Land use change in the Rio de la Plata Basin: linking biophysical and human factors to predict trends, assess impacts, and support viable land use strategies for the future

The project investigates the trade-offs between agricultural expansion and ecosystem services in the Rio de la Plata Basin, finding that crop expansion has significantly reduced soil carbon and that certain afforestation efforts have negatively impacted regional hydrology and water yield.

• Over the last 25 years, the expansion of crops in the La Plata basin has led to a reduction in soil carbon (C) of approximately 30%, with annual loss rates of 28 million metric tons (MMT). Additionally, intensively grazed pastures are losing carbon at a rate of nearly 1.7 MMT per year.
• Allowing natural vegetation to recover on former agricultural land is more beneficial for the carbon balance than producing biofuel crops. Specifically, the carbon released from soil under corn grown for ethanol takes 50 years to be compensated by carbon gains from bio-alcohol, and recovered grassland provides higher soil carbon and equal or greater economic value than corn ethanol credits for 40 years.
• Human interventions in the humid areas of the La Plata basin have negatively affected hydrology. Pine stands reduced the region's albedo by 30% compared to grasslands, and afforested grasslands decreased water yield by 50% and caused soil acidification, with the most significant effects observed under Eucalypt stands.
• Large-scale ecosystem conversion in the La Plata basin, driven by food and biofuel production, has resulted in the conversion of approximately 30 million hectares over the past 25 years.

APA

Jobbágy, E., Altesor, A., Panario, D., Piñeiro, D. E., Coronel, G., Coutinho, H. L., Meirelles, M., Epstein, H. E., Hoffmann, W. A., Jackson, R. B., Maceira, J. C., Noellemeyer, E., Paruelo, J., Oesterheld, M., Podestá, G. P., Di Bella, C., Schlichter, T., & Viglizzo, E. F. (2010). Land use change in the Rio de la Plata Basin: linking biophysical and human factors to predict trends, assess impacts, and support viable land use strategies for the future. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/03/CRN2_31.pdf

Chicago

Jobbágy, Esteban, Alice Altesor, Daniel Panario, Diego E. Piñeiro, Genaro Coronel, Heitor L. Coutinho, Maggie Meirelles, et al. Land use change in the Rio de la Plata Basin: linking biophysical and human factors to predict trends, assess impacts, and support viable land use strategies for the future. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, 2010. https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/03/CRN2_31.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Jobbágy |first1=Esteban |last2=Altesor |first2=Alice |last3=Panario |first3=Daniel |last4=Piñeiro |first4=Diego E. |last5=Coronel |first5=Genaro |last6=Coutinho |first6=Heitor L. |last7=Meirelles |first7=Maggie |last8=Epstein |first8=Howard E. |last9=Hoffmann |first9=William A. |display-authors=etal |title=Land use change in the Rio de la Plata Basin: linking biophysical and human factors to predict trends, assess impacts, and support viable land use strategies for the future |publisher=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |date=February 2010 |url=https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/03/CRN2_31.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{jobbgy2010land, author = {Jobbágy, Esteban and Altesor, Alice and Panario, Daniel and Piñeiro, Diego E. and Coronel, Genaro and Coutinho, Heitor L. and Meirelles, Maggie and Epstein, Howard E. and Hoffmann, William A. and Jackson, Robert B. and Maceira, Juan Carlos and Noellemeyer, Elke and Paruelo, Jose and Oesterheld, Martín and Podestá, Guillermo P. and Di Bella, Carlos and Schlichter, Tomas and Viglizzo, Ernesto F.}, title = {{Land use change in the Rio de la Plata Basin: linking biophysical and human factors to predict trends, assess impacts, and support viable land use strategies for the future}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2010}, month = feb, url = {https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/03/CRN2_31.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }