Agricultural irrigation development in Castilla y León (Spain): driving forces and outcomes for landscape and sustainability in the 21st century.

Context: Agriculture relies on irrigation in many parts of the world, and the need for irrigation is increasing due to rising demands for agricultural products and climate change-induced alterations in rainfall patterns. However, irrigated agriculture has been found to damage ecosystems and threaten landscape sustainability.

Objectives: Against this background, there has been a recent development towards large-scale irrigation in Spain. The aim of this study is to understand this development at the landscape level and its impact in the context of landscape sustainability.

Methods: We focused on two study sites in Castilla y León using a mixed-methods approach. We studied driving forces, landscape changes, and sustainability outcomes through document analysis, interviews, and aerial photograph analysis.

Results: The development of a landscape-level underground pipe network took place at one study site and is planned for the second study site. Interviewees perceived institutional and social driving forces as particularly influential and technological driving forces as less influential. Political and economic driving forces were often interlinked. The irrigation development tied to land consolidation led to landscape changes, such as the removal of trees and increases in field size. Thus, in terms of environmental sustainability, trade-offs were found, while social sustainability outcomes were mainly positive. The impact on farmers' economic security varied.

Conclusions: For further landscape-level irrigation developments, we recommend integrating preserving seminatural habitats and the structural diversity of the agricultural landscape in planning processes. We also recommend a shift towards more water efficient crops, evapotranspiration management, and a new funding scheme for farmers to offset rising electricity costs.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10980-024-01977-y.