The intensive global use of pesticides presents an escalating threat to human health, ecosystems,... more The intensive global use of pesticides presents an escalating threat to human health, ecosystems, and water quality. To develop national and local environmental management strategies for mitigating pollution caused by pesticides, it is essential to understand the quantities, timing, and location of their application. This study aims to estimate the spatial distribution of pesticide use in an agricultural region of La Plata River basin in Uruguay. Estimates of pesticide use were made by surveying doses applied to each crop. This information was spatialized through identifying agricultural rotations using remote sensing techniques. The study identified the 60 major agricultural rotations in the region and mapped the use and application amount of the nine most significant active ingredients (glyphosate, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, flumioxazin, S-metolachlor, clethodim, flumetsulam, triflumuron, chlorantraniliprole, and fipronil). The results reveal that glyphosate is the most extensively used pesticide (53.5% of the area) and highest amount of use (> 1.44 kg/ha). Moreover, in 19% of the area, at least seven active ingredients are applied in crop rotations. This study marks the initial step in identifying rotations and estimating pesticide applications with high spatial resolution at a regional scale in agricultural regions of La Plata River basin. The results improve the understanding of pesticide spatial distribution based on data obtained from agronomists, technicians, and producers and provide a replicable methodological approach for other geographic and productive contexts. Generating baseline information is key to environmental management and decision making, towards the design of more robust monitoring systems and human exposure assessment.
Agribusiness is the main mechanism of spatial fix for international capital in the Uruguayan agri... more Agribusiness is the main mechanism of spatial fix for international capital in the Uruguayan agricultural sector. Transnational corporations are the driving force behind the most significant agricultural transformations witnessed in the twenty-first century. The objective of this study is to gain insights into the territorial strategies employed by agribusiness corporations in Uruguay and to identify the resultant territorial changes linked to their expansion. The findings of this study reveal that these corporations: (i) prioritise the expansion over efficient territories with favourable agrarian structures; (ii) they significantly alter the preexisting agrarian structure-establishments size, intensity of land use and socioeconomic relationships; (iii) they give rise to new territorialities characterised by one-way agrarian transitions towards more capital-intensive uses. These transitions are linked to the intensification of land use, mounting pressure on land prices, and the deepening of processes of proletarianisation. This study stands as a significant milestone, as it is based on georeferenced data from land managed by companies. It provides evidence to support the argument that corporate encroachment in Uruguay exacerbates the processes of land concentration and exclusion, thus affecting the equitable distribution of wealth and resources. The article provides a general framework that can be applied to understanding corporate expansion in other regions.
Increased response and adaptation capacity are key elements for coping with climate threats. Catt... more Increased response and adaptation capacity are key elements for coping with climate threats. Cattle producers in the Sierras del Este region are one of several groups that are the most vulnerable to climate variability in Uruguay. Despite this commonality, it is a heterogeneous system, which suggests that strategies to respond to these events are divergent. The objective of this work is to identify and evaluate the vulnerability of cattle producers to drought and determine drought response strategies. A new approach is proposed and focuses on the identification of differential capacities to address the vulnerabilities. In addition, this approach seeks to define groups of similar producers of vulnerability since the design of public policies cannot be developed in isolation. For evaluation, we provided consultations with livestock producers and specialists from which we collected our data. Data was analysed using multivariate statistical analyses. Our results indicated that 69% of th...
This article presents a highly detailed territorial assessment for aquaculture production in Urug... more This article presents a highly detailed territorial assessment for aquaculture production in Uruguay and a methodology to identify the most suitable areas in order to develop the activity. Furthermore, it proposes the basis to generate a dynamic modelling tool of high spatial resolution to support the decision-making process regarding national aquaculture activities. The modelling structure of aquaculture suitability was developed by the construction of a hierarchical model, combining a multicriteria assessment and a geographic information system. Fortyone attributes were integrated in six aptitude models: one model for each one of the five common production systems intended to be the most viable in Uruguay and a sixth aptitude indicator that summarizes those five systems, representing the maximum suitability for aquaculture activities. In addition, the hierarchical model allows measurement and identification of relative weights of each model, according to the planning scale, ranging from basin to cell.
Palabras clave transformaciones rurales | usos del suelo rural | frontera agrícola RESUMEN Urugua... more Palabras clave transformaciones rurales | usos del suelo rural | frontera agrícola RESUMEN Uruguay rural presenta en las últimas dos décadas cambios importantes en su matriz productiva, vinculados principalmente a la implantación de monocultivos. Entre los aspectos a destacar se encuentran: los cambios técnicos relacionados con la siembra directa, la intensificación del sistema agrícola y la competencia por el acceso a la tierra fundamentalmente por el accionar de grandes empresas sojeras (pool de siembra) y forestales. En este trabajo se abordarán los cambios recientes en el uso del suelo rural y sus impactos en cuatro departamentos del litoral del Río Uruguay (Río Negro, Paysandú, Salto y Artigas), donde la manifestación de las dinámicas que ocurren con el avance de la frontera agrícola sojera argentina en territorio uruguayo, y la implantación de especies de monocultivos forestales, es espacialmente significativa. Se analiza la diferenciación de dos fenómenos: expansión agrícola sobre zonas ganaderas tradicionales e intensificación en zonas con historia reciente y vocación agrícola. La articulación de estas dos tendencias presenta una diferenciación temporal: hasta el año 2006 predomina la primera y, a partir de 2006, presenta mayor importancia la segunda tendencia. Por otra parte, la forestación presenta una tendencia similar pero con menor dinamismo en el periodo 2000-2009.
