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Copyright of Methaodos: Social Science Journal / Methaodos: Revista de Ciencias Sociales is the property of Departamento de Ciencias de la Comunicacion y Sociologia, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Among the possible actions to face climate change, education has a central role, great hopes have been deposited in its potential to contribute to the construction of a sustainable world. However, although there are global climate change education initiatives, they still do not generate a significant impact, especially at the local level. The deepening of the location of educational actions is key to reaching the public. It is necessary to permeate the national educational systems and non-formal education generated by local civil society. For this reason, it is important to learn about successful local initiatives that can enrich and strengthen future practices at all levels. In Uruguay, initiatives have been developed that can serve as case studies that contribute to collecting lessons learned and areas of opportunity. This paper includes three experiences developed by multidisciplinary teams from the Centre for Response to Variability and Climate Change of the University of the Republic in conjunction with key local government actors and local civil society. It is about the process of elaboration and implementation of an audio-visual educational resource for adolescents, a cycle of workshops for young people and a multimodal online course for professional adults and teachers. The experiences demonstrate the relevance of generating locally contextualized educational resources and actions to contribute to the achievement of global objectives of sustainable development. Likewise, they present some lessons learned in terms of theoretical approaches, methods and practices of education for climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cuadernos de Geografia: Revista Colombiana de Geografía is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Redes (1414-7106) is the property of Associacao Pro-Ensino em Santa Cruz do Sul - APESC and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Ten years after the creation of the National System of Response to Climate Change (snrcc for its acronym in Spanish) in Uruguay, this paper examines the perceptions among local actors about the impacts of climate change on the Northeast region of the country (Departments of Rivera, Tacuarembó and Cerro Largo). It also analyzes their visions about policies and mechanisms of climate governance defined at the national level, focusing some aspects such as articulation and participation. This way the paper aims to generate relevant inputs for the discussion about the design of policies for mitigation and adaptation to this phenomenon in the specific territory considered here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Investigaciones Geograficas is the property of Universidad de Alicante, Instituto Universitario de Geografia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This introduction aims to showcase the articles of the special issue and highlights the expansive field of environmental criminology, underscoring its role in understanding and preventing crime through situational and environmental strategies. This collection of articles covers a wide array of research from the USA, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, and Uruguay, demonstrating the global application of environmental criminology principles. Contributions from various disciplines illustrate the field's multidisciplinary approach to tackling crime, particularly in the face of challenges posed by climate change and the need for social and economic sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies show that the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is an important factor in determining interannual rainfall variability in South America. This signal is detected in the region including Northeastern Argentina, Uruguay and part of southern Brazil, in the form of excessive rains and big floods in the regional rivers. To check that this relationship was similar in the past the objectives of this paper were to construct a time series of large floods in the Paraná River region from documentary records, during the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, and to evaluate the relationship between that historical record of extreme floods, the ENSO documentary evidence (Ortlieb, The Documented Historical Record of El Niño Events in Perú: An Update of the Quinn Record (Ortlieb, sixteenth through nineteenth centuries, Diaz and Markgraf, (eds.), El Niño and the southern oscillation. Multiscale variability and global and regional Impacts. Cambridge University Press, pp. 207-295, 2001; Quinn and Neal, The historical record of El Niño events, Bradley and Jones (eds.), Climate since a.d. 1500, Routledges, pp. 623-648, 1992) and the temperature index of the Pacific Ocean (Mann ME et al., Global temperature patterns in past centuries: an interactive presentation, IGBP pages/world data center for paleoclimatology data contribution series #2000-075. NOAA/NGDC Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder CO, USA, 2000). Considering that the period 1904-2000, where 11 out of 16 floods occurred during El Niño events, it can be concluded that the proportion of years with exceptional flow volume in the Paraná River in years with El Niño events in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was relatively lower than that of the twentieth century. The reason for this difference is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Climate change can yield both direct and indirect effects on forest hydrology. • The impacts of climate change on the forest-water nexus are