The use of forage legumes and herbs in temporary grassland swards is a promising strategy to enhance productivity, protein supply, herbage quality and species diversity in forage-based low input dairy production. Species containing plant specialized metabolites (PSM; e.g. tannins or polyphenol oxidase) are associated with positive effects on ruminants’ health, performance and nitrogen use efficiency. However, plant growth characteristics and the occurrence of PSMs with potential for improved nutritive value vary greatly depending on species and environment and to date, few species have been exploited agronomically. Thus, the current study aims to screen a range of forage species that are abundant in low input and semi-natural grasslands, in terms of productivity and forage quality for dairy cows under limited nitrogen availability in a ley system. Pure stands of eight legumes, six herbs and perennial ryegrass as reference, were established in a field experiment and sampled over two years (2010 and 2013) in their first full production year. Freeze-dried plant material was analysed for crude protein (CP), enzyme soluble organic matter (ESOM), fibre parameters (ADF, NDF), total phenolics (TP) and condensed tannins (CT). The species variation was significant for each parameter (P < 0.001). In comparison to high yielding legumes, herbage production of investigated alternative species was generally low, but for Cichorium intybus and Plantago lanceolata comparable or even higher than for Lolium perenne. Differences existed in yield development throughout the year, thus exhibiting temporal asynchrony for improved performance if grown in mixtures. Apart from Onobrychis viciifolia, the CP concentration in legume species was highest while ESOM was outstandingly high in herbs (except Plantago lanceolata). TP concentration was generally higher in herbs but in Onobrychis viciifolia and Lotus corniculatus the concentration of condensed tannins exceeded 10 g kg⁻¹ DM. The results indicate that alternative forage species exist with high forage quality and potentially promising PSM concentrations, thus making them interesting additions for temperate grasslands.

在临时草场中使用草料豆科植物和草药是一种有前途的策略，可以提高以草料为基础的低投入乳制品生产中的生产力，蛋白质供应，草料质量和物种多样性。含有植物专门代谢物的物种（PSM；例如单宁或多酚氧化酶）对反刍动物的健康，性能和氮素利用效率有积极影响。但是，植物的生长特性和具有提高营养价值潜力的PSM的存在因物种和环境的不同而有很大差异，迄今为止，在农业上几乎没有利用过任何物种。因此，当前的研究旨在筛选在低氮和半天然草地上在氮系统有限的条件下，奶牛的生产力和草料质量方面丰富的一系列牧草种类。在野外试验中建立了八种豆类，六种草药和多年生黑麦草的纯林分，并在第一个完整生产年份的两年（2010年和2013年）中进行了采样。对冷冻干燥的植物材料中的粗蛋白（CP）进行了分析，酶可溶性有机物（ESOM），纤维参数（ADF，NDF），总酚（TP）和缩合单宁（CT）。每个参数的物种差异都很大（P <0.001）。与高产豆科植物相比，研究过的替代种的牧草产量通常较低，但菊苣菊和车前草比黑麦草还要高甚至更高。全年的产量发展存在差异，因此，如果在混合物中生长，则表现出时间上的异步性，从而改善了性能。除小菜Onobrychis viciifolia外，豆科植物中的CP浓度最高，而草药中的ESOM则非常高（车前草除外）。TP的浓度通常在草药中较高，但在Onobrychis viciifolia和Lotus corniculatus中单宁的浓缩浓度超过10 g kg ^-1 DM。结果表明存在替代草料，具有较高的草料质量和潜在的PSM浓度，因此使它们成为温带草原的有趣补充。