Unveiling Agricultural Heritage: Mapping Historical Features in Farming Landscapes

Agricultural heritage represents a unique fusion of natural and cultural elements, encompassing both tangible and intangible aspects that reflect the historical bond between humanity and the land focused on food production. Recognising its significance is vital, as it not only preserves tradition and expertise but also fosters sustainability and environmental resilience. While significant initiatives like Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) are in place to safeguard remarkable agricultural areas with unique heritage values, frameworks for recognising the historic significance of non-outstanding agricultural areas are not sufficiently consolidated. Nonetheless, it is equally important to acknowledge the heritage value of agricultural systems that, while lacking exceptional features, succeed in preserving traditional techniques and processes, thereby conserving cultural landscapes and gastronomic identities. For this reason, this paper introduces a methodology for assessing the time depth of agricultural elements such as roads, livestock routes, agricultural plots, rural buildings and land use using historical cartography. By mapping historically significant features in farming areas, this method might be useful for recognising agricultural heritage and integrate it into spatial decision-making, ensuring the preservation of its cultural and environmental values. The method's application is presented in a case study of Spain's floodplains and irrigation areas near Aranjuez (Community of Madrid).