Impacts of internal and external policies on land change in Uruguay, 2001–2009

Abstract

SUMMARYPolicies play a pivotal role in determining land change. Uruguay has been subject to first a rise and then decline in plantations of exotic trees as a result of internal Uruguayan government policies, and a recent substantial increase in soybean cultivation that may be attributed to Argentinean policies. To properly assess the relationship between land change and changes in land-use policies, vegetation change for Uruguay from 2001 to 2009 was mapped using MODIS imagery. Between 2001 and 2009, the area covered by exotic tree plantations declined by 1435 km2, and 34 681 km2 of herbaceous cover was converted to agricultural cover, mainly soybean cultivation. Uruguay and Argentina implemented land-use policy changes following the 2002 economic collapse. Rapid increase in exotic tree plantations, mainly in the 1990s, may have been stimulated by Uruguayan government incentives, while their recent decline coincides with the subsequent elimination of these incentives. The rapid increase in soybean production may be largely attributed to recent tax regimes in Argentina and lack of export tax in Uruguay combining to provide a favourable financial climate for Uruguayan soybean cultivation. Soybean cultivation is predicted to continue to expand in Uruguay, while exotic tree plantations should also increase in importance owing to the recent establishment of the world's largest pulp mill.

Land use change and ecosystem service provision in Pampas and Campos grasslands of southern South America

“…The soybean area increased by 210% and the total arable cropping area by 28%, while the native grassland area decreased by 5% during this decade ( figure 4(a)). This expansion was driven by favourable soybean prices, which increased 2.1 fold between 2000 and 2010 ( figure 4(a)), by the relatively low production costs and by the introduction of new technologies such as no-tillage (Trigo and Cap 2004, Grau et al 2005, Altieri and Pengue 2006, Baldi and Paruelo 2008, Bindraban et al 2009, Caride et al 2012, Redo et al 2012. Despite the decrease in grassland area, cattle numbers remained stable in response to favourable beef prices ( figure 4(b)).…”

Predicting Maize Transpiration, Water Use and Productivity for Developing Improved Supplemental Irrigation Schedules in Western Uruguay to Cope with Climate Variability

“…In the last ten years, the cropped area increased by four times and that of maize by 2.5 [1]. That increase was made at the expenses of pasture and grassland.…”

“…Based upon maize field experiments adopting various irrigation strategies developed at Paysandú, western Uruguay, the objectives of this study consist of: (1) assessing the various components of maize water use with support of the SIMDualKc model; (2) predicting transpiration, yields and water productivity relative to various irrigation management strategies; (3) developing alternative supplemental irrigation schedules to improve rainfall and irrigation water use; and (4) assessing the performance of simulated irrigation strategies.…”

Unexpected Interactions between Agricultural and Forest Sectors through International Trade: Wood Pallets and Agricultural Exports in Costa Rica

“…In Costa Rica's case, the higher profits that can be derived from large-scale export-oriented agriculture compared to tree planting increased the opportunity cost of reforestation, as it can also do with regard to nature conservation [112]. This has been shown in other countries of Latin America, such as for soybean cultivation versus plantations in Uruguay [113]. Considering the low financial returns of plantations, it is not surprising that large areas of forest plantations established in Costa Rica over the 1990s were since then harvested and converted to cropland or real estate projects instead of being replanted [114].…”