Bases para el ordenamiento territorial del sur de Córdoba (Argentina). El caso de la Cuenca de los Arroyos Menores

Within the complex relationship between society and nature, agriculture must serve multiple functions, not only food and fiber production but also natural resources basis maintenance and improvement in a region or country scale. Argentine Pampean Region support a soil use intensification, based in economic criteria, which needs to be articled with environmental and social interest to achieve long term sustainability. The aim of this thesis is develop a decision support system to territorial planning in South Cordoba Arroyos Menores basin (Argentina). The study area (6753 km2) involves three main basins, with water and wind erosion, hydrologic damages in high basins and flooding-sedimentation in lowland ones, strongly related. Methodology involve GIS tools, hydrologic and erosion-sediment simulation models and discrete and continue multi-criteria analysis (MCA) methods (weighted summation, ELECTRE, PROMETHEE and AHP, weighted goal, lexicographic and compromise programming). Twelve alternatives combining soil use (to actual baseline and different agriculture, pasture and forest soil use mix), soil conservation practices (SC) and basin hydrologic management (HM) were develop. Thirteen criteria including environmental, economic and social issues were applied to alternative assessment. Results shown high effectiveness in basin degradation process control because of land management alternative simulations. Discrete MCA show that “integral” alternatives (joint SC+HO) are the preferred. The preference of soil use schemes (from agroforestry to intensive) were variable in relation to different weight of criteria (i.e. decision maker group interest). Continue MCA shown and quantifies the conflicting relationships between ecology and economy, but found compromise solutions combining SC and HM schemes, and clearly shown that investment is the main limiting factor. The information system developed is an initial approach to support land use negotiation-consensus process in the study area.