The hectare is a measurement of surface area.
In order to know the meaning of the term hectare, it is necessary, first of all, to discover its etymological origin. In this case, we can emphasize that it derives from Greek and Latin. Exactly it is the result of the sum of two lexical components of these languages:
-The Greek noun "hekton", which can be translated as "one hundred."
-The Latin term "area", which is synonymous with "area".
Hence its literal meaning is "one hundred areas."
What is a hectare
A hectare is a measurement of area whose symbol is ha . This unit is equivalent to 100 areas : one area, in turn, is equivalent to 100 square meters . This means that an area of one hectare has 10,000 square meters .
In short, a hectare - or a square hectometer - is the surface area occupied by a square that has 100 meters per side . This measurement is usually used with reference to the space that a piece of land occupies.
For example: «Thanks to new technologies, it is possible to produce more than two tons of cotton per hectare» , «The value of the hectare of land does not stop growing in this region» , «I bought a five-hectare field with the objective of growing tomatoes .
Typically, the notion of hectare is applied to natural surfaces or agricultural land.
Natural surfaces
The most frequent use of the concept of hectare is linked to natural surfaces . Forests , crops and fields , to name a few possibilities, are measured in hectares.
In the case of agriculture , hectares are very important since they refer to how much land is available to develop a farm. In general, the greater the number of hectares, the greater the possibilities of obtaining income thanks to the magnitude of the crops. In any case, this rule is not always followed due to soil conditions, the influence of climate, the characteristics of crops, etc.
Take the case of a vineyard . It is essential to know how many strains it is advisable to plant per hectare so that the plants develop successfully and without affecting each other. According to the hectares of the land and this estimate, the number of vines to be planted must be determined.
Hectares of parks
The hectare, in the same way, is widely used to refer to the surface area of the natural parks that a country has. Thus, for example, if we think about Spain we can establish that those with the most hectares are the Picos de Europa, which reaches up to 67,455 hectares; Doñana, which exceeds 50,000 hectares; Sierra Nevada, which has more than 70,000 hectares, or the Sierra de Guadarrama, which reaches 33,960 hectares.
Not forgetting other very extensive parks such as Ordesa and Monte Perdido, Teide or Cabañeros.
Acres and square miles
We must not overlook that there are people and even in certain places in the world where when talking about agricultural areas or natural spaces in general the term hectare is not used but rather the term acre. Specifically, it can be said that one acre is equivalent to 0.4 – 0.5 hectares.
What's more, even in Anglo-Saxon areas, other surface units are also used instead of the hectare, such as miles or square feet.