Parque Agrario de los Carrizales
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Parque Agrario de los Carrizales

Comarca del Baix de Vinalopó, Elche

The Pilot Farms of the “Agrarian Park of Los Carrizales” are located within the Baix Vinalopó region, between the Natural Parks of El Hondo and the Salinas de Santa Pola. The total surface of the ParK is around 1,000 hectares dedicated to the horticultural production and to permanent crops in a minority surface. All the crops are adapted to the salinity of the soils and waters used for irrigation, so one of their main crops is melon, which in these conditions produces fruits of exceptional quality. The space is crossed by azarbes or irrigation channels that come from Arab times and that allow the water management of the space.

The area is located within the ZEPA "El Hondo" (ES0000058) whose extension was requested by the Irrigation Community of Carrizales. In addition the own community of irrigators decides to create the Agrarian Natural Park like a platform of development for a social and economic action, presented / displayed in November of 2008. According to declares the Community of Irrigators treats of "a project that unites the protection of the natural values, cultural and landscape with rural activity and the social use of the territory. The viability of the territory is promoted as an economically functional and ecologically protected area.

© Fundación Global Nature

Crops

The most outstanding crop is Melon del Carrizal, which occupies an area of ​​approximately 13 ha, which are rotated annually, so that melon cultivation effectively occupies twice or triple the area. There are also other horticultural productions such as artichoke, broccoli or beans. The plots are also rotated with forage crops, including alfalfa, which provides food for the more than 5,000 head of goats and sheep that graze by Carrizales and which provide quality milk for the production of cheese and other dairy products. Among the permanent crops, the Mollar de Elche pomegranate has made great progress in recent years due to its great acceptance in international markets.

Undoubtedly, the most peculiar aspect of this space is the network of channels or hazards depending on the Segura river and considered "one of the most complex historical irrigation systems known in the world”. Most of the agricultural area of ​​the Carrizales is irrigated and by surface irrigation. The dripping experiences have not been entirely satisfactory to date and the superficial irrigations are still necessary to wash the salts that rise to the surface. There are no current experiences in organic farming in this space.

 

Cultivation area
Pilot farms: 75 has

Cultivation types
Conventional farming

Actions developed within the project

  • First visit of contact
  • Hotspot Analysis
  • Baseline report
  • Second visit and Questionnaire on Biodiversity Performance Tool
  • Biodiversity Action Plan on writing