The workshop organizers in the Land and Plant Nutrient Management Service of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) would like to thank EMBRAPA-Soybean for having kindly hosted and significantly contributed to the successful organization of the International Technical Workshop on Biological Management of Soil Ecosystems for Sustainable Agriculture. Particular thanks are due to George Brown and Mariangela Hungria for their special support. The financial support provided through the agricultural biodiversity component of the FAO-Netherlands Partnership Programme (FNPP) was greatly appreciated, as it enabled the organization of this ground-breaking workshop and the participation of technical experts from some 18 countries throughout the world. Thanks are also extended to each of the individual contributors who made the effort to participate and/or to provide case studies that stimulated such a dynamic and fruitful workshop.
This workshop report has been prepared by the workshop facilitators, Sally Bunning, FAO land conservation and management officer and Adriana Montañez, FAO consultant, with the aim to reflect and recognize the valuable and diverse contributions that each and everyone provided. It is hoped that this report does due credit to the range of expertise and experiences and the quality of the discussions on soil biodiversity assessment and monitoring, adaptive management, research and technological innovation.
Special thanks go to the support staff who provided assistance in the workshop preparation and travel and logistical arrangements. Appreciation is acknowledged for the managerial support provided by Parviz Koohafkan and Peter Kenmore of FAO’s Agriculture Department. Thanks are expressed for the comments and suggestions made during the peer review and editing of this document, in particular to Juan Jiménez, Robert Brinkman and Julian Plummer as well as Lynette Chalk for formatting and final presentation.
