Waldwachstumskundliche Erhebungen; Vegetationskundliche Untersuchungen; Gewinnung und Analyse von Nadelproben; Standorts- und bodenkundliche Untersuchungen; Erfassung der nassen Deposition; Erfassung der Bodenlösung; Meteorologische Messungen. Fläche Sauerbrunn, Unterpullendorf, Brückl, Greifenburg, Fresach, Pöggstall, Grimmenstein, Dobersberg, Klausen-Leopoldsdorf, Hochburg, Mondsee, Lungötz, Leutschach, Niklasdorf, Mürzzuschlag, Murau, Jochberg, Ehrwald, Zillertal, Hochhädrich. Forest biodiversity cannot be measured and monitored directly. indicators are needed to tackle this task and must be based on scientifically valid relationships concerning different levels of biodiversity. in addition, indicators must aim at tangible goals for forest policy and other relevant stakeholders. in this bFW-report we propose and thoroughly describe a single aggregated measure – the austrian Forest bio diversity index (aFbi). This index is based on different indicators being weighted depending on their signi ficance for the maintenance of forest species richness and genetic diversity. it consists of eight state, one pressure and four response indicators. selection of state indicators is based on the general hypothesis that forests which mimic natural conditions or are characterized by structural elements of old-growth forests maintain a high number of forest dependent species and a high genetic richness therein. impact by game and lifestock is taken as response indicator into account. among the response indicators we consider the establishment of natural forest reserves, genetic reserve forests, seed stands and seed orchards as relevant. For each single indicator a reference value (not identical with target value) has been identified so that the actual indicator can be rescaled and be given a score that may theoretically vary between 0 (worst) and 100 (excellent). it is noteworthy that a single indicator can normally not amount to a score of 100 in managed forests. single indicators have been weighted based on a web-based expert consultation. Proposed operational tools, especially for state indicators, are mainly based on available data provided by the austrian forest inventory in order to keep costs low. The aFbi equals the weighted mean of all single indicators scores making this index simple to communicate and straightforward to apply. although this index is mainly intended to be used for the whole federal territory, the aFbi was also calculated for different ecoregions indicating geographical differences. high values have been found in the alps, slightly lower values characterize the north and north-eastern part of austria.
overall, the aFbi amounts approximately to a score of 60 indicating high forest biodiversity. Keywords | biodiversity indicators, conservation, monitoring, nature protection, sustainable forestry
