- •Series Editor’s Preface
- •Contents
- •Contributors
- •1 Introduction
- •References
- •2.1 Methodological Introduction
- •2.2 Geographical Background
- •2.3 The Compelling History of Viticulture Terracing
- •2.4 How Water Made Wine
- •2.5 An Apparent Exception: The Wines of the Alps
- •2.6 Convergent Legacies
- •2.7 Conclusions
- •References
- •3.1 The State of the Art: A Growing Interest in the Last 20 Years
- •3.2 An Initial Survey on Extent, Distribution, and Land Use: The MAPTER Project
- •3.3.2 Quality Turn: Local, Artisanal, Different
- •3.3.4 Sociability to Tame Verticality
- •3.3.5 Landscape as a Theater: Aesthetic and Educational Values
- •References
- •4 Slovenian Terraced Landscapes
- •4.1 Introduction
- •4.2 Terraced Landscape Research in Slovenia
- •4.3 State of Terraced Landscapes in Slovenia
- •4.4 Integration of Terraced Landscapes into Spatial Planning and Cultural Heritage
- •4.5 Conclusion
- •Bibliography
- •Sources
- •5.1 Introduction
- •5.3 The Model of the High Valleys of the Southern Massif Central, the Southern Alps, Castagniccia and the Pyrenees Orientals: Small Terraced Areas Associated with Immense Spaces of Extensive Agriculture
- •5.6 What is the Reality of Terraced Agriculture in France in 2017?
- •References
- •6.1 Introduction
- •6.2 Looking Back, Looking Forward
- •6.2.4 New Technologies
- •6.2.5 Policy Needs
- •6.3 Conclusions
- •References
- •7.1 Introduction
- •7.2 Study Area
- •7.3 Methods
- •7.4 Characterization of the Terraces of La Gomera
- •7.4.1 Environmental Factors (Altitude, Slope, Lithology and Landforms)
- •7.4.2 Human Factors (Land Occupation and Protected Nature Areas)
- •7.5 Conclusions
- •References
- •8.1 Geographical Survey About Terraced Landscapes in Peru
- •8.2 Methodology
- •8.3 Threats to Terraced Landscapes in Peru
- •8.4 The Terrace Landscape Debate
- •8.5 Conclusions
- •References
- •9.1 Introduction
- •9.2 Australia
- •9.3 Survival Creativity and Dry Stones
- •9.4 Early 1800s Settlement
- •9.4.2 Gold Mines Walhalla West Gippsland Victoria
- •9.4.3 Goonawarra Vineyard Terraces Sunbury Victoria
- •9.6 Garden Walls Contemporary Terraces
- •9.7 Preservation and Regulations
- •9.8 Art, Craft, Survival and Creativity
- •Appendix 9.1
- •References
- •10 Agricultural Terraces in Mexico
- •10.1 Introduction
- •10.2 Traditional Agricultural Systems
- •10.3 The Agricultural Terraces
- •10.4 Terrace Distribution
- •10.4.1 Terraces in Tlaxcala
- •10.5 Terraces in the Basin of Mexico
- •10.6 Terraces in the Toluca Valley
- •10.7 Terraces in Oaxaca
- •10.8 Terraces in the Mayan Area
- •10.9 Conclusions
- •References
- •11.1 Introduction
- •11.2 Materials and Methods
- •11.2.1 Traditional Cartographic and Photo Analysis
- •11.2.2 Orthophoto
- •11.2.3 WMS and Geobrowser
- •11.2.4 LiDAR Survey
- •11.2.5 UAV Survey
- •11.3 Result and Discussion
- •11.4 Conclusion
- •References
- •12.1 Introduction
- •12.2 Case Study
- •12.2.1 Liguria: A Natural Laboratory for the Analysis of a Terraced Landscape
- •12.2.2 Land Abandonment and Landslides Occurrences
- •12.3 Terraced Landscape Management
- •12.3.1 Monitoring
- •12.3.2 Landscape Agronomic Approach
- •12.3.3 Maintenance
- •12.4 Final Remarks
- •References
- •13 Health, Seeds, Diversity and Terraces
- •13.1 Nutrition and Diseases
- •13.2 Climate Change and Health
- •13.3 Can We Have Both Cheap and Healthy Food?