Tekoporá Revista Latinoamericana de humanidades ambientales y estudios territoriales, 2020
Agricultural intensification has impacted on ecosystems, affecting their ability to provide servi... more Agricultural intensification has impacted on ecosystems, affecting their ability to provide services. The consequences of this process lies with the society, since human welfare is strongly linked to ecosystem services (ES) provision. The participation of local communities is essential for the identification of ES and the threats that compromise them. The aim of this paper was to contribute to territorial planning of Yaguari stream upper basin (Rivera, Uruguay). In order to do this a participatory approach is used, which consist of the analysis of linkages between the supply of ES, social assessment carried out by local population and threats that affect the provision of services. The methodological strategy integrated interviews, surveys and workshops with local population. A Geographic Information System was generated from the information collected, which allowed its spatial analysis. The main results show that the area presents ecosystems of high social values that are threatened...
Water quality models are useful tools to understand and mitigate eutrophication processes. Howeve... more Water quality models are useful tools to understand and mitigate eutrophication processes. However, gaining access to high-resolution data and fitting models to local conditions can interfere with their implementation. This paper analyzes whether it is possible to create a spatial model of nutrient water level at a local scale that is applicable in different geophysical and land-use conditions. The total nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were modeled by integrating Geographical Information Systems, Remote Sensing, and Generalized Additive and Land-Use Changes Modeling. The research was based on two case studies, which included 204 drainage basins, with nutrient and limnological data collected during two seasons. The models performed well under local conditions, with small errors calculated from the independent samples. The recorded and predicted concentrations of nutrients indicated a significant risk of water eutrophication in both areas, showing the impact of agricultural int...
Los productores ganaderos de las Sierras del Este son altamente vulnerables a la incidencia de fo... more Los productores ganaderos de las Sierras del Este son altamente vulnerables a la incidencia de forzantes externas, principalmente a los cambios en las precipitaciones que afectan la productividad del campo natural y la intensificación agraria que afecta el acceso a la tierra y a los suplementos alimenticios. La combinación de estas forzantes permite identificar seis escenarios con diferentes impactos sobre la actividad y los productores ganaderos. El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar la incidencia de las principales forzantes sobre 35 productores ganaderos de las Sierras del Este, agrupados en seis grupos a partir de la similitud en sus capacidades para manejar la actividad ganadera, la capacidad socioeconómica, la capacidad de acceder a fuentes alternativas de alimentación para el ganado y de la flexibilidad comercial y financiera. Los principales resultados destacan que los productores más vulnerables en el escenario actual son en general los más vulnerables en todos los escenarios futuros considerados. Adicionalmente, se detectó un comportamiento no lineal entre los grupos de productores y sus valores de capacidad de respuesta, que fueron dependientes de cada contexto y pusieron en evidencia la necesidad de analizar la vulnerabilidad de los productores en función del escenario considerado. El abordaje propuesto, que puede ser implementado para diversos sistemas productivos y para diversas forzantes climáticas y económicas, resalta la importancia del trabajo con escenarios para el diseño y la implementación de políticas públicas.
Amazonia is under threat. Biodiversity and redundancy loss in the Amazon biome severely limits th... more Amazonia is under threat. Biodiversity and redundancy loss in the Amazon biome severely limits the long-term provision of key ecosystem services in diverse spatial scales (local, regional, and global). Resilience thinking attempts to understand the mechanisms that ensure a system's capacity to recover in the face of external pressures, trauma, or disturbances, as well as changes in its internal dynamics. Resilience thinking also promotes relevant transformations of system configurations considered adverse or nonsustainable, and therefore proposes the simultaneous analysis of the adaptive capacity and the transformation of a system. In this context, seven principles have been proposed, which are considered crucial for social-ecological systems to become resilient. These seven principles of resilience thinking are analyzed in terms of the land use planning and land management of the Amazonian biome. To comprehend its main conflicts, challenges, and opportunities, we reveal the key aspects of the historical process of Latin America's land management and the Amazon basin's past and current land use changes. Based on this review, the Amazon region shows two concrete challenges for resilience: (1) the natural system's fragmentation, as a consequence of land use limiting key ecological processes, and (2) the cultural and institutional fragmentation of land use projects designed and partially implemented in the region. In addition, the region presents challenges related to institutional design, the expansion and strengthening of real participation spaces, and the promotion of social learning. Finally, polycentric and adaptive governance is itself a major, urgent need for this region and its socialecological complexity.
Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics, 2019
Sierras del Este is one of the two regions in Uruguay that are most vulnerable to climate change.... more Sierras del Este is one of the two regions in Uruguay that are most vulnerable to climate change. A relevant vulnerability factor is the variability of the natural grasslands’ productivity. The objective of this study was to analyse the role of natural and land use drivers on grassland productivity as an essential factor for increasing the adaptive capacity of livestock production and reducing their vulnerability to extreme climatic events. The period 2000–2015 was analysed using the aboveground net primary production (ANPP), rainfall patterns, soil maps and surface slopes, livestock stocking density (LSD) information, and interviews with livestock producers. The results showed a decreasing trend in ANPP between 2000 and 2009, and an increase between 2010 and 2015. These trends are associated with rainfall fluctuations: greater ANPP variability is explained by the rainfall accumulation of the 4 previous months. In addition, ANPP is affected by soil type (deeper and more clayey, high...
Livestock system structure is a relevant factor in determining the decision-making processes and ... more Livestock system structure is a relevant factor in determining the decision-making processes and the initiatives to reduce the vulnerability to external drivers. The definition of livestock stocking density (LSD) is a key factor as it determines the sustainability of the activity. LSD adjusted to grassland productivity in space, and time has been advocated by researchers and policy makers. However, most livestock farmers fail to adjust the LSD, and therefore, their vulnerability increases. This study explored the hypothesis that productive decisions in livestock systems include information that reinforced the vulnerability. The main objective of this study was to evaluate vulnerability of livestock farmers through the information that guides the decision-making process. We analyze information based on which farmers define the LSD, focusing on the relationship between the farmers' perception of grassland productivity, the main reasons for their decisions, and grassland productivity using remote sensing techniques. The research strategy integrated interviews with farmers regarding LSD and grassland aboveground net primary productivity estimates. The results showed that 77% of the farmers use LSD higher than the carrying capacity, although 66% of them do so knowingly. Consequently, most farmers are in a situation of high vulnerability, especially to rainfall regime variability. Almost all farmers are affected by at least one trap: poverty, rigidity, or gilded. A clear contradiction is identified between the farmer's decisions and the current recommendations suggested by researchers and public policy, which are mainly explained by the farmers' optimism. Results highlight the access to information as a great barrier to the adoption of adaptive strategies. We show for the first time the main traps and its causal associated mechanisms, which limit the decision-making of Uruguayan livestock farmers. The proposed framework can be used in other agricultural systems to identify barriers and traps, as the first step toward increasing agroecosystem sustainability.
The agri-exporting enclaves of the current corporate food regime intensively exploit natural asse... more The agri-exporting enclaves of the current corporate food regime intensively exploit natural assets in global strategies that govern the local processes. Their multidimensional impacts contribute to the environmental and civilizational crisis. Linked to the agrarian metabolism in its appropriation phase, land use has impacts on local systems. To understand this process, it is necessary to identify the systemic and spatial expression of environmental transformation. The objective of this work was to analyze the dynamic adjustment of aboveground net primary production (ANPP) to agricultural intensification between the years 2000 and 2017, using a land use intensity index and the soils’ productive potential. Agricultural expansion and consolidation are observed, as well as the significant intensification throughout the period in 65% of the country’s area—with differences between regions—associated with soil types. ANPP is higher in areas of low land use intensity and lower in high inte...
Droughts significantly impact livestock systems over natural grasslands. Nevertheless, the practi... more Droughts significantly impact livestock systems over natural grasslands. Nevertheless, the practices adopted by cattle producers are usually not adaptive, and therefore they deepen the impacts of the drought and its vulnerability. Drought vulnerability assessments have implicitly considered vulnerability as an individual phenomenon and have not considered the interactions of actors and agents as a key attribute. Social network analysis (SNA) can be used to analyse these processes. However, researchers have largely used SNA from a static perspective and failed to not consider that external drivers could modify the network. The objective of this work was to analyse the incidence of interactions between cattle producers, institutions and agricultural technicians and the effect of such interactions on drought vulnerability from a dynamic perspective. We worked with two operational frameworks, SNA and the incidence of external drivers on the network. Our primary results highlight that (1...
La eutrofización constituye uno de los principales problemas de los ecosistemas acuáticos contine... more La eutrofización constituye uno de los principales problemas de los ecosistemas acuáticos continentales. Una de las consecuencias más conocidas de este proceso son las floraciones de algas y cianobacterias que interfieren en el adecuado funcionamiento de los ecosistemas acuáticos y en los servicios que estos brindan. En consecuencia, resulta relevante el desarrollo de estrategias de monitoreo que permitan conocer el funcionamiento de los sistemas para anticipar la evolución temporal del fitoplancton y sus efectos en la calidad del agua, de modo de aportar información trascendente en los procesos de toma decisión en diferentes escalas espacio-temporales. Este trabajo pretende contribuir a ese desarrollo, sistematizando la información hoy disponible en lo referente a monitoreo y análisis de los procesos subyacentes a la dinámica del fitoplancton en Laguna del Sauce (Maldonado, Uruguay). Se identifican los principales avances, dificultades y desafíos, enfatizando la necesidad de la integración de la información y de los procesos de análisis generados por diversas instituciones, así como el planteo de estrategias que promuevan la permanencia en el tiempo de estas prácticas. Palabras clave: Eutrofización, dinámica del fitoplancton, floraciones de cianobacterias, variabilidad espacio-temporal, análisis y sistematización de la información, procesos de toma de decisión.
