While grasslands face a number of challenges, such as encroachment from intensive farming and the impact of climate change, there is a growing recognition of the key role they can play in supporting the transition to more resilient, sustainable and circular agricultural systems.

Advances in temperate grassland science and management reviews the wealth of research addressing these challenges and opportunities, focussing on the role of grasslands in agricultural systems and, in particular, in improving livestock health and product quality. It summarises recent research on grassland composition and management in optimising the contribution it can make, including regional case studies on grassland management in practice.

This book builds on a successful earlier volume by Burleigh Dodds Science: Improving grassland and pasture management in temperate agriculture (2018).

Edited by an internationally-renowned expert, the book will be a standard reference for university and other researchers in grassland and rangeland science, ruminant farmers, as well as government and non-governmental organisations responsible for grassland management and conservation.

Dr Agnes van den Pol-van Dasselaar is Professor of Grasslands and Grazing at Aeres University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands. Prior to her appointment of this role in 2015, Dr van den Pol-van Dasselaar had a distinguished career spanning over 20 years at Wageningen Livestock Research, in which she held several positions, including Head of Grass and Forage Systems. Dr van den Pol-van Dasselaar recently co-edited Grassland Use in Europe (2020) and has contributed to over 200 journal articles on grazing, ecosystem services, grass and forage management, as well as greenhouse gas emissions and sustainable production systems. She is also the current President of the European Grassland Federation and Member of its Scientific Advisory Board.

Dr Agnes van den Pol-van Dasselaar is Professor of Grasslands and Grazing at Aeres University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands. Prior to her appointment of this role in 2015, Dr van den Pol-van Dasselaar had a distinguished career spanning over 20 years at Wageningen Livestock Research, in which she held several positions, including Head of Grass and Forage Systems. Dr van den Pol-van Dasselaar recently co-edited Grassland Use in Europe (2020) and has contributed to over 200 journal articles on grazing, ecosystem services, grass and forage management, as well as greenhouse gas emissions and sustainable production systems. She is also the current President of the European Grassland Federation and Member of its Scientific Advisory Board.

Dr Lynn Sollenberger is Distinguished Professor of Agronomy and a University of Florida Distinguished Teaching Scholar. The goal of Dr Sollenberger’s research program is to acquire new knowledge of plant-animal-environment interactions focusing on the ecosystem services of grasslands.

Dr Nina Buchmann is Full Professor of Grassland Sciences in the Institute of Agricultural Sciences at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Her main research topics include biosphere-atmosphere greenhouse gas exchange (CO2, H2O, CH4, N2O) and carbon sequestration.