Nature protection and biodiversity - Outlook 2020 (Austria)

SOER 2010 Common environmental theme (Deprecated)

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Although the environment is generally regarded as important in Austria, species and habitat...

Topic: Nature and biodiversity

more info Organisation name Environment Agency Austria Reporting country Austria Organisation website Organisation website Contact link Contact link Last updated 21 Dec 2010 Content license CC By 2.5 Content provider

Published: 26 Nov 2010 Modified: 11 May 2020 Feed synced: 21 Dec 2010 original

Land use changes

Although the environment is generally regarded as important in Austria, species and habitat diversity is still under threat, whether from more intensive and new forms of use or from discontinued use. Reforestation in the Alps, for instance, is having just as negative an effect on species diversity as is the increase in land sealing in towns and cities (Borsdorf 2005).

Agriculture which encourages sustainable development will come under increasing pressure in future from the conditions created by the need to be more competitive. For example, compulsory setaside, which was introduced by the EU in 1992, was suspended in 2008 because of the boom in demand and finally abandoned altogether. Experts think that this will affect biological diversity in future, since many species in cultivated landscapes are heavily dependent on fallow land. The huge increase in the demand for land, for the production of biofuels, for instance, makes it unlikely that sufficient fallow areas will remain.

Climate change

Climate change will further alter biodiversity in central Europe. Global warming may cause a shift in the regions where species occur and even the disappearance of coldloving species, such as certain fish, for example. In Austria, Alpine species are expected to come under increasing threat. On all mountain peaks surveyed in Austria there has been an increase in species (Fiala 2009a). Species which occur sporadically have been particularly badly affected by climate change.

Nonnative species

Nonnative species can present a threat to native biological diversity through competition, predation pressure and the transfer of diseases. The number of nonnative species is set to increase further, with 17 invasive nonnative plant species and 46 nonnative animal species already established (Essl & Rabitsch 2004). The complex effects of biological invasions are hard to predict, not least because of their interactions with other factors such as land use and climate change.

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