Site Implementation Plan: Guadalentin, Spain

Table of Contents

1. Site Information
2. Summary
3. Location description
   1. Situation
   2. Physiographic setting of the plots
4. Stakeholder information
5. Land use
6. Conservation measures and experimental setup
7. Monitoring activities

Physiographic setting of the plots

The most dominant soil types in the Torrealvilla study area are Regosols, Fluvisols, Calcisols, Gypsisols and Leptosols (FAO, 2006). Leptosols dominate on the steeper slopes of the limestone outcrops, whereas Calcisols, Gypsisols and Regosols are mostly found on the flatter terrain. Calcic and petrocalcic horizons are common in these soils. The experimental plots are located on Calcisols and Regosols under relatively gentle to moderate slopes between 5 and 15 %.

The climate is semi-arid with a mean annual rainfall around 300 mm. Droughts, centered in summer commonly last for more than 4-5 months. Annual potential evapotranspiration rates larger than 1000 mm are common.

Figure 1: Location of the field sites within the Torrealvilla catchment. A: almond field with green cover and reduced tillage experiments. B: Almond fields with a Boquera. C: cereal field with reduced tillage experiments.