Das Projekt "Effect of legumes in low and high altitude grasslands on palatability and quality of herbage, N use efficiency and milk quality in ruminants" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Institut für Nutztierwissenschaften, Professur Tierernährung durchgeführt. The project explores the effects of including forage legumes into the diet of ruminants on their intake pattern, performance, N use efficiency and gaseous emissions. Focus is put on red clover, white clover, lucerne and, as a companion grass, ryegrass. Both lowland and high altitude sites will be investigated. The project is part of the ongoing EU COST Action 852 'Quality Legume-Based Forage Systems for Contrasting Environments' coordinated by Dr. A. Helgadottir, Iceland. The topic of one Working Group (headed by Dr. M. Wachendorf and Prof. M. Kreuzer) of this COST action is 'Forage Utilisation'. In this Working Group three main areas are covered, namely animal intake and grazing behaviour, quality of legume-based fresh and ensiled forage, and the mechanisms of N-flows within the ruminant (efficiency-losses). A common protocol developed by the Working Group, which includes animal product quality as an additional focus, will be applied across as many European countries as possible. The present includes the activities required by the common protocol and investigates additional questions. This project takes place mainly at the ETH research stations Chamau and Weissenstein. The project opens a new collaboration with Dr. A. Luescher, Swiss Federal Research Station for Agroecology and Agriculture, and strengthens an existing collaboration with Prof. J.E. Carulla. Furthermore, through participation in this European network other collaborations will evolve.