M. Virginia Pravia

Dr. Virginia Pravia holds a BSc in Agronomy (2004) and Master in Agricultural Sciences (2009) from the the College of Agronomy, Universidad de la República (Fagro-UdelaR, Uruguay), and PhD in Agronomy from The Pennsylvania State University (2017). She is a Researcher in the Areas of Pastures and Forages and Natural Resources, Production and Environment at the National Institute for Agricultural Research (INIA, Uruguay), based at INIA Treinta y Tres since 2006. Her research interests focus on the quantification of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) fluxes in pasture and cropping agroecosystems for the development of sustainable intensification pathways supporting soil C sequestration and N use efficiency, and crop and pasture productivity. Integrating agroecosystem simulation models, long-term experiments in the field, regional surveys and laboratory experiments using isotope techniques to unravel the mechanisms behind soil C and N retention and soil organic matter decomposition in crop-pasture systems. Involved in several national and international initiatives and projects related to soil C sequestration and the evaluation, adaptation, and mitigation of climate change effects in agricultural systems, interacts with local farmers and policy makers enabling the extension of scientific knowledge at the soil-plant-atmosphere interaction level into adaptive farming practices.