PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The floodplains along March and Thaya, which form the frontier with Slovakia and the Czech Republic, are among the most remarkable large-scale wetlands in Austria. This mosaic of watercourses, humid meadows and floodplain forests is a habitat for species such as the beaver, pond terrapin, various 'living fossil' crustaceans and a range of birds: a large colony of white storks nests on the banks of the March, the shy black stork inhabits the floodplain forest and the corncrake breeds in the meadows. However, this elongated site faced several problems. River regulation had altered fluviatile dynamics, valuable floodplain meadows had been ploughed under or afforested, tourism was increasing and a new frontier crossing was planned smack across a sensitive area. A LIFE project was already carried out here between 1995 and 1998 which drew up a comprehensive river regeneration concept and implemented an initial batch of rehumidification and river restoration works. It also preserved and re-established meadows and floodplain forests, carried out measures to guide visitors and sought cooperation with important land users like hunters and anglers.
OBJECTIVES
Former river meanders were to be reconnected to the river over a length of 8.5 km. At some points strips of land along the banks would be bought and the rock walls installed against erosion removed, so that the natural dynamics of erosion and sedimentation are made possible again. Special arrangements and agreements were to be sought and negotiated with local hunters to create refuges for waterfowl. A beaver management plan would be produced, coupled to direct actions in favour of the species. Measures to promote nature-oriented forestry and to restore meadows would be continued; astute use of the opportunities under the Austrian ÖPUL programme for meadows (co-financed by Regulation 2078/92) would secure these LIFE investments in the longer run. Last but not least, close collaboration with partners from the Czech Republic and Slovakia would continue to be an important part of the job.
RESULTS
The project carried out a range of actions, of which the largest block consisted of engineering work to improve river dynamics and hydrology. - The river engineering work began with technical planning of all construction works, based on proposals of the river development concept elaborated during the previous LIFE project “Ramsar management March-Thaya-Auen”. Hydraulic modeling was done for 10 kms of March river length with specific studies on re-connecting meanders (meander XVIII, meander XVI). After the end of this LIFE project, further works additional to the LIFE-cofinanced work will be done, based on these documents, under the responsibility of the WSD (authority for navigable watercourses). - Already on the basis of these plans, 39 separate riverbank restoration measures were carried out along the March river during the LIFE project. These works, with a significant demonstration value, have dismantled the current bank stabilisation and replaced it with nature-like riverbank structures. This leads to a local diversification of bank and river bed profiles, flow velocities, erosion and sedimentation pattern etc. In addition to the immediate impact, the measures provide a kick-start for the reinstatement of dynamic river processes (erosion, sedimentation, river meandering…) and hence contribute to permanent improvement of the habitat conditions for many species linked to the river ecosystem. In detail, these measures covered the following: - 14 former channels through which the water can easily run into the floodplain during periods of higher water level were re-opened, - as an experiment, a controllable inlet was made at the downstream end of a meander (meander XVIII) to improve currents and oxygen levels in its water, - two meanders (IV and VI) were re-opened to ensure that water fills them again, - at 12 points, existing sand islands were enlarged or new sandy islands (each app. 240 m long)and shallow-water areas were created, as habitats for fish and breeding place for birds, - 8 sub-aquatic thresholds (current deflectors) were inserted extending up to 20 metres into the river to protect the sandbanks and downstream ends of meanders, - rock embankments were removed along 1460 metres to allow natural clay cliffs to form again, - gradients of banks were reduced, - and, finally, over a length of three km trees and stumps removed during the works were placed into the river to act as natural barriers. Different riverbank restoration techniques were carried out side by side, so that their effect can be compared after a few years. A particular project circumstance led to additional expertise being gained in river restoration: As the river March constitutes the boundary between Austria and Slovakia (centred in the riverbed), no measures were allowed which would have changed the river course. Thus, the construction measures listed above had to take place without altering the mid-river line – which meant that sandbanks were created in the river without widening it. The beneficiary had to deliver studies proving that no displacement of the borders had taken place. Besides this main block of river engineering, other actions were: - restoration works to improve the hydrological situation in ten floodplain forests were carried out. The largest block restored is over 120 ha. - a strip of woodland 30 metres wide was taken out of use along 5.3 km of the Thaya river via a long-term lease, in order to allow erosion processes to take place. - pilot projects in conservation-oriented forestry were done: protection of individual trees bearing raptor nests, re-planting of cleared areas with appropriate species, fencing against browsing by game, pollarding, removal of Robinia and American ash. - A beaver management plan was elaborated, which led to the adoption of the species protection project “Beaver management in Lower Austria” by the authorities. The LIFE project itself compensated non-use of beaver habitat for 10 years at various sites (25 ha in total). A beaver brochure was produced by the LIFE project and demand was such that a second edition of 10.000 copies was printed. The management plan proposed the instatement of a "beaver manager", i.e. a central contact person who should intervene in case of damage and decide, on a case-by-case approach, what kind of actions should be taken. The Lower Austrian authorities have hired such a beaver manager in follow-up to the plan. - Specimens of the crustacean Astacus astacus were bred and released in the wild, while seeds from Annex I meadow habitat types were collected for use in parallel projects (funded by the Rural Development Regulation) to convert arable land to meadow. - Detailed status quo inventories were made as basis for future monitoring. - A workshop on 'Hunting and Natura 2000' was organised with the local hunters. - Trilateral meetings and conferences with conservation NGOs and competent authorities across the border in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, were continued. - An information flyer (4.000 copies) was produced at the end of the project to inform about its targets and achievements.