The Benacazon site is located within the Seville province of southern Spain and was selected for the project in October 2002. It sits on a uniform 10 o , north west facing slope at an altitude of 94m

The climate at Benacazon is Mediterranean . Rainfall is concentrated in autumn and winter and summers are long and dry. Annual potential evapotranspiration is above the average annual rainfall of 534mm. Average annual temperature is 18.6°C

The soil is a “Rojo Aljarafe” (also known as a Calcic Lluvisol), which is typical in the area. It is a well drained soil with no stones, has a carbonate content of approximately 28%, an organic matter content around 1.6 %, and sandy loam texture.

The site is located in an irrigated olive grove, amongst trees which were known to be more than 20 years old in 2002.

The variety grown here is used for producing table olives. Tree rows are orientated up-slope down-slope and are planted at 8m x 6m spacing. This tree spacing is typical of plantations in the area. The plantation in which the site is located is approximately 6 ha and the management techniques used are those traditionally used in the region

Main agronomic operations in a traditional olive grove in southern Spain