MINISTERIUM FÜR EIN LEBENSWERTES ÖSTERREICH bmlfuw.gv.at SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRIA AUSTRIAN FOREST REPORT 2015 SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRIA AUSTRIAN FOREST REPORT 2015 LEGAL NOTICE Published by Pictures Republic of Austria, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Stephanie Brettschneider, Bernhard Kern, Andrea Moser, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, Alexander Müller, Rita Newman, Johannes Prem, Stubenring 1, A-1012 Vienna shutterstock.com www.bmlfuw.gv.at Design and production Compiled and arranged by trafikant — Handel mit Gestaltung, 1050 Vienna Directorate III/1 — Forest Policy and Forest Information Translation / Proof-reading Overall coordination Mirjam Freund Johannes Prem E-Mail: [email protected] Printing AV+Astoria Druckzentrum GmbH, 1030 Vienna, Faradaygasse 6. Editors Eco-label UZ 24 „Low-polluting printing products“ UW 734 Alexander Foglar-Deinhardstein, Victoria-Christina Piribauer, Printed in accordance with the Guideline of the Austrian Eco-label Johannes Prem for “Printed Products”. With contributions by Thomas Baschny, Raphaela Beer, Franz Essl, Alexander Foglar- Deinhardstein, Thomas Geburek, Georg Greutter, Alfred Grieshofer, Ingwald Gschwandtl, Johannes Hangler, Ronald Huber, Johann Kiessling, Albert Knieling, Ferdinand Leitner, Stefanie Linser, Rudolf Lotterstädter, Kasimir Nemestothy, Peter Mayer, Andrea Moser, Andreas Pichler, Victoria- Christina Piribauer, Johannes Prem, Helga All rights reserved. Pülzl, Georg Rappold, Susanne Roth, Matthias Schermaier, Bernhard Reprinting permitted only with reference to source. Schwarzl, Walter Sekot, Anton Trzesniowski, Peter Weiss, Martin Wöhrle, Bernhard Wolfslehner and others. Vienna, November 2015 SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRIA AUSTRIAN FOREST REPORT 2015 PREFACE FORESTS ARE EXTREMELY IM- Since 2001 its structure pursues the approach of the PORTANT IN AUSTRIA: They provide the valua- Pan-European Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable ble raw material of wood and protect humans and infra- Forest Management, which is of great relevance also structures against natural hazards. They provide for clean in international reporting. In 2005 our country incor- air and clean water while at the same time capturing porated these parameters also in the national forest carbon and thus a major portion of our CO2 emissions. programme and added Austria-specific values. Moreover, forests are among the most important areas of recreation for the whole population. Together with The next major step is the preparation of an Austrian the downstream sectors, Austria‘ forests offer secure jobs „Forest Strategy 2020”: Sustainable forest management to over 300,000 persons and, according to most recent for a liveable Austria! figures, generate a trade surplus of 3.41 billion euros. The Forest Strategy 2020 is intended as an instrument Almost 50 percent of our national territory is covered by which is to help meet present and future challenges in forests. They are managed by about 145,000 forest own- the best possible way and to ensure the multi-functional ers whose overall concept — sustainable forest manage- services provided by forests for future generations. ment — is exemplary and extraordinarily successful. 2015 is an important year for the forest - the United The value of forests is continuously rising, both in Nations declared it the International Year of Soils. As quantitative and in qualitative terms. The Austrian regards Austria‘s forests, we can say: They are firmly Forest Report 2015, too, demonstrates this impressively. anchored both in soils and in the heads of Austrians. Yours, ANDRÄ RUPPRECHTER Federal Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management --- 5 --- SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRIA SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRIA AUSTRIAN FOREST REPORT 2015 AUSTRIAN FOREST REPORT 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 Preface 81 Indicator 4.5: Deadwood 82 Indicator 4.6: Genetic resources 11 Introduction: Sustainable forest management — the Austrian way 84 Indicator 4.7: Landscape pattern 13 The philosophy of sustainability for Austria‘s forests 86 Indicator 4.8: Threatened forest species 14 Legal framework 89 Indicator 4.9: Protected forests 14 Institutional structure 15 Cash flow 92 Criterion 5: Maintenance and Appropriate Enhancement of the 15 Public participation Protective Functions in Forest Management (notably Soil and Water) 15 Control system 94 Indicator 5.1: Protective forests — soil, water and other ecosystem functions 98 Indicator 5.2: Protective forests — infrastructure and managed natural resources 17 Forest Strategy 2020 23 Sustainable forest management in Austria 102 Criterion 6: Maintenance of Other Socio-Economic Functions and Conditions 