Las políticas de desregulación y privatizaciones implementadas en los últimos 50 años generaron c... more Las políticas de desregulación y privatizaciones implementadas en los últimos 50 años generaron condiciones desfavorables para los productores familiares en toda América Latina. Las interpretaciones sobre los factores que determinan su permanencia en el medio rural han sido diversas y no siempre concordantes. En este trabajo, se buscó una aproximación al tema en la Región Noreste del Uruguay desde la percepción de referentes institucionales en el territorio. Los resultados muestran que su permanencia depende de la combinación de factores favorables y desfavorables de tipo culturales, de rentabilidad, de acceso a políticas públicas y de disponibilidad de servicios e infraestructuras. Es posible asumir que las políticas de apoyo al sector deberían trascender los aspectos productivos.
Los procesos de intensificación productiva de los usos del suelo en Uruguay han generado una seri... more Los procesos de intensificación productiva de los usos del suelo en Uruguay han generado una serie de transformaciones multidimensionales en los territorios agrarios. La magnitud y distribución espacial de las trasformaciones recientes cuestiona la validez de las regionalizaciones agroeconómicas propuestas hasta el momento. En este contexto, el objetivo del trabajo fue analizar las variaciones producidas en las principales unidades territoriales, regiones, en el Uruguay rural contemporáneo como producto de los cambios en la matriz productiva. La estrategia metodológica incluyó en primera instancia el análisis de los cambios en los usos del suelo y la generación de dos índices: el de intensidad y el de intensificación de usos del suelo. Posteriormente se integró el análisis de estos procesos de acuerdo a las propuestas de regionalización agroeconómica y de ecorregionalización. Los principales resultados evidencian espacialmente el proceso de intensificación de uso del suelo en Uruguay. Se destaca que la regionalización propuesta por Griffin (1972) representó la dinámica agraria hasta finales del siglo XX pero progresivamente ha perdido vigencia a medida que el uso del suelo se ha intensificado. La estrategia de regionalizar el territorio uruguayo integrando aspectos físicos y productivos es un instrumento más operativo para identificar la dinámica actual del espacio agrario y del escenario de usos del suelo. Se destaca también el aporte metodológico del trabajo sobre la generación de índices espaciales de intensidad e intensificación agrícola.
ABSTRACT The processes of productive intensification of the land uses in Uruguay have generated multidimensional transformations in the agrarian territories. The magnitude and spatial distribution of these recent transformations question the validity and actuality of the current agroeconomic regionalisations.The objective of this research was to analyze the variations produced in the main productive territorial units in the contemporary rural Uruguay, denominated regions, due to the changes occurred in the productive matrix.The methodological strategy included, in the first instance, the analysis of changes in land use and the generation of two indices: intensity and intensification of land use. Subsequently, the analysis of these processes was integrated according to the proposals of agroeconomic regionalisations and ecoregionalisation.The main results demonstrate and characterize geographically the process of land use intensification in Uruguay and evaluate the suitability and validity of the proposed regionalisations. It is emphasized that regionalisation proposed by Griffin (1972) represented the agrarian dynamics until the end of the 20th century but it has gradually lost validity due to the intensification of land uses. The strategy of regionalising Uruguayan territory integrating physical and productive aspects is a more operative instrument to identify the current dynamics of the agrarian space and the current scenario of land uses.It is also worth mentioning the methodological contribution of this research on the generation of spatial indices of intensification and intensity of agriculture.
The intensive global use of pesticides presents an escalating threat to human health, ecosystems,... more The intensive global use of pesticides presents an escalating threat to human health, ecosystems, and water quality. To develop national and local environmental management strategies for mitigating pollution caused by pesticides, it is essential to understand the quantities, timing, and location of their application. This study aims to estimate the spatial distribution of pesticide use in an agricultural region of La Plata River basin in Uruguay. Estimates of pesticide use were made by surveying doses applied to each crop. This information was spatialized through identifying agricultural rotations using remote sensing techniques. The study identified the 60 major agricultural rotations in the region and mapped the use and application amount of the nine most significant active ingredients (glyphosate, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, flumioxazin, S-metolachlor, clethodim, flumetsulam, triflumuron, chlorantraniliprole, and fipronil). The results reveal that glyphosate is the most extensively used pesticide (53.5% of the area) and highest amount of use (> 1.44 kg/ha). Moreover, in 19% of the area, at least seven active ingredients are applied in crop rotations. This study marks the initial step in identifying rotations and estimating pesticide applications with high spatial resolution at a regional scale in agricultural regions of La Plata River basin. The results improve the understanding of pesticide spatial distribution based on data obtained from agronomists, technicians, and producers and provide a replicable methodological approach for other geographic and productive contexts. Generating baseline information is key to environmental management and decision making, towards the design of more robust monitoring systems and human exposure assessment.
