Genetic Resources of Mediterranean Pasture and Forage Legumes

A comprehensive review of grassland improvement in Mediterranean areas using legume species, including a detailed account of the processes involved in understanding the ecology of legumes and their collection in the Mediterranean, through to their preliminary evaluation and storage at various genetic resource centres. A generic conspectus and key to the forage legumes of the Mediterranean basin is also included. Issues such as the sustainability of Mediterranean grasslands, the risk of genetic erosion and the principles of population genetics employed during a collecting mission are discussed. The book should be useful to researchers working in the fields of grassland and rangeland improvement, Mediterranean farming systems, genetic resources, and pasture and forage ecology.