- •13.4 Where the Seed Comes from?
- •13.5 The Case of Yemen
- •13.7 Conclusions
- •References
- •14.1 Introduction
- •14.2 Components and Features of the Satoyama and the Hani Terrace Landscape
- •14.4 Ecosystem Services of the Satoyama and the Hani Terrace Landscape
- •14.5 Challenges in the Satoyama and the Hani Terrace Landscape
- •References
- •15 Terraced Lands: From Put in Place to Put in Memory
- •15.2 Terraces, Landscapes, Societies
- •15.3 Country Planning: Lifestyles
- •15.4 What Is Important? The System
- •References
- •16.1 Introduction
- •16.2 Case Study: The Traditional Cultural Landscape of Olive Groves in Trevi (Italy)
- •16.2.1 Historical Overview of the Study Area
- •16.2.3 Structural and Technical Data of Olive Groves in the Municipality of Trevi
- •16.3 Materials and Methods
- •16.3.2 Participatory Planning Process
- •16.4 Results and Discussion
- •16.5 Conclusions
- •References
- •17.1 Towards a Circular Paradigm for the Regeneration of Terraced Landscapes
- •17.1.1 Circular Economy and Circularization of Processes
- •17.1.2 The Landscape Systemic Approach
- •17.1.3 The Complex Social Value of Cultural Terraced Landscape as Common Good
- •17.2 Evaluation Tools
- •17.2.1 Multidimensional Impacts of Land Abandonment in Terraced Landscapes
- •17.2.3 Economic Valuation Methods of ES
- •17.3 Some Economic Instruments
- •17.3.1 Applicability and Impact of Subsidy Policies in Terraced Landscapes
- •17.3.3 Payments for Ecosystem Services Promoting Sustainable Farming Practices
- •17.3.4 Pay for Action and Pay for Result Mechanisms
- •17.4 Conclusions and Discussion
- •References
- •18.1 Introduction
- •18.2 Tourism and Landscape: A Brief Theoretical Staging
- •18.3 Tourism Development in Terraced Landscapes: Attractions and Expectations
- •18.3.1 General Trends and Main Issues
- •18.3.2 The Demand Side
- •18.3.3 The Supply Side
- •18.3.4 Our Approach
- •18.4 Tourism and Local Agricultural System
- •18.6 Concluding Remarks
- •References
- •19 Innovative Practices and Strategic Planning on Terraced Landscapes with a View to Building New Alpine Communities
- •19.1 Focusing on Practices
- •19.2 Terraces: A Resource for Building Community Awareness in the Alps
- •19.3 The Alto Canavese Case Study (Piedmont, Italy)
- •19.3.1 A Territory that Looks to a Future Based on Terraced Landscapes
- •19.3.2 The Community’s First Steps: The Practices that Enhance Terraces
- •19.3.3 The Role of Two Projects
- •19.3.3.1 The Strategic Plan
- •References
- •20 Planning, Policies and Governance for Terraced Landscape: A General View
- •20.1 Three Landscapes
- •20.2 Crisis and Opportunity
- •20.4 Planning, Policy and Governance Guidelines
- •Annex
- •Foreword
- •References
- •21.1 About Policies: Why Current Ones Do not Work?
- •21.2 What Landscape Observatories Are?
- •References
- •Index
162 |
J. M. Pérez Sánchez |
10.3The Agricultural Terraces
In Mexico, terraces were implemented by the ancient inhabitants and developed throughout the Mesoamerican area. Agricultural terraces are a technique for conserving water and preventing soil erosion (Donkin 1979; García Cook 1986; Rojas 2001; Pérez and Juan 2016; González 2016). Terraces are part of the intensive rainfed system and are associated with the moisture system, because they collect enough water to maintain the humidity of the farmland (Palerm 2008). This system was important for the development of the great pre-Hispanic cultures of Mexico, with high population densities and urban centers (Palerm and Wolf 1972; Pérez 2006).