Agribusiness is the main mechanism of spatial fix for international capital in the Uruguayan agri... more Agribusiness is the main mechanism of spatial fix for international capital in the Uruguayan agricultural sector. Transnational corporations are the driving force behind the most significant agricultural transformations witnessed in the twenty-first century. The objective of this study is to gain insights into the territorial strategies employed by agribusiness corporations in Uruguay and to identify the resultant territorial changes linked to their expansion. The findings of this study reveal that these corporations: (i) prioritise the expansion over efficient territories with favourable agrarian structures; (ii) they significantly alter the preexisting agrarian structure-establishments size, intensity of land use and socioeconomic relationships; (iii) they give rise to new territorialities characterised by one-way agrarian transitions towards more capital-intensive uses. These transitions are linked to the intensification of land use, mounting pressure on land prices, and the deepening of processes of proletarianisation. This study stands as a significant milestone, as it is based on georeferenced data from land managed by companies. It provides evidence to support the argument that corporate encroachment in Uruguay exacerbates the processes of land concentration and exclusion, thus affecting the equitable distribution of wealth and resources. The article provides a general framework that can be applied to understanding corporate expansion in other regions.
Increased response and adaptation capacity are key elements for coping with climate threats. Catt... more Increased response and adaptation capacity are key elements for coping with climate threats. Cattle producers in the Sierras del Este region are one of several groups that are the most vulnerable to climate variability in Uruguay. Despite this commonality, it is a heterogeneous system, which suggests that strategies to respond to these events are divergent. The objective of this work is to identify and evaluate the vulnerability of cattle producers to drought and determine drought response strategies. A new approach is proposed and focuses on the identification of differential capacities to address the vulnerabilities. In addition, this approach seeks to define groups of similar producers of vulnerability since the design of public policies cannot be developed in isolation. For evaluation, we provided consultations with livestock producers and specialists from which we collected our data. Data was analysed using multivariate statistical analyses. Our results indicated that 69% of th...
This article presents a highly detailed territorial assessment for aquaculture production in Urug... more This article presents a highly detailed territorial assessment for aquaculture production in Uruguay and a methodology to identify the most suitable areas in order to develop the activity. Furthermore, it proposes the basis to generate a dynamic modelling tool of high spatial resolution to support the decision-making process regarding national aquaculture activities. The modelling structure of aquaculture suitability was developed by the construction of a hierarchical model, combining a multicriteria assessment and a geographic information system. Fortyone attributes were integrated in six aptitude models: one model for each one of the five common production systems intended to be the most viable in Uruguay and a sixth aptitude indicator that summarizes those five systems, representing the maximum suitability for aquaculture activities. In addition, the hierarchical model allows measurement and identification of relative weights of each model, according to the planning scale, ranging from basin to cell.
Palabras clave transformaciones rurales | usos del suelo rural | frontera agrícola RESUMEN Urugua... more Palabras clave transformaciones rurales | usos del suelo rural | frontera agrícola RESUMEN Uruguay rural presenta en las últimas dos décadas cambios importantes en su matriz productiva, vinculados principalmente a la implantación de monocultivos. Entre los aspectos a destacar se encuentran: los cambios técnicos relacionados con la siembra directa, la intensificación del sistema agrícola y la competencia por el acceso a la tierra fundamentalmente por el accionar de grandes empresas sojeras (pool de siembra) y forestales. En este trabajo se abordarán los cambios recientes en el uso del suelo rural y sus impactos en cuatro departamentos del litoral del Río Uruguay (Río Negro, Paysandú, Salto y Artigas), donde la manifestación de las dinámicas que ocurren con el avance de la frontera agrícola sojera argentina en territorio uruguayo, y la implantación de especies de monocultivos forestales, es espacialmente significativa. Se analiza la diferenciación de dos fenómenos: expansión agrícola sobre zonas ganaderas tradicionales e intensificación en zonas con historia reciente y vocación agrícola. La articulación de estas dos tendencias presenta una diferenciación temporal: hasta el año 2006 predomina la primera y, a partir de 2006, presenta mayor importancia la segunda tendencia. Por otra parte, la forestación presenta una tendencia similar pero con menor dinamismo en el periodo 2000-2009.
Tekoporá Revista Latinoamericana de humanidades ambientales y estudios territoriales, 2020
Agricultural intensification has impacted on ecosystems, affecting their ability to provide servi... more Agricultural intensification has impacted on ecosystems, affecting their ability to provide services. The consequences of this process lies with the society, since human welfare is strongly linked to ecosystem services (ES) provision. The participation of local communities is essential for the identification of ES and the threats that compromise them. The aim of this paper was to contribute to territorial planning of Yaguari stream upper basin (Rivera, Uruguay). In order to do this a participatory approach is used, which consist of the analysis of linkages between the supply of ES, social assessment carried out by local population and threats that affect the provision of services. The methodological strategy integrated interviews, surveys and workshops with local population. A Geographic Information System was generated from the information collected, which allowed its spatial analysis. The main results show that the area presents ecosystems of high social values that are threatened...
