Abstract

ACHKAR, Marcel; DOMINGUEZ, Ana; DIAZ, Ismael  and  PESCE, Fernando. La intensificación del uso agrícola del suelo en el litoral oeste del Uruguay en la última década. Pampa [online]. 2011, n.7, suppl.1, pp.143-157. ISSN 2314-0208.

In the two last decades, major changes in the productive matrix have been ocurred in the rural Uruguay, mainly linked to the introduction of monocultures. Among the aspects to poin out are: a) technical changes, related to direct seeding, b) the intensification of agricultural system, c) and competition for land access, mainly by the actions of soybean and forestry corporations (pool seed). This paper will emphasize in the recent changes occurred in the rural land uses and its impacts in four Departments located in the littoral of the Uruguay River (Rio Negro, Paysandu, Salto and Artigas), where the dynamic manifestation in the advancing of the Argentina soybean frontline into the Uruguayan territory is notorious, and where the establishment of forestry monoculture is spatially significant. We analyze the differentiation of two phenomena: agricultural expansion on livestock areas and land use intensification in traditional farming areas with history and agricultural vocation. The articulation of these two trends presents a temporal distinction; until 2006 dominated the first phenomena described and since 2006, the second one has the most important trend. Moreover afforestation shows a similar trend but with less dynamism in the period 2000 to 2009.

Keywords : Rural land uses; Intensive land uses changes; Agricultural frontline.