Content

Almost half of Austria is covered with forests, that are almost 4 million hectares! The forest characterizes our landscape while also fulfilling many functions and requirements for our society. Forests provide us with the valuable resource of timber, they store CO₂, provide habitats for many animals, clean the air and filter our water. In mountainous regions forests provide protection against natural hazards.

The forest is more than the sum of its trees as it provides valuable ecosystem services for the society.

With mountain areas accounting for two thirds of its national territory, Austria is among the most mountainous countries of Europe. In the alpine landscape protective forests play a significant role as a safeguard for human living and settlement areas. Monitoring, facts and figures describing the condition of forests and their protective function are particularly important for useful and targeted measures.

Natural events like avalanches, floods and mudflows have always occurred in the Alps and mountainous regions. Human settlements and infrastructure require appropriate behaviour and sustainable measures such as a special forest management, hazard zone planning, and technical measures.

Since 2018 the experience in handling avalanches in Austria and Switzerland has been honored as immaterial UNESCO World Cultural Heritage.

Depending on altitude, soil type, nutrient supply or climatic conditions different tree species do grow in a Protective Forest as in any other forest. However, since different requirements are needed depending on the natural hazard, the Protective Forest must contain appropriate tree species - in accordance to the prevalent process. Currently the choice of tree species is particularly challenging in the face of changing climatic conditions.

Joint approaches are required to find effective answers to the challenges in protective forests. The dialogue with local, regional, national and international stakeholders is important to implement measures jointly.

The services that forests provide as well as the challenges are similar across national borders and international, therefore an exchange of knowledge, data or experience are important parts of Austria’s protective forest policy.

Launched at the 33^rd session of the Working Party on the Management of Mountain Watersheds (WPMMW), this publication describes the role and importance of protective forests in over 12 European countries. The "green protective infrastructure" is not only an essential pillar of natural hazard management in Austria or in the Alps, protective forests also serve as a control against erosion as well as against numerous natural hazard processes in other mountainous countries.