Water quality models are useful tools to understand and mitigate eutrophication processes. Howeve... more Water quality models are useful tools to understand and mitigate eutrophication processes. However, gaining access to high-resolution data and fitting models to local conditions can interfere with their implementation. This paper analyzes whether it is possible to create a spatial model of nutrient water level at a local scale that is applicable in different geophysical and land-use conditions. The total nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were modeled by integrating Geographical Information Systems, Remote Sensing, and Generalized Additive and Land-Use Changes Modeling. The research was based on two case studies, which included 204 drainage basins, with nutrient and limnological data collected during two seasons. The models performed well under local conditions, with small errors calculated from the independent samples. The recorded and predicted concentrations of nutrients indicated a significant risk of water eutrophication in both areas, showing the impact of agricultural int...
Los productores ganaderos de las Sierras del Este son altamente vulnerables a la incidencia de fo... more Los productores ganaderos de las Sierras del Este son altamente vulnerables a la incidencia de forzantes externas, principalmente a los cambios en las precipitaciones que afectan la productividad del campo natural y la intensificación agraria que afecta el acceso a la tierra y a los suplementos alimenticios. La combinación de estas forzantes permite identificar seis escenarios con diferentes impactos sobre la actividad y los productores ganaderos. El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar la incidencia de las principales forzantes sobre 35 productores ganaderos de las Sierras del Este, agrupados en seis grupos a partir de la similitud en sus capacidades para manejar la actividad ganadera, la capacidad socioeconómica, la capacidad de acceder a fuentes alternativas de alimentación para el ganado y de la flexibilidad comercial y financiera. Los principales resultados destacan que los productores más vulnerables en el escenario actual son en general los más vulnerables en todos los escenarios futuros considerados. Adicionalmente, se detectó un comportamiento no lineal entre los grupos de productores y sus valores de capacidad de respuesta, que fueron dependientes de cada contexto y pusieron en evidencia la necesidad de analizar la vulnerabilidad de los productores en función del escenario considerado. El abordaje propuesto, que puede ser implementado para diversos sistemas productivos y para diversas forzantes climáticas y económicas, resalta la importancia del trabajo con escenarios para el diseño y la implementación de políticas públicas.
Amazonia is under threat. Biodiversity and redundancy loss in the Amazon biome severely limits th... more Amazonia is under threat. Biodiversity and redundancy loss in the Amazon biome severely limits the long-term provision of key ecosystem services in diverse spatial scales (local, regional, and global). Resilience thinking attempts to understand the mechanisms that ensure a system's capacity to recover in the face of external pressures, trauma, or disturbances, as well as changes in its internal dynamics. Resilience thinking also promotes relevant transformations of system configurations considered adverse or nonsustainable, and therefore proposes the simultaneous analysis of the adaptive capacity and the transformation of a system. In this context, seven principles have been proposed, which are considered crucial for social-ecological systems to become resilient. These seven principles of resilience thinking are analyzed in terms of the land use planning and land management of the Amazonian biome. To comprehend its main conflicts, challenges, and opportunities, we reveal the key aspects of the historical process of Latin America's land management and the Amazon basin's past and current land use changes. Based on this review, the Amazon region shows two concrete challenges for resilience: (1) the natural system's fragmentation, as a consequence of land use limiting key ecological processes, and (2) the cultural and institutional fragmentation of land use projects designed and partially implemented in the region. In addition, the region presents challenges related to institutional design, the expansion and strengthening of real participation spaces, and the promotion of social learning. Finally, polycentric and adaptive governance is itself a major, urgent need for this region and its socialecological complexity.
Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics, 2019
Sierras del Este is one of the two regions in Uruguay that are most vulnerable to climate change.... more Sierras del Este is one of the two regions in Uruguay that are most vulnerable to climate change. A relevant vulnerability factor is the variability of the natural grasslands’ productivity. The objective of this study was to analyse the role of natural and land use drivers on grassland productivity as an essential factor for increasing the adaptive capacity of livestock production and reducing their vulnerability to extreme climatic events. The period 2000–2015 was analysed using the aboveground net primary production (ANPP), rainfall patterns, soil maps and surface slopes, livestock stocking density (LSD) information, and interviews with livestock producers. The results showed a decreasing trend in ANPP between 2000 and 2009, and an increase between 2010 and 2015. These trends are associated with rainfall fluctuations: greater ANPP variability is explained by the rainfall accumulation of the 4 previous months. In addition, ANPP is affected by soil type (deeper and more clayey, high...
