This book contains reviews and reports of genetic diversity in forage and turf presented at the 28th Conference of the EUCARPIA Fodder Crops and Amenity Grasses Section, held in La Rochelle, France in 2009. A total of 85 articles are covered in an Introduction and five sections, as follows: ‘Genetic resources’, ‘Genetic changes in grassland turf communities’, ‘Genetic progresses to meet end-user's expectations’, ‘Molecular biology and biotechnologies for an appropriate management and creation of genetic diversity’ and ‘Type and structure of varieties to better exploit genetic diversity’. Research on a wide range of species is reported, including 12 grasses, eight legumes and one rhizobium species. The Introducion presents an overview of the state of forage cultivation and grassland management in France. It includes recent issues concerning the livestock industry, in particular relating to the environment and climate change. Though the report is a case study in France, it suggests directions for world-wide forage breeding efforts. The first section following the Introduction documents the diversity of genetic resources of forage and turf species and highlights their potential as breeding materials. The term ‘diversity’ itself is discussed from various angles, such as morphological traits, physiological characters, chemical components, stress tolerance, molecular markers and N2 fixation potential. The next section of the book describes genetic changes in breeding populations or grasslands under different environmental conditions. Concepts of population genetics for breeding of forage and turf are discussed, and both theoretical and practical aspects are considered. The next section of the book reports on trait improvement efforts by breeding programs towards biotic and biotic stress tolerance, yield and forage quality. The following section introduces novel horizons in forage and turf breeding, i.e. molecular biology and biotechnologies, where technologies are evolving rapidly. A range of different methods of molecular analysis for forage and turf research are described, such as DNA marker development, genome sequencing, QTL analysis and functional analysis of expressed genes. In addition, the status of marker-assisted selection in forages and turf are reviewed. The final section in the book documents utilization of heterogeneous or heterozygous genomes in breeding. Utilization of heterologous genomes may be the most adventurous approach in terms of application of diverse genetic resources in breeding. Five out of the 12 articles in this section report on interspecific hybridization breeding techniques, including Festulolium, which is the most established interspecific hybrid in forage species. The other articles propose the directed utilization of heterotic groups, which is believed to be very valuable in highly heterozygous species, such as forage and turf species. Breeding is a process of exploring, combining and selecting valuable genes from genetic resources. Forage and turf species are generally cultivated in relatively severe and uncontrolled environmental conditions compared to other crops. Thus there is a need for a diverse gene pool that responds to various environmental conditions if improved varieties are to be generated. The estimation of genetic diversity in the pool of genetic resources is an essential procedure for breeding, and molecular technologies as well as advanced concepts of breeding methods are expected to accelerate breeding programs. This book is a comprehensive source of information that suggests directions for future breeding of forage and turf. It is also a useful text book for studnets studying genetics, physiology and agronomy of forage and turf species.