Improving grassland and pasture management in

Editors

Professor Athole Marshall is Head of the internationally-renowned Public Good Planting Breeding Team at the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS), Aberystwyth University, UK. The team is noted for its work in breeding new varieties of forage grasses, legumes and oats. Professor Marshall is Past President of the European Grassland Federation.

Dr Rosemary Collins is a Principal Investigator at IBERS focussed on developing new varieties of legumes such as clover for a more sustainable agriculture.

Description

The shift to more intensive livestock system has put more pressure on grasslands used for pasture. At the same time, there is a greater understanding of the role of grasslands in delivering a range of ecosystems services. This volume reviews the range of research on more sustainable use of grasslands to optimise livestock nutrition whilst protecting biodiversity and delivering a range of broader environmental benefits.

Part 1 assesses grassland functions and dynamics, including plant-soil and plant-animal interactions. Part 2 reviews key aspects of grassland management, including sowing, soil health, irrigation and weed control as well as monitoring. The final part of the book considers wider aspects of sustainability such as protecting biodiversity as well as silage processing.

Key features

• Assesses latest research on how grasslands function 
• Surveys best practice in sustainable grassland management 
• Considers wider aspects of sustainability such as ecosystem services and biodiversity

What others are saying...

"The comprehensiveness of the book will make it extremely useful for grassland and pasture students. In addition, it has value for anyone interested in a wide range of aspects of cultivated grasslands…it is a valuable source of information on cultivated grasslands in a single book with a good balance between detail and subjects covered."
African Journal of Range and Forage Science

This book provides comprehensive coverage of the aspects of temperate grassland that are of crucial importance for the 21st Century. The Editors are renowned grassland scientists and there is a fantastic team of authors not only from Europe, but also from Australasia and North and South America. I commend this book to all serious researchers and extension specialists involved with temperate grassland.
Roger Wilkins, Emeritus Researcher, Rothamsted Research, UK; Life President, European Grassland Federation.

Table of contents

Part 1 Grassland functions and dynamics
1.The role of grasslands in biogeochemical cycles and biodiversity conservation: O. Huguenin-Elie, Agroscope, Switzerland; L. Delaby and K. Klumpp, INRA, France; S. Lemauviel-Lavenant, INRA and Université de Caen Normandie, France; and J. Ryschawy and R. Sabatier, INRA, France; 
2.The role of pasture in the diet of ruminant livestock: Michael R. F. Lee, University of Bristol, UK and Rothamsted Research, UK; M. Jordana Rivero, Rothamsted Research, UK; and John W. Cone, Wageningen University, The Netherlands; 
3.Plant–animal interactions in grazing systems: D. F. Chapman, DairyNZ Lincoln, New Zealand and W. M. Griffiths, Hamilton, New Zealand; 
4.Grazing management for sustainable grazing systems: Lilian Elgalise Techio Pereira and Sila Carneiro da Silva, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil; Cory Matthew and Ignacio F. López, Massey University, New Zealand; and André Fischer Sbrissia, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, Brazil; 

Part 2 Management of grasslands
5.Planning and sowing grasslands: David B. Hannaway and Linda J. Brewer, Oregon State University, USA; Steve Fransen, Washington State University, USA; and Glenn Shewmaker, Shannon Williams and Sarah Baker, University of Idaho, USA; 
6.Managing grassland for forage production: an overview: Deirdre Hennessy, Teagasc, Ireland; 
7.Managing grassland systems to optimise livestock farming: J. L. Peyraud, L. Delaby and R. Delagarde, INRA-Agrocampus Ouest, France; 
8.Persistence and yield stability of temperate grassland legumes for sustainable animal production: F. Ortega, L. Inostroza and C. Moscoso, Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, Chile; and L. Parra and A. Quiroz, Universidad de La Frontera, Chile; 
9.Balancing pasture productivity with environmental and animal health requirements: D. R. Woodfield, Grasslands Research Centre, New Zealand; and H. G. Judson, Kimihia Research Centre, New Zealand;
10.Managing soil health for grassland: D. Barker, The Ohio State University, USA; 
11.Management of water resources for grasslands: Jean L. Steiner, Pradeep Wagle and Prasanna Gowda, Grazing Lands Research Laboratory – USDA-ARS, USA; 
12.Biological weed control in temperate grasslands; Graeme W. Bourdôt and Michael G. Cripps, AgResearch Limited, New Zealand;
13.Restoring degraded grasslands: Llewellyn L. Manske, North Dakota State University, USA; 
14.Advances in remote sensing for monitoring grassland and forage production; Michael Wachendorf, University of Kassel, Germany;

Part 3 Sustainability and wider uses of grasslands
15.Research challenges in adapting grasslands to climate change: Richard Kipling, Aberystwyth University, UK; 
16.Protecting biodiversity in grasslands: J. Isselstein, University of Göttingen, Germany; 
17.Advances in feeding grass silage: Pekka Huhtanen, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden; 
18.Use of grassland for bioenergy and biorefining: Ulrich Thumm, University of Hohenheim, Germany; 
19.Organic grassland: Thomas F. Doring and Ulrich Köpke, University of Bonn, Germany

Dimensions:

229x152mm  6x9"

Publication date:

27 July 2018

Length of book:

486 pages