Livestock system structure is a relevant factor in determining the decision-making processes and ... more Livestock system structure is a relevant factor in determining the decision-making processes and the initiatives to reduce the vulnerability to external drivers. The definition of livestock stocking density (LSD) is a key factor as it determines the sustainability of the activity. LSD adjusted to grassland productivity in space, and time has been advocated by researchers and policy makers. However, most livestock farmers fail to adjust the LSD, and therefore, their vulnerability increases. This study explored the hypothesis that productive decisions in livestock systems include information that reinforced the vulnerability. The main objective of this study was to evaluate vulnerability of livestock farmers through the information that guides the decision-making process. We analyze information based on which farmers define the LSD, focusing on the relationship between the farmers' perception of grassland productivity, the main reasons for their decisions, and grassland productivity using remote sensing techniques. The research strategy integrated interviews with farmers regarding LSD and grassland aboveground net primary productivity estimates. The results showed that 77% of the farmers use LSD higher than the carrying capacity, although 66% of them do so knowingly. Consequently, most farmers are in a situation of high vulnerability, especially to rainfall regime variability. Almost all farmers are affected by at least one trap: poverty, rigidity, or gilded. A clear contradiction is identified between the farmer's decisions and the current recommendations suggested by researchers and public policy, which are mainly explained by the farmers' optimism. Results highlight the access to information as a great barrier to the adoption of adaptive strategies. We show for the first time the main traps and its causal associated mechanisms, which limit the decision-making of Uruguayan livestock farmers. The proposed framework can be used in other agricultural systems to identify barriers and traps, as the first step toward increasing agroecosystem sustainability.
The agri-exporting enclaves of the current corporate food regime intensively exploit natural asse... more The agri-exporting enclaves of the current corporate food regime intensively exploit natural assets in global strategies that govern the local processes. Their multidimensional impacts contribute to the environmental and civilizational crisis. Linked to the agrarian metabolism in its appropriation phase, land use has impacts on local systems. To understand this process, it is necessary to identify the systemic and spatial expression of environmental transformation. The objective of this work was to analyze the dynamic adjustment of aboveground net primary production (ANPP) to agricultural intensification between the years 2000 and 2017, using a land use intensity index and the soils’ productive potential. Agricultural expansion and consolidation are observed, as well as the significant intensification throughout the period in 65% of the country’s area—with differences between regions—associated with soil types. ANPP is higher in areas of low land use intensity and lower in high inte...
Droughts significantly impact livestock systems over natural grasslands. Nevertheless, the practi... more Droughts significantly impact livestock systems over natural grasslands. Nevertheless, the practices adopted by cattle producers are usually not adaptive, and therefore they deepen the impacts of the drought and its vulnerability. Drought vulnerability assessments have implicitly considered vulnerability as an individual phenomenon and have not considered the interactions of actors and agents as a key attribute. Social network analysis (SNA) can be used to analyse these processes. However, researchers have largely used SNA from a static perspective and failed to not consider that external drivers could modify the network. The objective of this work was to analyse the incidence of interactions between cattle producers, institutions and agricultural technicians and the effect of such interactions on drought vulnerability from a dynamic perspective. We worked with two operational frameworks, SNA and the incidence of external drivers on the network. Our primary results highlight that (1...
La eutrofización constituye uno de los principales problemas de los ecosistemas acuáticos contine... more La eutrofización constituye uno de los principales problemas de los ecosistemas acuáticos continentales. Una de las consecuencias más conocidas de este proceso son las floraciones de algas y cianobacterias que interfieren en el adecuado funcionamiento de los ecosistemas acuáticos y en los servicios que estos brindan. En consecuencia, resulta relevante el desarrollo de estrategias de monitoreo que permitan conocer el funcionamiento de los sistemas para anticipar la evolución temporal del fitoplancton y sus efectos en la calidad del agua, de modo de aportar información trascendente en los procesos de toma decisión en diferentes escalas espacio-temporales. Este trabajo pretende contribuir a ese desarrollo, sistematizando la información hoy disponible en lo referente a monitoreo y análisis de los procesos subyacentes a la dinámica del fitoplancton en Laguna del Sauce (Maldonado, Uruguay). Se identifican los principales avances, dificultades y desafíos, enfatizando la necesidad de la integración de la información y de los procesos de análisis generados por diversas instituciones, así como el planteo de estrategias que promuevan la permanencia en el tiempo de estas prácticas. Palabras clave: Eutrofización, dinámica del fitoplancton, floraciones de cianobacterias, variabilidad espacio-temporal, análisis y sistematización de la información, procesos de toma de decisión.
Las políticas de desregulación y privatizaciones implementadas en los últimos 50 años generaron c... more Las políticas de desregulación y privatizaciones implementadas en los últimos 50 años generaron condiciones desfavorables para los productores familiares en toda América Latina. Las interpretaciones sobre los factores que determinan su permanencia en el medio rural han sido diversas y no siempre concordantes. En este trabajo, se buscó una aproximación al tema en la Región Noreste del Uruguay desde la percepción de referentes institucionales en el territorio. Los resultados muestran que su permanencia depende de la combinación de factores favorables y desfavorables de tipo culturales, de rentabilidad, de acceso a políticas públicas y de disponibilidad de servicios e infraestructuras. Es posible asumir que las políticas de apoyo al sector deberían trascender los aspectos productivos.