Terraces dominate sloping mountainsides. They are constructed with support walls of stone or adobe, protect the soil from erosion, retain rainwater, and allow the accumulation of alluvial soil (Palerm 2008; Doolittle 2004). Also classified as earth embankments, the terraces can combine borders and canals constructed perpendicularly to the mountainside, whose vertical slopes are of stone, lime, tepetate, or blocks of wall (Trautmann 1981; Martínez et al. 1999). The terraces are artificial, staggered or vertical, constructions with walls of different materials, canals to capture water, and a surface to cultivate.
These, however, are not all the characteristics of terraces. They also increase water infiltration into the soil, diminish the volume of runoff downstream, evacuate excess water at “non-erosive velocities,” reduce sediments in the runoff, and refurbish lands for agriculture. The terraces have been adapted to different environments where climate, soil, topography, and stoniness play an important role in their construction and operation (Martínez et al. 1999).
10.4Terrace Distribution
In 1979, R. A. Donkin first documented the distribution of terraced landscapes in the Americas, and particularly in Mexico, based on archeological data, historical sources, the characteristics of pre-Hispanic agriculture, and agricultural implements used by ancient populations. Donkin proposes two types of considerations in the study of terraces: continental–regional and local characteristics. The former includes territorial distribution, climate, and cultural associations; the latter includes the form and construction of the terraces, a social base and purpose, crops, and irrigation. The abandonment of terraces due to environmental and cultural issues must also be considered.
Donkin identifies three regions of agricultural terraces on the American continents: North America, Central America, and South America. In Mexico, he classifies six sub-regions (Fig. 10.1) according to the diversity of environments and the territory’s physiographic characteristics. The different terraced landscape zones in Mexico cover the north, center, and south (Table 10.1).
10 Agricultural Terraces in Mexico |
163 |
Fig. 10.1 Sub-regions and terraced areas in Mexico. Source Donkin (1979)
Although Donkin’s proposal was made about 30 years ago, it is still relevant, and several more recent studies deal with current conditions of the terraces in various areas of Mexico. In Tlaxcala, the studies are of the regions of the volcano Matlalcueye and the Tlaxcala Block (Patrick 1977). In Oaxaca, research focuses on the Mixteca Alta region (Pérez 2006, 2015), and, in the valley of Toluca, on Calixtlahuaca (Smith 2006; Pérez and Juan 2016). Though covering different sites and regions, the studies share the common perspectives of cultural geography, agroecology, cultural ecology, anthropology, history, and archeology.
10.4.1 Terraces in Tlaxcala
Plains, hills, ravines, and the volcano Matlalcueye characterize the landscape of Tlaxcala (Fig. 10.2). In this region, the problem of soil erosion is not recent. In pre-Hispanic times, the inhabitants knew the problem, and they had, to some extent, controlled it by modifying the surface with terraces (Cook 1986). Archeological studies show that pre-Hispanic populations had already modified the slopes of hills by 1500 BC, as the settlers in the Xochitécatl area did by building terraces on the slopes to construct their houses and cultivate the soil (Cook 1986; Heine 1975). In the Tlaxcala Block region, the construction of the pre-Hispanic terraces allowed the
164 |
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|
|
J. M. Pérez Sánchez |
Table 10.1 |
Regionalization of agricultural terraces in Mexico |
||||
|
|
|
|
||
Region |
|
Sub-region |
Area |
||
A. North |
|
I. Central |
1. |
Basin of Mexico (east and south) |
|
America |
|
Mexico |
2. |
The valley of Teotihuacan |
|
|
|
|
3. |
The valley of the Rio Tula |
|
|
|
|
4. |
Basin of Toluca |
|
|
|
|
5. South of the Piedmont of the Mesa Central: Tenancingo, |
||
