LTSER Platform Austrian Central Alps (ACA) - Austria

The LTSER platform ‘Austrian Central Alps’ emerged from the former platform ‘Tyrolean Alps’ in 2025. Its core area, about 13.000 km², is home to nearly half a million people. It includes over 200 municipalities, a national park, a biosphere reserve, three nature parks, 14 model regions for climate change adaptation, and 15 LEADER regions. The platform was created by a group of Austrian research institutions, including the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Geosphere Austria (the national service for geology, geophysics, climate, and meteorology), the University of Innsbruck, the University of Salzburg, and the National Park Hohe Tauern. Research focuses on the social, ecological, and economic characteristics of alpine communities, such as high vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change, as well as the interdependencies among tourism, agriculture, and conservation. The ‘Austrian Central Alps’ LTSER platform includes several LTER sites covering most of the region’s main habitats, from valley-floor farmland to forests, alpine grassland and pastures, summits, and glacial areas.