complex among watersheds. • The interactions among forest, water, and climate change introduce more complexities. Climate change can directly affect forest hydrology by altering precipitation, evapotranspiration, and streamflow generation, or indirectly by changing disturbance regimes and forest structures at multiple scales. Climate change impacts on the forest-water nexus across biomes are pervasive characterized by a great complexity and uncertainty, significantly impeding the design of adaptive forest watershed management to mitigate climate change risks. This paper reviews our current knowledge on the interactions between climate change and the forest-water nexus at the scales of individual tree, stand, and watershed. We found that climate change dramatically altered watershed hydrology in many parts of the world, with varying hydrological responses at multiple scales of tree species, forest types, climate types, and hydrological regimes. The streamflow response was often more pronounced in snow-dominated or water-limited watersheds, especially in watersheds with increasing droughts due to climate change and intensively managed plantations of either non-native tree species (e.g., Eucalyptus plantations in Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and Australia) or young coniferous species. Climate change impacts can be compounded or offset by forest changes (i.e., deforestation, and forestation) through forest-climate interactions and feedbacks. Forest management can mitigate or aggravate the negative hydrologic impacts of climate change. Adaptive forest management is a prerequisite for managing the forest-water nexus in the face of climate change. Various forest management strategies aiming at maintaining optimal forest structure and high species diversity are recommended to enhance forest resistance and resilience to climate change and sustain water provision services from forests and other beneficial ecosystem services while minimizing negative impacts and risks of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural production in “open-sky systems” such as extensive cattle ranching on natural grasslands is subject to inter-annual climatic variability and other market fluctuations. To tackle the dependency of livestock breeding on these factors, we conducted participatory modeling with cattle producers in Uruguay. The methodology consists of simulating possible scenarios to collectively evaluate the different herd management practice alternatives. In this paper, we present an Agent-Based Model built with stakeholders and designed to represent a breeding system on a typical extensive grazing area in the basaltic soils region (BR) of Uruguay. This model has three main modules: environment, biophysical and decisional sub-models. This modularity allows the conducting of virtual experiments to reveal how some herd management decisions (such as seasonal stocking rate adjustments) combined with a climatic series can result in resilience against drought periods and market movements. Long-term simulations were implemented to analyze the sensitivity of the model to key management parameters with varying climate conditions. The inter-annual climatic variability can seriously affect cattle production, even with conservative stocking rates. Rigid strategies are bound to fail and cause systems to break. Adaptive management emerged as a critical option for the sustainability of livestock breeding. The inter-annual climatic variability can seriously affect cattle production, even with conservative stocking rates. This result highlights the importance of adaptive management, one that can react to a changing environment, for the sustainability of livestock breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper deals with the application of SeaWIFS images to characterize spatial and temporal variability of fronts in the Rio de la Plata estuarine system over the period 2000–2003. We aim to depict the relationship between river outflow and variability of fronts’ loci on monthly to ENSO-related timescales and the influence of the winds along Rio de la Plata (axial winds) on the abrupt changes in frontal dynamics over synoptic timescales. During the studied period both La Niña (July 1999–June 2000) and El Niño (April 2002–May 2003) events induced significant displacements of fronts. Three distinct fronts were analyzed between river, estuarine, coastal and marine waters of the Rio de la Plata: Main Turbidity Front, Main Marine Front, and Secondary Marine Front. Their number, location and separation seem to be mainly related to river outflow and second, to fresh (>8m/s) axial winds. During low discharge periods (i.e. summer time and/or La Niña events) these winds induce abrupt changes in the location of fronts (100–200km) and greater separation between them over synoptic timescale, whereas during high river discharge or ENSO years some of the variability of fronts location is explained by the river’s outflow fluctuations, especially by the high variability of the River Uruguay discharge. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A detailed analysis of how the wave climate gradually varies from the Atlantic coast to the Rio de la Plata (RDP) estuary coast of Uruguay is undertaken, exploiting a recently developed high-resolution wave hindcast. As a better knowledge and understanding of the wave climate along the coast is a valuable tool for coastal scientist and managers for analyzing and interpreting its dynamics, a comprehensive approach is taken in this work, exploring not only the behavior of integral wave parameters but also average wave spectra and wave systems obtained from spectra partitioning. Moreover, as the focus is made on coastal areas, the magnitude and direction of the wave energy flux are analyzed as well. It is found that the analysis of the wave climate sustains the division of the Uruguayan coast in three main regions, namely, Atlantic, Outer RDP, and Intermediate and Inner RDP. In the Atlantic coast, two swell systems and a wind sea system are identified, and spatial changes in the wave climate are driven mainly by changes on coastal orientation, where La Paloma was identified as a breaking point; in the RDP, swell systems strongly refracts and dissipates, resulting in a wave climate characterized by one to none swell systems and a wind sea system, with bathymetry and geometry of the estuary playing a major role in the spatial changes of the wave climate. The analysis allowed not only to identify several characteristics of each of the regions but also to better understand how different wave systems (sea and swells) explain these characteristics in the different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an interdisciplinary review of the observed and projected variations in atmospheric and oceanic circulation within the southwestern South Atlantic focused on basin-scale processes driven by climate change, and their potential impact on the regional fisheries. The observed patterns of atmospheric circulation anomalies are consistent with anthropogenic climate change. There is strong scientific evidence suggesting that the Brazil Current is intensifying and shifting southwards during the past decades in response to changes in near-surface wind patterns, leading to intense ocean warming along the path of the Brazil Current, the South Brazil Bight, and in the Río de la Plata. These changes are presumably responsible for the poleward shift of commercially important pelagic species in the region and the long-term shift from cold-water to warm-water species in industrial fisheries of Uruguay. Scientific and traditional knowledge shows that climate change is also affecting small-scale fisheries. Long-term records suggest that mass mortalities decimated harvested clam populations along coastal ecosystems of the region, leading to prolonged shellfishery closures. More frequent and intense harmful algal blooms together with unfavorable environmental conditions driven by climate change stressors affect coastal shellfisheries, impact economic revenues, and damage the livelihood of local communities. We identify future modelling needs to reduce uncertainty in the expected effects of climate change on marine fisheries. However, the paucity of fisheries data prevents a more effective assessment of the impact of climate change on fisheries and hampers the ability of governments and communities to adapt to these changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South America contributes to roughly 30% of global runoff to the oceans. Because the regional economy and biodiversity depend significantly on its water resources, assessing potential climate change impacts on the continental water balance is crucial to support water management planning. Here we evaluate the mean alterations of water balance variables and river discharge in South America by the end of this century using two different GHG scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). An ensemble comprising 25 global climate models (GCM) from CMIP5 is used to force a continental-scale hydrologic-hydrodynamic model developed for that region. A negative signal with respect to changes in precipitation, evapotranspiration, and runoff is observed on most of the continent. Major decreases in the annual mean discharge are expected for the Orinoco, Tocantins, and Amazon basins, which would be around 8–14% at least (statistically significant – RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively). Only the Uruguay Basin presents a positive trend for the mean discharge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This study analyses variability and trends of atmospheric evaporative demand ( AED) across Uruguay in the past four decades. Changes were assessed using pan evaporation measurements from 10 meteorological stations and compared to PenPan model calculations, which is a physically based model that employs meteorological data as input. Results demonstrate a high agreement between the observed AED and those estimated from the PenPan model. Both observations and model estimations agree on a high interannual variability in AED, though being statistically insignificant ( p > 0.05) at seasonal and annual scales. Given that AED shows high sensitivity to changes in relative humidity and sunshine duration, as a surrogate of solar radiation, the lack of significant trends in the AED observations and estimations over Uruguay can be linked to the insignificant trend found for these climate variables for the period from 1973 to 2014. This is the first study that reports Pan evaporation trends for this part of the world, helping to infill gaps for mid-latitude Southern Hemisphere areas, which are poorly represented in Pan evaporation trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrological modelling with climate scenario data are used to develop projections of changes in frequency and duration of flood events in the margins of the lower sections of the Paraná and Uruguay Rivers in La Plata Basin for the twenty-first century. Discharges were simulated with the Variable Infiltration Capacity hydrologic model considering the statistically bias corrected daily maximum and minimum temperatures and rainfall outputs from five regional climate models and different emission scenarios. Results show that although it is expected that compared to the current conditions the temperature would rise and precipitation would have a slight increase in La Plata Basin during the present century, more frequent and lasting fluvial flooding events in the lower Paraná and Uruguay basins could be expected. However, the range of results derived from different climate models though consistent in sign, indicate that the uncertainty is large. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Several algorithms that combine daily precipitation surface data and satellite Climate Prediction Center Morphing Technique (CMORPH) estimations were implemented and tested for the Rio Negro basin in northeastern Uruguay. Bias removal of satellite data through quantile matching-which requires historical data on nearby rain gauges-produces an unbiased estimate whose skill, as measured by the probability of detection (POD), is better than that obtained from surface observations for distances larger than approximately 50 km, which is twice the network characteristic distance between gauges of 23 km. Adjustment of satellite estimate using spatial interpolation of CMORPH deviations evaluated at nearby points-which requires simultaneous neighboring surface observations-eliminates biases to a large degree. Moreover, it shows higher POD skill than using only surface data for the entire range of distances and daily precipitation thresholds and for both seasons (cold and warm). The skill improvement attained, though, is small when the network density is as high as in the present study. However, these results suggest a promising scenario for the combined use of surface data and satellite retrievals as the latter continues to improve over time, both in resolution-spatial and temporal-and skill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze changes in the relationship between extreme temperature events and the large scale atmospheric circulation before and after the 1976 climate shift. To do so we first constructed a set of two temperature indices that describe the occurrence of warm nights (TN90) and cold nights (TN10) based on a long daily observed minimum temperature database that spans the period 1946-2005, and then divided the period into two subperiods of 30 years each (1946-1975 and 1976-2005). We focus on summer (TN10) and winter (TN90) seasons. During austral summer before 1976 the interannual variability of cold nights was characterized by a negative phase of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) with a cyclonic anomaly centered off Uruguay that favoured the entrance of cold air from the south. After 1976 cold nights are associated not with the SAM, but with an isolated vortex at upper levels over South Eastern South America. During austral winter before 1976, the El Niño phenomenon dominated the interannual variability of warm nights through an increase in the northerly warm flow into Uruguay. However, after 1976 the El Niño connection weakened and the variability of warm nights is dominated by a barotropic anticyclonic anomaly located in the South Atlantic and a low pressure center over South America. This configuration also strengthens the northward flow of warm air into Uruguay. Our results suggest that changes in El Niño evolution after 1976 may have played a role in altering the relationship between temperature extreme events in Uruguay and the atmospheric circulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paleolimnological data are presented on trophic development, climatic change and sea level variations in Negra Lagoon, a 142 km2 coastal lagoon in southern Uruguay. Using a sediment core that extended to the early Holocene, analyses of organic matter, carbonate, diatoms and opal phytoliths allowed us to track changes in trophic state and paleosalinity levels, which were closely related to Holocene sea level variation, temperature and humidity. Diatom Association Zones (DAZ) corresponding to transgressive events were dominated by marine/brackish taxa and relatively low organic matter values, while those DAZ corresponding to regressive events showed increases in brackish/freshwater diatoms and organic matter. Opal Phytoliths Association Zones (OPAZ) also were identified, temperature and humidity indices were calculated, and climatic trends were inferred. During the middle Holocene (i.e., ~5000–4000 yr BP), cool–dry climatic conditions were established. After ~4000 yr BP, a transition from cool to warm–humid conditions was observed, but fully warm humid conditions established only after ~1700 yr BP. Such climatic amelioration led to increases in trophic state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing how climate change will affect hydrological ecosystem services (HES) provision is necessary for long-term planning and requires local comprehensive climate information. In this study, we used SWAT to evaluate the impacts on four HES, natural hazard protection, erosion control regulation and water supply and flow regulation for the Laguna del Sauce catchment in Uruguay. We used downscaled CMIP-5 global climate models for Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 2.6, 4.5 and 8.5 projections. We calibrated and validated our SWAT model for the periods 2005–2009 and 2010–2013 based on remote sensed ET data. Monthly NSE and R2 values for calibration and validation were 0.74, 0.64 and 0.79, 0.84, respectively. Our results suggest that climate change will likely negatively affect the water resources of the Laguna del Sauce catchment, especially in the RCP 8.5 scenario. In all RCP scenarios, the catchment is likely to experience a wetting trend, higher temperatures, seasonality shifts and an increase in extreme precipitation events, particularly in frequency and magnitude. This will likely affect water quality provision through runoff and sediment yield inputs, reducing the erosion control HES and likely aggravating eutrophication. Although the amount of water will increase, changes to the hydrological cycle might jeopardize the stability of freshwater supplies and HES on which many