Los procesos de intensificación productiva de los usos del suelo en Uruguay han generado una seri... more Los procesos de intensificación productiva de los usos del suelo en Uruguay han generado una serie de transformaciones multidimensionales en los territorios agrarios. La magnitud y distribución espacial de las trasformaciones recientes cuestiona la validez de las regionalizaciones agroeconómicas propuestas hasta el momento. En este contexto, el objetivo del trabajo fue analizar las variaciones producidas en las principales unidades territoriales, regiones, en el Uruguay rural contemporáneo como producto de los cambios en la matriz productiva. La estrategia metodológica incluyó en primera instancia el análisis de los cambios en los usos del suelo y la generación de dos índices: el de intensidad y el de intensificación de usos del suelo. Posteriormente se integró el análisis de estos procesos de acuerdo a las propuestas de regionalización agroeconómica y de ecorregionalización. Los principales resultados evidencian espacialmente el proceso de intensificación de uso del suelo en Uruguay. Se destaca que la regionalización propuesta por Griffin (1972) representó la dinámica agraria hasta finales del siglo XX pero progresivamente ha perdido vigencia a medida que el uso del suelo se ha intensificado. La estrategia de regionalizar el territorio uruguayo integrando aspectos físicos y productivos es un instrumento más operativo para identificar la dinámica actual del espacio agrario y del escenario de usos del suelo. Se destaca también el aporte metodológico del trabajo sobre la generación de índices espaciales de intensidad e intensificación agrícola.
ABSTRACT The processes of productive intensification of the land uses in Uruguay have generated multidimensional transformations in the agrarian territories. The magnitude and spatial distribution of these recent transformations question the validity and actuality of the current agroeconomic regionalisations.The objective of this research was to analyze the variations produced in the main productive territorial units in the contemporary rural Uruguay, denominated regions, due to the changes occurred in the productive matrix.The methodological strategy included, in the first instance, the analysis of changes in land use and the generation of two indices: intensity and intensification of land use. Subsequently, the analysis of these processes was integrated according to the proposals of agroeconomic regionalisations and ecoregionalisation.The main results demonstrate and characterize geographically the process of land use intensification in Uruguay and evaluate the suitability and validity of the proposed regionalisations. It is emphasized that regionalisation proposed by Griffin (1972) represented the agrarian dynamics until the end of the 20th century but it has gradually lost validity due to the intensification of land uses. The strategy of regionalising Uruguayan territory integrating physical and productive aspects is a more operative instrument to identify the current dynamics of the agrarian space and the current scenario of land uses.It is also worth mentioning the methodological contribution of this research on the generation of spatial indices of intensification and intensity of agriculture.
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Papers by Ismael Díaz
ABSTRACT The processes of productive intensification of the land uses in Uruguay have generated multidimensional transformations in the agrarian territories. The magnitude and spatial distribution of these recent transformations question the validity and actuality of the current agroeconomic regionalisations.The objective of this research was to analyze the variations produced in the main productive territorial units in the contemporary rural Uruguay, denominated regions, due to the changes occurred in the productive matrix.The methodological strategy included, in the first instance, the analysis of changes in land use and the generation of two indices: intensity and intensification of land use. Subsequently, the analysis of these processes was integrated according to the proposals of agroeconomic regionalisations and ecoregionalisation.The main results demonstrate and characterize geographically the process of land use intensification in Uruguay and evaluate the suitability and validity of the proposed regionalisations. It is emphasized that regionalisation proposed by Griffin (1972) represented the agrarian dynamics until the end of the 20th century but it has gradually lost validity due to the intensification of land uses. The strategy of regionalising Uruguayan territory integrating physical and productive aspects is a more operative instrument to identify the current dynamics of the agrarian space and the current scenario of land uses.It is also worth mentioning the methodological contribution of this research on the generation of spatial indices of intensification and intensity of agriculture.
ABSTRACT The processes of productive intensification of the land uses in Uruguay have generated multidimensional transformations in the agrarian territories. The magnitude and spatial distribution of these recent transformations question the validity and actuality of the current agroeconomic regionalisations.The objective of this research was to analyze the variations produced in the main productive territorial units in the contemporary rural Uruguay, denominated regions, due to the changes occurred in the productive matrix.The methodological strategy included, in the first instance, the analysis of changes in land use and the generation of two indices: intensity and intensification of land use. Subsequently, the analysis of these processes was integrated according to the proposals of agroeconomic regionalisations and ecoregionalisation.The main results demonstrate and characterize geographically the process of land use intensification in Uruguay and evaluate the suitability and validity of the proposed regionalisations. It is emphasized that regionalisation proposed by Griffin (1972) represented the agrarian dynamics until the end of the 20th century but it has gradually lost validity due to the intensification of land uses. The strategy of regionalising Uruguayan territory integrating physical and productive aspects is a more operative instrument to identify the current dynamics of the agrarian space and the current scenario of land uses.It is also worth mentioning the methodological contribution of this research on the generation of spatial indices of intensification and intensity of agriculture.