104 Indicator 6.1: Forest holdings 106 Indicator 6.2: Contribution of forest sector to gross domestic product 25 Quantitative Indicators 106 Indicator 6.3: Net revenue 109 Indicator 6.4: Expenditures on services 26 Criterion 1: Maintenance and Appropriate Enhancement of Forest Resources 109 Indicator 6.5: Forest sector workforce and Their Contribution to Global Carbon Cycles 115 Indicator 6.6: Occupational safety and health 28 Indicator 1.1: Forest area 116 Indicator 6.7: Wood consumption 31 Indicator 1.2: Growing stock 117 Indicator 6.8: Trade in wood 33 Indicator 1.3: Age structure and diameter distribution 119 Indicator 6.9: Energy from wood resources 34 Indicator 1.4: Carbon balance of Austrian forests 121 Indicator 6.10: Accessibility for recreation 122 Indicator 6.11: Cultural and spiritual values 36 Criterion 2: Maintenance of Forest Ecosystem Health and Vitality 38 Indicator 2.1: Deposition of air pollutants 124 Criterion 7: Austria‘s International Responsibility for Sustainable Forest Management 43 Indicator 2.2: Soil condition 126 Indicator 7.1: Forest-related projects in development cooperation 45 Indicator 2.3: Defoliation 128 Indicator 7.2: Austria‘s contribution to international and multilateral forest governance 46 Indicator 2.4: Forest damage 130 Indicator 7.3: Public funds for forest-relevant, internationally active organisations and for the participation of Austrian experts in forest-related international bodies 52 Criterion 3: Maintenance and Encouragement of Productive Functions 131 Indicator 7.4: Austrian contribution to efforts on combatting illegal logging of Forests (Wood and Non-Wood) 54 Indicator 3.1: Increment and fellings 57 Indicator 3.2: Roundwood 133 Qualitative Indicators 61 Indicator 3.3: Non-wood products 64 Indicator 3.4: Services 134 Indicator A.1: National forest programmes and the like 67 Indicator 3.5: Forests under management plans 137 Indicator A.2: Institutional framework 140 Indicator A.3: Legal/Statutory framework and international commitments 68 Criterion 4: Maintenance, Conservation and Appropriate Enhancement 147 Indicator A.4: Financial instruments/Economic policy of Biological Diversity in Forest Ecosystems 153 Indicator A.5: Information tools 70 Indicator 4.1: Tree species composition 74 Indicator 4.2: Regeneration 76 Indicator 4.3: Naturalness 79 Indicator 4.4: Introduced tree species --- 6 --- --- 7 --- SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRIA SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRIA AUSTRIAN FOREST REPORT 2015 AUSTRIAN FOREST REPORT 2015 LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES 13 Figure 1: Sustainability in Austria 95 Figure 38: Key functions of the Austrian forest 28 Figure 2: Development of the forest area 97 Figure 39: State of hazard zone planning by the Forest Engineering Service 29 Figure 3: Map of forests in Austria in Torrent and Avalanche Control (WLV) 2013 31 Figure 4: Development of growing stock 116 Figure 40: Wood flows in Austria 32 Figure 5: Change in growing stock (in %) by growth classes, with regard to the Austrian 117 Figure 41: Foreign trade in wood 2013 Forest Inventory (ÖWI) 1992/96 for the periods of 2000/02 and 2007/09 120 Figure 42: Use of wood and demand for wood as a source of energy 33 Figure 6: Development of growing stock and number of stems in commercial forests 136 Figure 43: Cycles of the Forest Dialogue 34 Figure 7: Annual net carbon balance in Austria‘s entire land-use sector and in Austrian forests 143 Figure 44: Policy areas having impacts on forests in Europe 38 Figure 8: Sulphur inputs in stands on the 16 Level-II intensive 144 Figure 45: Institutions of relevance to forest policy in/outside the European Union monitoring plots from 1997 to 2012 146 Figure 46: EFI regional offices and EFICEEC-EFISEE partners 39 Figure 9: Nitrogen inputs in stands on the 16 Level II intensive monitoring plots from 1997 to 2012 40 Figure 10: Distribution of the sulphur load in the Austrian bio-indicator grid in 2012 32 Table 1: Growing stock by forest management system 42 Figure 11: Distribution of the mercury contents in the first needle set in 2012 89 Table 2: Assessment guidelines for protected forest areas according to Forest Europe 44 Figure 12: Change in lead content in different soil horizons (without Class 3 — Main Management Objective ‚Protective functions‘) 46 Figure 13: Development of wood quantities damaged by bark beetle, storm and snow 90 Table 3: Overall balance of forests protected in accordance with FE criteria in Austria 47 Figure 14: Development of wood quantities damaged by bark beetle in the Federal Provinces 94 Table 4: Protection forest in high forest stands 51 Figure 15: Austrian Forest Inventory — Time series of the evaluation 104 Table 5: Forest areas and ownership structure — of forest damage caused by game types of ownership according to cadastral map 54 Figure 16: