Assessing the naturalness of forest ecosystems in the National Park Thayatal (Austria)

In the Thayatal National Park, E.C.O. carried out a naturalness survey in forest stands in 2024. The aim was to assess the development of the forests into natural forests using extended hemeroby indicators. Based on a sample network, 40 representative areas were examined. The methodology follows the hemeroby evaluation system according to Grabherr et al. (1998). Among other things, the combination of tree species, deadwood, regeneration, stand structure and utilization influences were recorded. The results serve as an indicator for the success of the external utilization and enable a well-founded assessment of the ecological development in the national park. The field surveys were carried out with Wald-Landschaft-Mensch (Innsbruck) and the engineering office Norbert Arzl.