Lackner Ch., Schreck M., Walli A.-M.: Austrian Forest Report 2023: We Take Care of The Forest. Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management, Vienna, 2023. 64 p.
With a forest cover of around 48 percent of its total territory – equivalent to 4 million hectares – Austria is one of the most densely forested countries in Europe. The Austrian forests are truly multifunctional entities, affecting our lives in numerous ways. They protect us from natural hazards, offer recreation opportunities, and secure jobs. They also provide the renewable resource wood, thereby contributing significantly to climate protection and the energy transition.
As climate protectors, forests absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and store it in the renewable resource wood, which is used in long-lived wood products. This unique raw material and its processing secure revenues and jobs in our regions and provide the foundation for a profitable value chain. Forests are complex ecosystems with a multi-functional character and host rich biological diversity: Among all the land-based habitat types, they possess the greatest biodiversity – the largest “variety of life”. Experts estimate that around two-thirds of all domestic species occur in forests.
The effects of climate change are unfortunately noticeable in our forests as well: Extended periods of drought, strong winds, and heat waves distress them, making it easy for pests like bark beetles to multiply and cause damage. We are faced with the difficult challenge of making our forests fit for the climate of the future. Through measures financed by the Austrian Forest Fund (Waldfonds), the federal government has created methods to support climate adaptation in the forest industry.
The Austrian Forest Report 2023 provides an overview of Austria’s forests and describes their current status, their development, and their future along with necessary steps to maintain them for coming generations. It also casts a glance at completed projects and successful measures as well as examining the effects of forests with regard to humans and society.
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