Importance of agro-pastoral systems in Brazil; Grassland management technology for sustainable agro-pastoral systems in the subtropical zone of Brazil; Results of soybean yield, animal liveweight gain and soil fertility changes in agro-pastoral systems; Nitrogen dynamics in agro-pastoral system of Brazil; Characterization of nitrogen utilization by tropical grasses in brazilian savannas; Soil organic residues accumulation in agro-pastoral systems in the cerrados of Brazil; Effects of termite activities on nutrient recycling in agro-pastoral system; Inhibition of nitrification in Brachiaria humidicola; Diagnosis of pasture degradation by multi-temporal satellite imagery; Problems and prespectives of regional land conservation systems in relation to the pantanal wetlands; Tropical forage breeding in Embrapa: current situation and prospects; Economic evaluation of the agro-pastoral system; Agro-pastoral systems in subtropical Brazil and possibility of extension.

The partnership: JIRCAS /Embrapa Soybean; Current status and future perspectives on soybean production in Argentina; Molecular analysis of abiotic stress: tolerant mechanisms in soybean and its application to breeding; Development of transgenic soybean tolerant to drought stresse; Physiological evaluation of drought tolerance in brazilian soybean cultivars: water use efficiency and carbon isotope discrimination; Epidemiological studies of soybean rust in South America: host susceptibility and pathogenic races; Application of DNA markers for identifying genes for resistance to soybean diseases in South America and for evaluating genectic relationship among soybean gene pools; The soybean cyst nematode, Heterodera glycines Ichinohe in Paraguay: its distribution, ecology, vanation in pathogenicity and damage on soybean; Evaluation of effects of an agro-pastoral system on soybean production and soil properties; Effects of agro-pastoral systems on nitrogen balance in soil in Colónia Yguazu, Alto Paraná, Paraguay; Effect of introduction of the agro-pastoral system in South America on farm management and its current status: a comparison of management conditions betwccn soybean monoculture and the agro-pastoral system inBrazil and Paraguay; Use of agricultural by-products for cattle feed in South America: case .Argentina; Charactcrization of biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) capacity in Brachiaria humidicola; Field validation of the phenomenon of nitrification inhibition by Brachiaria humidicola and other tropical grasses.

This book is a remarkable work that brings together the most recent international research on grassland management, covering a broad range of topics and geographical areas. The different contributions explore the complex relationships between landscape, climate features, and soil fertility with the support of observational data and modeling. Clearly, this is a wide and multifaceted area of research that opens up new prospects for the management of a biome, which should no longer be considered only as a feed resource for domestic herbivore farming, but also—and above all—as a source of ecosystem services to society and a contributor to the sustainability of agriculture. Textbooks like this positively demonstrate the importance and significance of how grassland science, when viewed in this way, can make tangible the progress in understanding the complexity of grassland management and its current and future challenges.

This volume explores the South Brazilian grasslands, a unique complex of ecosystems in Brazil. Despite high biodiversity and many important ecosystem services, their biodiversity and conservation are neglected, both nationally, and globally. This book provides a state-of-the-art synthesis of knowledge on the biodiversity and its drivers in South Brazilian grasslands and associated ecosystems. Further, the book discusses conservation challenges and options, as well as management strategies that help to maintain the region’s uniqueness. The chapters present information on biodiversity and ecological features of the region, and put this information into the context of historical and current human land uses, allowing for links to global discussions of conservation and sustainable development. Altogether, the book contains 20 chapters organized in four sections. The book is directed at researchers, students and professionals working with biodiversity and sustainable development in southern Brazil, as well as to the international scientific and conservation community interested in grasslands and associated ecosystems, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions.