Córdoba Leads Andalusia in Dehesa Area for Montanera

The province of Córdoba will have over half a million hectares for feeding acorn-fed Iberian pigs in 2026.

Generic image of Andalusian dehesa with oak trees.
IA

Generic image of Andalusian dehesa with oak trees.

The province of Córdoba is set to become the Andalusian province with the largest dehesa area for montanera in 2026, surpassing 513,000 hectares designated for feeding acorn-fed Iberian pigs.

The definitive montanera map for Andalusia in 2026, prepared by the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development, details a total of 1,596,810 hectares of Quercus-covered wooded area (SAC) across 189,442 plots. Of this total, Córdoba will lead with 513,664 hectares, a figure significantly higher than in other Andalusian provinces.
The Order of July 7, 2026, published in the Official Gazette of the Junta de Andalucía (BOJA), updates the montanera map based on data from the Geographical Information System for Agricultural Parcel Identification (Sigpa 2026) and the wooded area of holm oaks. Despite a slight reduction of 16,726 hectares compared to 2025, the average SAC values have increased in Andalusia and most provinces.
Specifically, Córdoba encompasses 69,321 plots, while other provinces such as Huelva have 324,120 hectares, Jaén with 205,963 hectares, and Seville with 191,430 hectares. Cádiz has 188,760 hectares, and Málaga has 72,873 hectares.
The implementation of LíDAR technology has been crucial in obtaining these results, allowing for greater precision in SAC calculation and the exclusion of plots that did not meet the minimum requirements. This advancement has led to a notable increase in average SAC values, both at the Andalusian and provincial levels, with increases of up to 10% in Seville and 7% for Andalusia as a whole.