people in the south-eastern region of Uruguay depend. Despite streamflow monitoring capacities need to be enhanced to reduce the uncertainty of model results, our findings provide valuable insights for water resources planning in the study area. Hence, water management and monitoring capacities need to be enhanced to reduce the potential negative climate change impacts on HES. The methodological approach presented here, based on satellite ET data can be replicated and adapted to any other place in the world since we employed open-access software and remote sensing data for all the phases of hydrological modelling and HES provision assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is likely to modify rainfall patterns and their interaction with the soil. This paper addresses soil vulnerability in terms of soil loss resulting from increases in the amount of rainfall. Four agricultural soils from Uruguay were studied: 2 'Vertisol Ruptico' soils (Typic Pelluderts), 1 'Brunosol Subeutrico Tipico' and 1 'Brunosol Subeutrico Luvico' (Typic Argiudolls). A field rainfall simulator was used ot produce rain events of controlled intensity. Three ofthe soils were exposed to a constant rain of 70 mm per hour, which is the intensity of 30 min erosive rain events with a return period of2 yr. The remaining soil, which is characterized by a high infiltration rate, was exposed to 140 mm per hour rain. A 20 mm rainfall was applied on soil previously wet to saturation of the A horizon. The surface was prepared as bare soil seedbed on natural slopes (which are 2 to 5% steep, depending on the soil). The results obtained were corrected for a constant slope according to the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). Soil losses (in kg ha-1) for rainwater depths(amounts) of 5, 10, 15 and 20 mm respectively were: Vertisol (Serie Tala): 25, 136, 273 and 437; Vertisol (Serie Jesus Maria): 52, 291, 1233 and 2633; Brunosol (Serie Pando): 368, 961, 1725 and 2683; Brunosol (Serie Colonia Brause): 48, 60, 115 and 224. These results are indicative of: (1) a major difference in the degree of vulnerability among soils, and (2) an increase in the soil loss rate as a result of the increase in the amount of applied rainfall. The high sensitivity ofthe Uruguayan soils to climate-change-induced potential variations in rainfall pattern is thus confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Daktulosphaira vitifoliae (Fitch) or grape phylloxera is a small, invasive, and sap-sucking insect widely distribution in most viticultural areas of the world. In the current study, the potential distribution ranges of the leaf-feeding population under current and future environmental conditions were simulated by MaxEnt software. The highly suitable ranges of D. vitifoliae mainly focus on Europe, East and North China, Japan, the Eastern USA, Uruguay, and the Southeast of South America under current climatic conditions. The highly suitable ranges were obviously increased under future climate conditions. Grape phylloxera, Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, is a small, invasive, sap-sucking pest that is widely present in most viticulture regions all over the world. It is originally from North America and feeds on grapevine roots and leaves. In the current study, the potential distribution area of the leaf-feeding population was investigated with MaxEnt based on population occurrence data under different environmental variables. Results suggested that under current climatic conditions, Europe, East and North China, Japan, the Eastern USA, Uruguay, and the Southeast of South America are highly suitable areas for the occurrence of phylloxera leaf populations. The results showed that isothermality and precipitation of coldest quarter were major factors which contribute more than 60% of the model under current climate conditions. Our results provide important information for governmental decision makers and famers to develop control and management strategies against D. vitifoliae, and can also be used as a reference for studies on other invasive pest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eucalyptus grandis and E. dunnii have high productive potential in the South of Brazil, Uruguay, and central Argentina. This is based on the similarity of the climate and soil of these areas, which form an eco-region called Campos. However, previous results show that these species have differences in their distribution caused by the prioritization of Uruguayan soils for forestry, explained by the particular conditions of each site. In this study, the site variables (climate, soil, and topography) that better explain the distribution of both species were identified, and prediction models of current and future distribution were adjusted for different climate change scenarios (years 2050 and 2070). The distribution of E. grandis was associated with soil parameters, whereas for E. dunnii a greater effect of the climatic variables was observed. The ensemble biomod2 model was the most precise with regard to predicting the habitat for both species with respect to the simple models evaluated. For E. dunnii, the average values of the AUC, Kappa, and TSS index were 0.98, 0.88, and 0.77, respectively. For E. grandis, their values were 0.97, 0.86, and 0.80, respectively. In the projections of climatic change, the distribution of E. grandis occurrence remains practically unchanged, even in the scenarios of temperature increase. However, current distribution of E. dunnii shows high susceptibility in a scenario of increased temperature, to the point that most of the area currently planted may be at risk. Our results might be useful to political government and foresters for decision making in terms of future planted areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]