Soil, pasture and animal products quality

The management of pasture, through the use of appropriate stockingrates and grazing systems, influences the feeding behaviour of theanimals. The impact of animal behaviour on vegetation can be of greatimportance for the sustainability of pastures and mantaining their biodiversity.Indeed, a different response in terms of quality of animalproducts is mediated by the ability of animals to concentrate or transformgrass components, according to the characteristics of the soil.The herbage ingested by animals provides them with compounds witharomatic characteristics, such as terpenes, and with functional propertiesbeneficial for human health, such as carotenoids, vitamins,polyphenols and polyunsatured fatty acids. The combination of differentecological conditions on different soils through specific managementpractices determines the differentiation of several pasture vegetationtypes, a unique patrimony of great value in terms of biodiversityand capability to sustain local production, also important because oftheir own high added value. This review deals with pasture managementaimed at conserving the soil and reducing gas emissions, andtakes into consideration the quality of animal products as a result ofsuch management.