Detail of the trunk of an olive tree in Catalunya

Significant areas of Spanish soil are dotted with olive trees: they are grown all over the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. There are around 2,000 oil mills in the country, and around 800 of those are in Andalusia. Over half the national olive oil production, and almost 25% of world production, comes exclusively from the province of Jaén.

The olive tree has its own important environmental function. It is an ecological niche for numerous plant and animal species, such as insects, birds, and mammals; a countermeasure against desertification; a fundamental source of oxygen production in the most arid regions; and also an excellent firebreak.