Conclusion: pathways to resilient temperate grasslands

The aim of this book has been to bring together the best available knowledge on temperate grasslands and to frame this knowledge in such a way that is useful to those who manage, advise on, study and make policy for these systems. The individual chapters of the book describe different scales going from plant physiology and soil processes through animal nutrition and product quality to landscape-scale management. They illustrate a strikingly consistent message: temperate grasslands are multifunctional systems whose potential is incompletely realized unless farm management, technology, research and policies are aligned to support multiple objectives simultaneously. This concluding chapter highlights the cross-cutting insights that have emerged from the preceding chapters, provides practical recommendations for practitioners and policymakers, and sets out overarching priorities for a research agenda to accelerate the transition to resilient, productive, sustainable, and biodiversity-rich temperate grasslands.