Evaluación de tierras para reforestación (Horche, Guadalajara) mediante un índice de Productividad Agraria

Abstract

The EU is promoting afforestation in countries, like Spain, with areas vulnerable to land degradation and desertification. This paper aims to set up, by mean of Land Evaluation, the marginal lands in order to know which ones are susceptible to change from farm to forest. The Land Evaluation method used in this paper is an adaptation and update of the Riquier et al. (1970). It has been named «Índice de Productividad Agraria (IPA)», by mean of which is possible to evaluate the main kind of extensive land use: herbaceous winter-spring and herbaceous summer crops, tree crops, range, and forest, all of then on dry and irrigated system, and the herbaceous and tree crops under conventional tillage and no tillage. The study area with an extension of 50 km₂ is in Horche (southwest Guadalajara, central Spain). The Land survey has let distinguish nine mapping units: Cerrillo, Bachos, Plataformas, Vertientes, Glacis-Terrazas, Pie de ladera, Abanicos aluviales and Vegas (rainfed and irrigated). The IPA shows the Vertientes and Glacis-Terrazas with tree crops, and the Abanicos Aluviales and Cerrillos with herbaceous crops are marginal agricultural lands and are susceptible to change from farm to forest.