jobs in the private, public and/or academic sector may lead under some
conditions to legal disqualification. Attitudes towards the introduction
of new markets for ecosystem services and of mechanisms for so-called
payments for ecosystem services (PES) were slightly skeptical. Stricter
laws and regulations were preferred for those branches of industry or
land use whose environmental impacts need to be reduced.
5. Discussion
In this study we combined the values of local society with observed
land-use changes to assess the effects of established plantations on
ecosystem services, as distinct from previous, biophysically oriented
studies of ecosystem services carried out in forest transition contexts.
5.1. Land-use change impact on local population's perceptions on ecosystem
services
Our results show that during the period of over 20 years studied
there was significant change in land use in the study area. There
have been very few scientific studies dealing with the effects of
these changes on ecosystem services in Uruguay. We found that the
main concerns of the local population arising from the increase in
plantations were those relating to water availability, soil fertility,
the use of chemicals (including fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides),
and the effect on other sources of livelihood, mainly agriculture and
animal husbandry. These concerns are consistent with local people's
valuation of certain ecosystem services, such as the availability of
drinking water and the appreciation of pastures and free-grazing