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Conserving forest biodiversity through habitat connectivity - Stepping stones

The ConnectForestBiodiversity project makes an important contribution to the conservation and enhancement of habitat connectivity through the establishment and setting aside from management of habitat patches in forests.

Unit for Forest Biodiversity
Blick in einen Talkessel mit Wald und Wiesen

Forest Ecology Service Platform - Service for Forest Owners

Support for Austrian forest owners in promoting biodiversity in their forests.

Unit for Forest Biodiversity

Development of a concept for the provision of forest reproductive material in Ethiopia - Juniperus procera

Ethiopia has embarked on one of the globally most ambitious programs of forest landscape restoration (FLR) with a commitment to restore more than 20 million hectare of degraded forest landscapes within the next 20 years

Unit for Ecological Genetics

AvaRange | Understanding the Flow Mobility of Avalanches - Cooperation for Researching Avalanches

In-flow data with high precision in real avalanche scenarios are the product of the cooperative project of BFW Institute for Natural Hazards Innsbruck, TU Berlin and University of Innsbruck. This approach is now being applied for the first time to snow avalanches. The destructive potential of gravitational mass flows, such as snow avalanches, has a […]

Unit for Snow & Avalanches

Biodiversity conservation of the native forests in the Austro-Hungarian border region - Interreg Project REIN

In order to counteract the rapid climate change in the Austro-Hungarian border region in practice, as part of the INTERREG project REIN-Forest , regional guidelines for forest reproductive material (FRM) transfer is going to be developed. Reforestation of six demonstration sites is planned with local and with adapted to the future climate FRM of two native tree species, European beech and sessile oak.

Unit for Provenance Research & Breeding
Forschungsteam, bestehend aus 10 Personen, stehen im Wald

Soil Warming Experiment Achenkirch - Long term experiment

The project investigates how global warming affects forest soil processes. A special focus lies on soil carbon. Forest soil store huge amounts of organic carbon which could be released into the atmosphere. Decomposer microbes mineralize dead organic matter such as leave and root litter and thereby release important nutrients for plant growth. A share of […]

Unit for Climate Impact Research Coordination

Research institutes highlight the importance of forests for the prosperity and competitiveness of Europe - IUFRO Congress

Europe can get much more from its forests, say five European forest research institutes. For this, Europe needs to build innovative industrial systems that can rely on sustainable sourcing from European forests.

Gruppenfoto der Teilnehmenden des Instituts für Naturgefahren an der INAC-Konferenz

First Inter-Alpine Natural Hazards Conference successfully carried out - Conference INAC

The first Inter-Alpine Natural Hazards Conference (INAC) took place in Innsbruck from May 5 to 7, 2025. Over 100 experts from Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Norway and Switzerland participated in the event. They came from the fields of science, industry, infrastructure and technology.

Unit for Snow & Avalanches
Ein Löschhubschrauber fliegt über einem Wald und löscht einen Brand.

Research group investigates the behaviour of forest fires - Project EMERGE

Forest fires have so far been a marginal topic in Austria, but in the future an increase in such events is expected. A group of researchers is currently investigating how the behaviour of fires in forests can be better assessed.

Unit for Remote Sensing
Test area in the Region Wienerwald

Austrian pine fit for climate change? - New test site

Climate projections forecast a rise of the Earth’s average temperature of 2 to 4 degrees Celsius until the year 2100. The prognosis for Austria is an increase of 3.5 degrees Celsius until 2100 (Österreichischer Sachstandsbericht zum Klimawandel, 2014). This will also lead to new challenges in the forestry sector. Sustainable managed forests and the utilization […]

Unit for Forest Growth
Spruce in small container

Forest Genetics: Preserving the Spruce Tree - Climate change

The research initiative “Green Heritage” was launched to improve the production base and stand security for the spruce tree in Austria permanently. For this purpose, the genetic background is investigated for certain properties, in order to develop markers which, in turn, can be used for genetically supported breeding strategies. This research project at BFW is […]

Unit for Ecological Genetics

BFW supporting a harmonized assessment of forest availability for wood supply in Europe - USEWOOD

A new definition on forests available for wood supply has been found! BFW together with partner institutions recently published a paper on this topic.

Unit for Inventory Design & Analysis