The net flux of CO 2 exchanged with the atmosphere following grassland‐related land‐use change ( LUC ) depends on the subsequent temporal dynamics of soil organic carbon ( SOC ). Yet, the magnitude and timing of these dynamics are still unclear. We compiled a global data set of 836 paired‐sites to quantify temporal SOC changes after grassland‐related LUC . In order to discriminate between SOC losses from the initial ecosystem...