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In this paper, three case studies are analyzed in Uruguay at the basin level, to identify the factors that favor the flood phenomenon. Transformations in land use and eventually climate change are considered. Over a 30-year period, land use modifications were evaluated using a Geographic Information System, and the variability of rainfall and river levels was analyzed. The three basins show completely different behavior from their land use change, and show increasing trends in rainfall over the period analyzed. It is evident that land use change is one of the most influential factors in the increase of flooding in urban areas. These transformations are mostly related to the exploitation of soil for the generation of commodities for export and generate modifications in the agrarian territories in Uruguay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In the present study, a land suitability assessment was conducted in the basin of four Uruguayan coastal lagoons (Southwestern Atlantic) to analyze the productive development while minimizing eutrophication, biodiversity loss and conflicts among different land uses. Suitable land for agriculture, forest, livestock ranching, tourism and conservation sectors were initially established based on a multi-attribute model developed using a geographic information system. Experts were consulted to determine the requirements for each land use sector and the incompatibilities among land use types. The current and potential conflicts among incompatible land use sectors were analyzed by overlapping land suitability maps. We subsequently applied a multi-objective model where land (pixels) with similar suitability was clustered into 'land suitability groups', using a two-phase cluster analysis and the Akaike Information Criterion. Finally, a linear programming optimization procedure was applied to allocate land use sectors into land suitable groups, maximizing total suitability and minimizing interference among sectors. Results indicated that current land use overlapped by 4.7 % with suitable land of other incompatible sectors. However, the suitable land of incompatible sectors overlapped in 20.3 % of the study area, indicating a high potential for the occurrence of future conflict. The highest competition was between agriculture and conservation, followed by forest and agriculture. We explored scenarios where livestock ranching and tourism intensified, and found that interference with conservation and agriculture notably increased. This methodology allowed us to analyze current and potential land use conflicts and to contribute to the strategic planning of the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]