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

This fact sheet describes a research project focused on the Rio de la Plata Basin, examining the drivers and consequences of land use change, specifically the trade-offs between food and biofuel production and the maintenance of ecosystem services.

• 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) of C. Additionally, intensively grazed pastures are losing carbon at rates of nearly 1.7 MMT per year.
• The document argues that allowing natural vegetation to recover on former agricultural land is more beneficial for the carbon balance than growing 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. Furthermore, recovered grassland soils showed higher carbon levels than potential C credits from corn ethanol on the same land for 40 years, while providing equal or greater economic value.
• Human interventions in the humid areas of the La Plata basin have negatively impacted regional hydrology. Pine stands reduced the region's albedo by 30% compared to grasslands. Additionally, afforested grasslands caused soil acidification and a 50% decrease in water yield, an effect most pronounced under Eucalypt stands.
• Food and biofuel production have driven large-scale ecosystem conversion in the La Plata basin, resulting in the conversion of approximately 30 million hectares over the previous 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} }