landscape, associated with the countryside, is generally contrasted with the urban landscape, which is typical of large cities.
It is characterized by having low levels of population, dispersed housing and little presence of services and infrastructures.
Its inhabitants, for the most part, are engaged in primary activities, related to the extraction of goods and resources from nature.
On the contrary, these areas stand out for their high demographic density, the proximity between buildings and a greater presence of infrastructures.
Meanwhile, almost all its inhabitants work in the secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy, dedicated to the creation of finished products, their marketing and the provision of services..
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