02112naa a2200289 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001902400390006010000280009924501530012726000090028050001580028952010420044765300200148965300180150965300230152765300150155065300320156565300080159765300080160565300190161365300160163265300120164870000210166070000180168177301230169910621542021-06-24       2021    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d7 a10.1080/1747423X.2021.19332272DOI1 aCASTAÑO-SÁNCHEZ, J.P.  aLand-use conversions from managed grasslands to croplands in Uruguay increase medium-term carbon emissions to the atmosphere.h[electronic resource]  c2021  aArticle history: Received 24 Jul 2020, Accepted 17 May 2021, Published online: 16 Jun 2021. Contact: José P. Castaño-Sánchez jcastano@terpmail.umd.edu  aGlobally, significant land conversions of traditionally managed temperate grasslands to croplands were taking place. Among these is South-Central Uruguay where changes in recent decades have highly likely impacted plant productivity, soil quality, and carbon fluxes at a regional scale. A geospatial version of the biophysical model EPIC was developed and validated (Geospatial-EPIC-UY). An analysis of the potential impact of the land use change on the carbon fluxes was performed, considering the conversion of all the suitable cropping areas over a 15-year period. Modeled net ecosystem exchange (NEE) showed that, on average, grasslands C emissions were close to neutral (0.1 Mg CO2 ha−1 year−1), while croplands contributed almost 7 times this value. Also, the inter-annual variation of grassland NEE was significantly less than that of the cropland. These results highlight the potential C losses under extended land conversions, which could be attenuated or even reverted if best management practices were implemented.  aCARBON DYNAMICS  aCARBON FLUXES  aCROPLAND ECOSYSTEM  aEPIC MODEL  aNATURAL GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEM  aNEE  aNPP  aREGIONAL SCALE  aSOIL CARBON  aURUGUAY1 aIZAURRALE, R. C.1 aPRINCE, S. D.  tJournal of Land Use Science, June 2021, Vol. 16, no. 3, p. 249-259. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/1747423X.2021.1933227