Projects and research

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

PARAmount: Interpretation of an Expert Survey by BFW - Questionnaire

Within the framework of the project PARAmount a Communication and Decision Support Tool (CDT) was developed, as a contribution to the highly emotional discussion about natural hazard management. Basic information was collected by means of an online survey in which respondents were asked to rate the importance of individual parameters for different process types. More […]

Code of Practice for the Assessment of Surface Runoff Coefficients - Compendium

The first BFW “Code of Practice for the Assessment of Surface Runoff Coefficients for Alpine Soil/Vegetation Complexes in Torrential Rain” has been published in 2004 (in German language). The Interreg-South East Europe-Project CC-WaterS offered the opportunity to integrate some new findings in experimental runoff research and to release a report in English language in 2011. […]

Unit for Torrent Processes & Hydrology

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

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

Box tree moth harming garden shrubs - Management strategy

Experts from the European Union and the Black Sea region discuss about measures taken against the aggressive moth. Soon infected box trees will be located again at cemeteries and in private gardens. The plant pest is easy to identify by the typical feeding pattern. The moth species is a well known pest in Austria and […]

Unit for Entomology and Forest Protection Procedures

Innovation in avalanche protection: umbrella nets for snowpack stabilization - Project

Several installed umbrella nets have shown damage due to overloading. This raises the question of which typical damage patterns occur in the structure and what types and magnitudes of loads cause them. How can such damage be prevented? Additionally, it is essential to determine the required maintenance and repair measures, as well as the expected lifespan of the system.