LTSER Platform Eisenwurzen (EW) - Austria

The LTSER platform Eisenwurzen represents both a natural space and a historically developed social and economic area. It does not correspond exactly to federal county borders but extends over 91 municipalities and a total area of 5,904 km2 in the counties of Upper Austria, Lower Austria and Styria. 80 % of the LTSER platform are part of the Northern Alps, 11 % of the area belong to the Northern Alpine Foothills and 9 % belong to the Central Alps. Altitudes range from 167 to 2,515 m a.s.l. The climate type is Continental. Depending on local conditions, annual precipitation values between 730 mm and 2,202 mm are measured. The annual mean temperatures range from -0.8 °C to 9.14 °C. The LTSER Platform Eisenwurzen was established in 2004. A network of already existing institutions (national parks, research centers in the region, etc.) and high-quality documentation (data material) provide good prerequisites for the first Austrian LTSER platform. Research institutions and regional institutions, decision-making bodies and regional management participate actively in the research platform. On one hand, scientists work on sociological and natural science themes in cross-disciplinary teams and in close cooperation with regional populations and their representatives. On the other hand, regional research questions are formulated and – as far as possible - integrated into research agendas. The project results build the basis for sustainable ecosystem management and preservation as well as sustainable regional development. The research projects cover questions of: basic ecosystem research: e.g. at the site Zöbelboden, where long-term monitoring has been carried out into the forest ecosystem on calcareous bedrock.; applied biodiversity and conservation research: e.g. investigation into the impacts of increased forestation upon biodiversity brought about by the retreat of human activity; socio-ecological research: e.g. the Reichraming project, in which a participatively-developed integrated model shows what impacts both internal and external factors have upon material flows, community structure and agriculture;