B. Almeria Flashcards

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1
Q

What is desertification?

A

Desertification is the process of land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas caused by adverse human impact.

It involves the destruction of the biological potential of the land which can ultimately lead to desert-like conditions

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2
Q

How much rainfall does Almeria receive a year?

A

Almeria receives <300mm of rainfall a year = semi-arid area

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3
Q

How much biodiversity does Almeria support?

A

Almeria supports a large variety of plants, grasses, animals and insects

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4
Q

How is Almeria being degraded

A

Overgrazing

  • Compaction of the ground increases damage from rain splash
  • Reduced plant growth due to livestock

Quarrying

  • Gypsum contains groundwater, which is lost when the mineral is mined

Tourism

  • Tourist sites and golf courses tap into aquifer for water, draining it over time.
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5
Q

Which appropriate technologies are being used to reclaim desert land on a small scale?

A
  • Traditional flood irrigation
  • Drop irrigation
  • Mulching (covering the soil with organic material)
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6
Q

What are the pros and cons of appropriate technologies?

A
  • [+] Low technology requirement
  • [-] Small scale
  • [-] Labour intensive
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7
Q

What are the limitations of traditional flood irrigation?

A
  • [-] Only possible near constant (non-episodic) rivers
  • [-] Small scale
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8
Q

What are the pros and cons of drop irrigation?

A
  • [+] Less water intensive than traditional flood irrigation = no wastage / evaporation
  • [-] Small-scale
  • [-] Requires setup = expensive
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9
Q

What are the positives of mulching?

A
  • [+] Holds water and reduces evaporation
  • [+] Reduces rain splash and surface runoff
  • [+] Reclaims / regenerates degraded soil
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10
Q

How does Almeria’s 1982 water treatment plant reduce desertification?

A

Water used for agriculture (irrigation) after use in tourism, reducing consumption from aquifers inland

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11
Q

How large was the pledge to reduce deforestation made by the 1996 UN Convention to Combat Desertification?

A
  • Signed by over 100 countries
  • Promises international finance and cooperation to achieve major planting and reclamation schemes.
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12
Q

What is the Green Link project and how ambitious is their plan?

(Southern Spain - not to be confused with Great Green Wall (Sahel)!

A

The Green Link project is a tree replanting project, planting trees by hand as well as by drone across Southern Spain to combat desertification.

Their plan is to restore 1 million hectares of land, planting 500,000 seeds over 50 hectares at a time by drone.

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13
Q

Why are reafforestation projects such as the Green Link project important?

A
  • Trees bind the soil together, preventing sheetwash
  • Trees protect soil from evaporation and help prevent capillary movement of water through the soil.
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14
Q

How much water does Almeria’s desalinisation plant produce each year?

A

180,000m3 of drinking water produced each year

  • 87% goes into irrigation
  • Significant in supplementing only < 300mm of rainfall a year
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15
Q

What are the drawbacks of Almeria’s desalinisation plant?

A
  • Extremely expensive = €130m for one plant
  • High energy consumption - 5-10kwH for 1m3 water, most of energy demand met by fossil fuels
  • Desalinised water is therefore very expensive - farmers and hotels may continue to take water from illegal bore holes
  • Brine discharged into sea - contains chlorine, anti-scaling and anti-caking agents (to prevent salt build-up) ↓
  • This brine has a significant detrimental effect on marine life, especially starfish and sea urchins
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16
Q

What is the name of Almeria’s desalinisation plant?
How much of Almeria does it serve?

A

Bajo Almanzora
Serves 15% of the population - 300,000 people