PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
"Primeval forests in central Europe? Are there really any left?", many might ask sceptically. Yes, there are some left - even if only as small remnants. The biggest remnant of primeval forest in the Alps, dubbed 'Rothwald', covers the south-eastern slopes of the 1,878 metre Dürrenstein mountain, near the the border between Lower Austria and Styria. About 460 hectares are true primeval forest: they have never been exploited for forestry; any tree or branch which falls down just stays lying on the ground; there are no tracks. Consequently some ten different forest types within the spruce-fir-beech association as well as bear, lynx, golden eagle, black grouse and white-backed woodpecker were able to find a haven here, while representatives of the severely threatened saproxylic fauna, such as the gorgeous scintillating blue beetle Rosalia alpina, survived in this refuge. 277 ha of the Rothwald have been under strict protection since 1942, but the rest of the primeval forest was threatened by the absence of full protection against forestry, the influence of adjoining production forests (invasion of non-indigenous plant species, spread by pollen), excessive densities of game animals which hindered the rejuvenation of the principal tree species, the lack of any conservation-oriented management and rising visitor pressure.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE project set out to help secure the entire primeval forest and create a 700 ha buffer zone around it where there is no forestry exploitation. This would entail paying out one-off compensations to end all forms of possible use by the private owners who control all of this land. Obviously compensation for giving up forestry would head the list, but also hunting would have to be adapted to the site's ecological requirements. These measures would go hand-in-glove with the establishment of a strict nature reserve and the compilation of an inventory of species and habitats as well as a management plan. Forestry tracks in the buffer zone were to be removed and the current forest management would be assisted by two nature conservation bodies in future, for the task of managing visitors. In so doing, the project intended to ensure that this primeval forest would retain its vitality, thereby guaranteeing that there will continue to be such virgin forests in central Europe in times to come.
RESULTS
The main and most expensive measure was the compensation to the private owners of 867,43 ha in the Rothwald for giving up exploitation (only limited hunting is allowed), equalling a purchase in its effect, followed by a strict legal protection (nature reserve). This 867 ha adjoins a 300 ha area already under reserve status since 1942. This was the first time in Austria that a large privately-owned mountain forest was compensated in order to stop any forestry use. At the end of the project, the Lower Austrian government decided an additional area of 1,236 ha (Hundsau) will also be taken out of use via compensation payments, financed from the Lower Austrian nature conservation budget. Thus, as a direct result of the LIFE project, a forest nature reserve of 2378 ha was created. LIFE-Nature also financed status quo inventories of the project area covering otters, bats, large raptors, black storks, grouse, woodpeckers, xylobiontic beetles, dragonflies, butterflies, hoverflies, bees, wasps, ants and mushrooms. A mapping of Annex I habitats was also done. The data gathered confirmed the extraordinary biological value of the local old-growth forests, especially for the Annex I birds white-backed woodpecker and grey-headed woodpecker and for several taxonomic groups of wood-living beetles, including the two Annex II species Rosalia alpina and Cucujus cinnaberinus. 45 indicator species of Diptera were found, 26 of which are relict species exclusively linked to very old forests with large quantities of dead or decaying wood. 650 species of macroscopic fungi were found in the old-growth forests, with an abundance of rare and declining species. Additional studies investigated the recreational pressure on the study area, the effect of game densities on forest regeneration and the use of remote-sensing techniques for the future monitoring of Annex I habitat types in the pSCI "Ötscher-Dürrenstein". Based on these studies and inventories (published as a 313-page report), a management plan was developed. This plan provides recommendations and guidelines for the set-up of a site administration, species and habitat management, regulatory hunting, visitor guidance, research and monitoring. The structure of the management plan is clearly based on the guidelines for establishment of management plans for Natura 2000 areas discussed in the Galway seminar in 1996. Its premiss is that the wilderness area itself should be left to natural succession wherever this is possible. Therefore, the management plan is mainly dealing with (1) the set-up and the roles of a permanent site administration, (2) game management within and around the wilderness area, (3) regulation and control of the access to the area and (4) prescriptions for monitoring and future research priorities. An important trait of the management plan is the "adaptive" nature of many provisions, i.e. the management plan provides the frame under which the actual measures have to be taken, depending on a particular situation or priority (such as a high game density, a storm, a bear causing trouble etc.). The term "adaptive management" thus means that certain actions would only be implemented under particular circumstances. For example, certain forestry measure may have to be taken in the event an excessive outbreak of bark beetles would severely threaten adjacent spruce forestry areas. Or anti-erosion measures might have to be taken locally in case a windfall area would increase the risk of a snow-or a mudslide, threatening houses further down the slopes. The management plan, available as an 88-page document, was approved by the Lower Austrian Government in June 2001 as the binding document for the future management of the Wilderness Area Dürrenstein (2.387 ha). The removal of forestry roads, foreseen in the LIFE application, was substituted by the renovation of an old hunting lodge to be used by scientists and rangers, because the forestry roads, which hadn't been used for several years, were already in a very natural state, i.e. grown over by vegetation. A removal of the roads would have caused more disturbance than leaving them to natural succession. The main remaining problem was the set-up of an independent administration for the protected area (as stipulated in the revised application). In June 2000, the beneficiary came up with a structural and budgetary proposal. The annual budget, based on the experience gained with the LIFE-Nature project, was estimated at 109.000 €. The management plan and the results of the inventory studies, whose publication was financed by LIFE, were instrumental in convincing the regional government to approve financing of the protected area administration (and compensation payments for the Hundsau part of the wilderness area) after the end of the LIFE-Nature project. On June 26 2001 the Lower Austrian government decided to set aside an annual budget of 109.000 €. This will fund an on-site administration of 3 people: 2 rangers (site surveillance) and 1 administrator. The establishment of a permanent site administration for a protected area which was not a national park was new for Austria. The reserve administration will be in charge of all matters regarding the wilderness area and pSCI/SPA (practical implementation of the management plan, visitor guidance, surveillance, coordination of research and monitoring including Article 17 Habitats Directive monitoring, local contacts). Thus, as a direct result of the LIFE project, a forest nature reserve of 2378 ha was created. Annex I forest habitat types cover an area of 1294 ha, 55% of the “wilderness area”. This area includes the largest existing remains of undisturbed mixed mountain beech-spruce-fir forest in the Alpine region (altogether ca. 460 ha). In addition, ca. 700 ha of formerly exploited mountain beech forests will be left to natural succession. The conservation status of all forest habitat types in the project area is expected to improve considerably within the next decades. As age, size and volume of trees will grow, additional ecological niches will be offered to late-succession and old-growth forest species. Dead timber will occur more frequently, offering additional opportunities for species relying on decaying wood. Species groups that benefit most from the project include woodpeckers, xylobiontic beetles and hoverflies and various mushrooms. Overall, the forest structure is expected to become more diversified. In addition, the regulatory hunting being applied in the wilderness area will strongly contribute to natural tree regeneration. This is particularly important for silver fir, a species that is sensitive to browsing by deer and that, as a result of the recent depression of game density, is expected to regenerate again (after 100 years of regeneration failure). Given that 460 ha of true old-growth forest already exists within the wilderness area, chances for colonisation of the set-aside forests by typical old-growth forest species are much higher than if the area would have been created elsewhere, without a well-preserved core area. For obvious reasons, there was only a very limited regional promotion of the project and the project area. Organised tourism activities will be restricted to occasional guided visits to the Hundsau part of the wilderness area.