Nature-Based Solutions for Integrated Water Resources Management (NbS-IWRM) involve natural, or nature-mimicking, processes used to improve water availability in quantity and quality sustainably, reduce the risks of water-related disasters, enhance adaptation to climate change and increase both biodiversity and the social-ecological system’s resilience. United Nations and the European Commission promote their research as a cornerstone in the changeover to the Ecological Transition. In the Sierra Nevada range (Spain) and the Andean Cordillera, there is a paradigmatic and ancestral example of NbS-IWRM known as “careo channels” and “amunas”, respectively. They recharge slope aquifers in mountain areas and consist of an extensive network of channels that infiltrate the runoff water generated during the snow-thawing and rainy season into the upper parts of the slopes. The passage of water through the aquifers in the slope is used to regulate the water resources of the mountain areas and thus ensure the duration of water availability for the downstream local population and generate multiple ecosystem services. This form of water management is known as Water Sowing and Harvesting (WS&H). As shown in this work, it is a living example of a resilience and climate change adaptation tool that can be qualified as a nature-based solution.

This paper presents an applied methodology for the graphic documentation, analysis and criteria determination for the protection and conservation of built heritage. One of the main risks when restoring medieval rammed earth architecture is the lacking of an optimal graphic base of its structures. This paper’s main objective is the holistic knowledge of the Píñar fortress (Granada), analysis the building sequence from an archaeological perspective, and performing a rigorous 3D survey of its structures as a fundamental procedure. This survey was carried out applying the new technologies in graphic documentation: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based multi-image photogrammetry and Structure-from-Motion (SfM) processing. The new systems of aerial three-dimensional (3D) capture and representation are changing the paradigm in the architectural heritage documentation, being much more efficient and precise. This high-quality documentation is fundamental for the archaeological research of the fortress’ building sequence, remarkably easing research as well as results dissemination. The constructive techniques and building sequence study made with archaeological methodology has revealed the complex historical evolution of Píñar fortress, since it was built in the Almohad period, with important transformations in Nasrid and Castilian periods. These alterations in such a narrow span of time shed light on the importance of this fortification in the border organization in the Late Middle Ages. The experimentation with Building Information Modelling (BIM) tools applied to heritage (HBIM) is showing its great potential in processing data linked to conceptual models, integrating graphic documentation with archaeological and historical interpretation. Nevertheless, the complexity of historical buildings and the hard work of manual modelling are making its wider use in archaeology difficult. The BIM model of Píñar fortress has been enriched with data such as type of material, building technique, chronology, pathologies and modifications, differentiating the historical phases with specific colours to make its identification easier. Its aim is to acquire a better knowledge of the fortress historical evolution, thus allowing the creation of conservation and protection strategies. The holistic knowledge of a building is a complex task that requires the work of different professionals. The ones in charge of the graphic documentation must know the survey objectives and the needs of the rest of the team. The current and future management of heritage requires professionals working on conservation with updated skills in digital technologies. The results of public heritage research with these technologies should be in open access platforms to be used by all researchers and professionals that could need them.

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is the most widely cultivated millet in Africa and India but has not yet been identified in Europe, while the earliest remains of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) are attested in Italy in the fifth century AD. This paper presents evidence that pearl millet was introduced to Iberia during the 11th–12th centuries AD. This is the first documented evidence for this African crop in Europe. Sorghum, on the other hand, appears as a later introduction (14th century AD) in Iberia. We present archaeobotanical data from eight Andalusi sites in Valencia and Andalucía (southern Iberia) where both crops have been found. We have also examined medieval textual data where references to pearl millet appeared to be absent, and we conclude that the word “dacsa”, currently used to refer to sorghum, should be understood as a reference to pearl millet. From the 16th century onwards, this term was given to maize, when the American cereal replaced the African millets.

Las acequias de careo, elementos hidráulicos de un sistema an- cestral de gestión del agua, juegan un papel esencial en el funcionamiento hidrológico de las cuencas de Sierra Nevada (sur de España). En este estudio se lleva a cabo una caracterización hidroquímica e isotópica de las aguas, tanto superficiales como subterráneas, de la cuenca de alta montaña del río Alhorí. El estudio se ha realizado con datos procedentes de 46 muestras tomadas en junio de 2020. Tras el análisis de datos se evidencia un marcado patrón altitudinal que rige las características hidrogeoquímicas e isotópicas del agua. Además, procesos como la evapoconcentración, provocados por las acequias de careo, quedan claramente identificados. Por último, queda demostrada a partir de esta investigación la existencia de flujos de corto recorrido en las aguas subterráneas de la cuenca del río Alhorí.

The Alcazaba of Guadix (Granada, Spain) is an Andalusi urban fortress that underwent many transformations since the outset of its construction in the 11th century. It was analysed through the method of Building Archaeology, that is, by means of a combination of stratigraphic analyses and the characterisation of its constructive techniques. Each analysis is based on a three-dimensional photogrammetric map of the entire feature. The study also relied on the findings of a series of archaeological excavations to offer a vision of the changes its structures underwent over time in parallel with an increase of its importance by the succession of powers. The Alcazaba of Guadix is a remarkable example of the implantation of Andalusi power and its architectural expression in medium-sized cities following the reign of the Caliphate of Cordoba.