LAS TRANSFORMACIONES TERRITORIALES DEL ESPACIO AGRARIO URUGUAYO: NUEVAS REGIONALIDADES / TERRITORIAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE URUGUAYAN AGRARIAN SPACE: NEW REGIONALITIES

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.