LIFE Project: Improved techniques to optimize water and nutrient use in strawberry production near Doñana National Park

The rise in intensive agricultural production is causing problems in EU countries due to pressures on water resources, especially in southern France, Spain, and Portugal. Huelva, in Andalusia (southern Spain), has a strawberry cultivation area of 6,600 hectares and a production of 334,767 tons (in 2018). The region accounts for 97% of Spanish strawberry production and more than 25% of EU production. However, more than 7,900 hectares of berry crops, of which 40% are strawberry farms, are located north of Doñana National Park, one of the largest wetland complexes in Western Europe and a Natura 2000 and Ramsar site. Strawberries in this area are grown using groundwater from the "Almonte-Marismas" aquifer 27, which also feeds several wetlands in Doñana.

This overpressure on the aquifer and the decline in groundwater levels are affecting Doñana, causing changes in vegetation, drying up ponds, and impacting some bird populations. The wetlands are also experiencing rapid eutrophication linked to excess nutrients from agricultural activity. Regional authorities have implemented a Special Land Use Plan to improve irrigated agricultural areas north of the Doana forest and have acquired farms to reduce water withdrawals from the aquifer.

However, despite these initiatives, in February 2019, the Guadalquivir Hydrographic Confederation initiated proceedings to declare three of the five aquifers as groundwater bodies at risk of not achieving the required good status. In parallel with public initiatives, it is important to continue engaging farmers and agricultural professionals in improving management and reducing pressure on the aquifer.

In this regard, innovative irrigation and fertigation systems, such as on-demand decision support systems (DSS), offer great potential to reduce quantitative and qualitative pressures through greater water and nutrient use efficiency. However, they are rarely adopted on soil-based farms in the area or in other EU regions.

There is a significant need to demonstrate the environmental and economic benefits of water-saving systems to encourage their adoption by farmers, along with support from advisory services.