Principal, Western Botanical Services, Inc., Reno, Nevada USA
IECA Region 1 Vice-President for International Development
The Sixth Biennial
IberoAmerican Chapter Conference (CICES VI) took place this year on October 1 -
4 in Granada, Spain. On the day of the 4th, a fortunate group of attendees enjoyed
a field trip highlighting the olive industry led by IberoAmerican Chapter President
and conference organizer Valentin Contreras of BonTerra Iberica (BPS Group), a
design, manufacturing, and construction firm located in Granada.
Olive cultivation
dominates agriculture and drives the economy of Andalucía, a province in southern
Spain where the conference was held. The
groves seem to go on forever in this part of the country, as a visit to Google
Earth will verify.
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| Typical Andalucía landscape of olive orchards. photo by Julie Etra |
Our group of professionals
from Chile, Spain, Argentina, Peru, Guatemala and the United States gathered
outside the conference center and loaded onto a small bus for a very
insightful, diverse and fun tour of the olive industry.
Olives and Erosion
The day started with a
visit to an olive orchard in the vicinity of Campotéjar, north of Granada,
where the estimated soil loss is 50-100 metric tons/hectare (roughly 22 - 44
tons per acre) per year. To the un-educated eye (and perhaps partly true) olive
orchards appear to be monocultures with little vegetation other than some
annual grasses and cover crops. This perception was particularly apparent in
early October, prior to the winter rainy season which characterizes this Mediterranean
climate. It appears that the orchards are managed for the ease and efficiency
of harvesting the olives, an obvious priority. |
| Tour leader Valentin Contreras talks about biodiversity in olive groves. photo by Will Mahoney |
We looked at two sites
with a variety of installations that mainly addressed rill and gully erosion.
BonTerra designed and installed several types of erosion control BMPs (best management
practices), primarily using different types of blankets and fiber rolls. In some locations, these installations were also
used in combination with gravel-filled tubular nets in key trenches.
Erosion control blankets consist
of fiber rolls fabricated with coir (coconut) fiber or Stipa (Nasella) tenacissima (Esparto or Atocha), and polypropylene netting.
According to Valentin, the plastic netting is desirable, since it takes longer
to break down than the biodegradable nettings, but only lasts 3 - 4 years. Esparto
is a drought-tolerant bunch grass of great importance and abundance in this region
and is related to other species of Nasella common in the western United States.
 |
Orchard managers use a backhoe bucket to create a large divot (hole) with the excavated soil pushed up next to a tree. This clever technique increases infiltration and reduces runoff.
photo by Julie Etra
|
BonTerra also has been working
with a non-profit group, EUTROMED, and government agencies, to reduce ground
and surface water contamination generated by fertilizers, pesticides and
herbicides. In combination with erosion control blankets and fiber rolls, they
have added containerized plants such santolina, rosemary, and thyme, which they
plant on the up-drainage side of the fiber rolls to increase infiltration and
nutrient uptake. EUTROMED also is monitoring water quality below the study
sites.
In the vicinity, we also saw
other types of erosion and sediment control that included rip rap, rock fall
netting and gabions.
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A combination of fiber rolls and gravel check dams with erosion control blankets address rill and gully erosion. photo by Will Mahoney
|
Combining Work and Play
Following the first site
visit, Valentin accompanied us to a modern and immaculate olive processing
facility where we learned that the Spaniards waste nothing -- even the pits or
seeds are processed and used as pellets for heating. Olive oil sampling along with
the requisite Serrano ham, cheese, tomato sauce, beer, wine and juice at a
lovely local restaurant followed this tour.
We also had the
opportunity to visit the efficient BonTerra factory where coir blankets are
manufactured.
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Field tour participants from Argentina, Chile, Guatemala, Peru, Spain, and the USA visiting the BonTerra factory. Julie Etra, the guest author of this blog post, is at the right of the front row wearing a cap.
|
Additional unrelated and unanticipated
stops included yet another olive oil tasting, a five-course meal, and a private
tour of the Cueva de las Ventanas (Cave of the Windows) (http://waste.ideal.es/cuevaventanas.htm), This Neolithic cave is located in the municipality of
Píñar and was first occupied by humans about 20,000 years ago. Above the cave
remains the last Arab outpost and fortress prior to the fall of Spain to the Roman
Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella.
 |
| Oh, yum! Sampling wine and olive oil in Píñar. photo by Will Mahoney |
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| Green wall and green roof at the BPS Group office in Granada. photos by Will Mahoney |
The field trip was a
fantastic learning experience and created some great memories. Many thanks to the IberoAmerican Chapter of
IECA and to Valentin Contreras!
A similar version of this
article previously appeared in IECA’s journal, Environmental Connection (Volume 7, Issue 1, January 2013).
Coming next: A visit to a very big rock - Gibraltar, that is!