|
|
|
Coatepec, Tepoztlan, Ozumba-Chimalhuacan, San Miguel |
||
|
|
|
Atlauta, Tochimilco-Atlixco |
||
|
|
II. East Central |
6. |
The basin of Puebla-Tlaxcala |
|
|
|
Mexico |
7. |
East of the Piedmont of the Mesa Central |
|
|
|
III. West |
8. |
The Western Highlands and the basin of the |
|
|
|
Central |
Balsas-Tepalcatepec |
||
|
|
Mexico |
9. |
The basin of Lake Patzcuaro |
|
|
|
|
10. |
The valley of the Rio Chilchota |
|
|
|
IV. Northwest |
11. |
Southwest Chihuahua and northern Sinaloa |
|
|
|
Mexico |
12. |
Northwest Sonora and north Chihuahua |
|
B. Central |
|
V. Southern |
13. The Mixteca Alta and the basin of Tehuacan: northern, |
||
America |
|
Mexico |
western, southern, and eastern Mixteca Alta |
||
|
|
|
14. |
The Barranca Grande: basin of Tehuacan |
|
|
|
|
15. |
Oaxaca: the valley of Oaxaca-Tlacolula |
|
|
|
|
16. |
The Highlands of Oaxaca |
|
|
|
|
17. |
Chiapas: Chamula-Saklamanton, Amatenango— |
|
|
|
|
Aguacatenango, Comitan—San Francisco, Ocosingo |
||
|
|
VI. Central |
18. |
The Mayan lowlands |
|
|
|
America |
|
|
|
Source Donkin (1979) |
|
|
|
inhabitants to identify and use hard soils (tepetate) as a base to build both houses and canals to deflect water (González 2016).
In Tlaxcala, there are two types of farming systems: the terraces and metepantles.1 The latter is a local term used to name a specific type of terraces commonly found on slopes, hills, and canyons. Instead of having a rock wall, metepantles have walls of earth with agave plants. In the Tlaxcala Block, terraces have two distinctive features: retaining walls and ditches. The walls are defensive and anti-erosive elements; they vary in size depending on the slope of the land and cultivated area (Patrick 1977; Bilbao 1979; Mountjoy 1985; Pérez 2014; González 2016). The ditches are parallelepiped-shaped, from 0.40 to 1 m deep, with a length of 1–35 or 40 m (Bilbao 1979). The ditches capture water, sediment, and organic matter, and they are constructed according to the land’s slope and the type of soil (Bilbao 1979; Pérez 2014; González 2016).
1A term derived from the Náhuatl word mepancle: row of agaves that separate land. Me-pantli of metl: maguey [agave], and pancli, pantle, or pancle: board, row, wall. Metepantle is the name given to the set of things put in rows: plants, trees, or agave (Diccionario del Náhuatl 2007).
10 Agricultural Terraces in Mexico |
165 |
Fig. 10.2 Map of Tlaxcala, Mexico
In metepantles, ditches are subdivided into stages following the slope of the land. In the rainy season, the slope of the ditch lets water pass to the next level, capturing rainwater, mud, other plants, and insects, which, while decaying, form organic matter that the farmers deposit on the surface as fertilizer (Bilbao 1979; Pérez 2014; González 2016). The ditches are in three places: (1) along the roads,
(2) along the edges of the farmland, and (3) at the base of the retaining walls in order to catch rainwater or divert excess water toward the canyons (Pérez 2014; González 2016).
Patrick (1977) describes the metepantles system around the Matlalcueye volcano, explaining its retaining walls and row of plants, the gradient and width of the surface, the size of the slope, and the characteristics of the maguey (Agave sp.) plant (its size and the space between plants). In the metepantles terracing technique, planting area, board retention, and the row of agave are fundamental for the development of agricultural practices.
In the municipality of Ixtacuixtla, Pérez (2014) describes the metepantles system in the town of La Caridad Cuaxonacayo—a system which is associated with water deposits and characterized by its cultivation surfaces, vegetation, and containing levees, canals, or ditches. The metepantles contain walls or embankments with different types of vegetation—agave, prickly pear (Opuntia sp.), or fruit trees (pear, apple, plum)—that support the wall (Fig. 10.3). Reservoirs collect rainwater, and a network of water canals provides moisture to crops in the dry season and diverts excess water from the metepantle when necessary.