Land use change and new management strategies have extensively and rapidly altered farming-in the pastoral ecozone of the northern China temperate steppe. Little is known about ecosystem carbon exchange responses to human-induced land use change, which limits the accurate evaluation of the regional carbon balance and its climatic consequences. The influence of three typical land use patterns on the farming-pastoral ecozone in northern China temperate steppe and ecosystem carbon exchange and its components were investigated by studying the components of ecosystem carbon exchange in three ecosystems. These were grazing, no grazing, and steppe cultivated cropland on adjacent areas in Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia. This study used the chamber attached portable infrared analysis system (Li-6400) to investigate the effects of these three land uses on carbon exchange. The results showed that steppe cultivated cropland significantly decreased the daily ecosystem carbon exchange (56% lower, P<0.05) compared to grazed steppe. Long term grazing exclusion tended to decrease carbon exchange and its components, but the decrease was not significant (P>0.05). There was no significant difference between grazed and grazing excluded steppe, which was similar to the results for net ecosystem productivity (NEP). In contrast, cultivation significantly decreased net primary productivity (NPP). The gross primary productivity (GPP) differences among the three land uses were lower. The total ecosystem respiration (Re), autotrophic respiration, heterotrophic respiration, and the above and below ground respiration results for grazed steppe were not significantly different from the results recorded for grazing excluded steppe, whereas they were all significantly higher in steppe cultivated cropland. Root respiration was not significantly different among the three land uses. Cultivation significantly increased the autotrophic respiration to Re proportion compared to grazed steppe, whereas soil respiration and root respiration significantly decreased. Grazing exclusion had no significant influence. The below ground biomass has important effects on the variation in the soil respiration (95%) and root respiration (77%) proportions to Re. In addition, the leaf area indexes (LAIs) of the different grassland use patterns in the adjacent areas were very significantly positively correlated with the autotrophic respiration to Re proportion (P<0.001). Temperate steppe cultivated to cropland enhances ecosystem carbon release and reduces CO₂ fixation compared to grassland steppe. However, grazing exclusion had a low influence on ecosystem carbon exchange and its composition.