Irrigation and environmental change in Mediterranean wetlands: the Segura River Delta from the 10th to the 19th century

Abstract

This study is concerned with understanding the impact of the cause and effect relationships on the complex environmental history of the Mediterranean wetlands. A case study of the Segura River Delta (south east of the Iberian Peninsula) allows a direct relation to be established between human impact and delta growth, which was notably significant during the Modern Ages. Together with a series of specific natural conditions (LIA and neotectonic), the constitution of this zone as an irrigated landscape directly affected the nature of the wetlands in the distal areas of the delta.