Tasks

Silvicultural work focuses on the establishment and conservation of sound forest stands and on the development of the necessary scientific guidelines.

Various methods of plant breeding are tested in nurseries.

The Unit of Forest Techniques is responsible for the testing of forest operation methods.

Units

• Silvicultural Fundamentals and Nature Conservation:    Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Georg Frank
• Forest Reproductive Material:    Dipl.-Ing. Ilse Strohschneider
• Forest Tending Research:    Dipl.-Ing. Werner Ruhm
• Forest Techniques:    Dipl.-Ing. Wilfried Pröll
• Research Nurseries:   Ing. Karl Sieberer

The Department disposes of a certified forest seed laboratory, a seed kiln, a forest seed bank, clonal archives, and seed orchards.

The Museum of Forest Experimentation is affiliated to the Department of Silviculture.

Contact

Hauptstraße 7, A-1140 Vienna

Tel. +43-1-878 38 /2207

Fax +43-1-878 38 /2250

Email: ferdinand.mueller@bfw.gv.at

Research Activities

Conservation of genetic diversity in Austrian forests

• preserving the adaptations to environmental conditions developed in the course of migration and natural selection ("adaptedness")
  
• as a key requirement for the adaptation potential of future tree generations to changing environmental conditions.

Investigations on the reproductive capacity of stands

The project includes annual studies on the quality and quantity of flowering behaviour and seed production as well as actions to guarantee seed supply.

• Pollen production:
  Assessment of the factors that are critical for fructification, such as beginning, duration and intensity of flowering of the anemogamous tree species by means of pollen traps (Austrian pollen trap grid, altitudinal profiles). Long-term studies and relevant climate data allow for prognosis on fructification cycles on a long and medium term basis (potential seed production).
• Current seed production:
  Seed traps are used to determine the amount of seeds which particular tree species produce per year. Collection of stand-related data such as species composition, tree classes, and crown characteristics right in the vicinity of seed traps; sampling of cones (studies on the upcoming natural regeneration under standardised conditions).
• Empirical comparison with regional (altitudinal levels) flowering data.

Natural forest reserves

By signing the resolutions of the Ministerial Conference for the Protection of Forests in Europe in Helsinki in 1993, Austria has bound herself to establish a network of Natural forest reserves
The Federal Forest Research Centre has been charged with the design, the implementation and coordination of this programme.
The objective of the project is to establish a Austria-wide network of natural forest reserves which is representative of all forest types and forest plant communities and integrates existing reserves. The network is to provide the basics for further development of ecologically sound, close-to-nature silvicultural methods, to contribute to the preservation of biodiversity representative for the relevant forest communities, to provide the basis of fundamental and applied research, also for training purposes, should the occasion arise.
At present, the Federal Forest Research Centre has to assess the suitability of areas that have been suggested as natural forest reserves. Furthermore, the Centre has to establish these areas, to carry out basic ecological and silvicultural surveys, to support research projects and to manage the reserves on a long term basis.
In addition, the Federal Forest Research Centre is responsible for providing scientific support in accordance with the European research action "Research Network - Protected Forest Areas ". Current research work in the natural forest reserves covers the following topics: forest development, disturbancies, regeneration, soil ecology. Natural forest reserves are made available for scientific studies also to universities and research institutions not affiliated to the Federal Forest Research Centre.

Studies on stand establishment methods in mixed oak forests

The goals of the project are as follow:

• Reduction of plant numbers and thus, of future tending requirements in the course of stand establishment, without losses in the production of high-quality and valuable timber.
• Efficient establishment methods on dry sites and afforestations providing social and protective benefits.
• Effects of broadleaved softwoods during their integration (forwarders and auxiliary species) in extensive stand establishment concepts.
• (Temporary) mixtures to increase productivity per hectare .
• Adaptation potential to existing old growth structures and their local and temporal development dynamics during regeneration
• Effects of varying intraspecific competition on the growth behaviour of young oak and beech stands.
• Impacts of intensive tending measures (crown reduction, pruning) on the quality.

Other research activities

Elaboration of silvicultural guidelines

• Separation of units of similar silvicultural management
• Selection of optimum stand composition and stand structures
• Elaboration of guidelines for biodiversity assessment in forests

Seed research

• Determination of seed quality
• Fructification, ripening and germination of forest reproductive material
• Testing of seeds from the entire stand
• Seed morphology for identification
• Studies on the reproductive capacity of stands

Research on forest plants

• Survey of quality criteria and their impacts on the success of afforestations
• Early evaluation of forest reproductive material by early testing

Forest structure

• Studies on seed production, germeability and development of natural regeneration.
• Studies on natural regeneration and browsing stress in a windthrow under cleaned-up and not cleaned-up conditions.
• Concepts for wise stand establishment.

Forest tending

• Concepts for efficient stand tending, especially in mixed stands
• Experimental plots to study the question of " noble hardwood breeding".
• Studies on the influence of pruning to timber quality (timber stain, wound reaction) in Prunus avium.
• Reference plots on the question of broadleaved tree-conifer- mixtures and mixed stands with noble hardwoods.
• Methods of preparatory thinning in oak.

Research nurseries

Mariabrunn

Tulln

Services

Statutory
tasks

• §8 (2): Evaluation on admission of basic material for the production of "selected forest reproductive material" (seed and plant material)
• §10: Establishment and maintainance of lists on certified basic material "National Register"
• §11 (3): Expert opinions regarding the mixing of seed material
• §13: Expert opinions on the recognition of seed material
• §19 (3) and §22: Expert opinions on the suitability for cultivation of imported seed material
• §20 and §21: Request of import quotas from the Commission of the European Union
• §23 (3): Inspection of custom samples
• §26: Issuance of provenance certificates in case of export to third countries

• §6 (1): Issuance of provenance certificates for transfer to member states
• §7 (4): Expert opinions regarding the suitability for cultivation of "reproductive material of reduced standard" from other member states
• §8 (2): Expert opinions on the suitability for cultivation of tree species from member states subject to national regulations
• §8 (5): Inspection of seed samples
• §11: Permit check

Databases

• Gene reserves: Dr. Ferdinand Müller
• Forest Reproductive Material: Dr. Ferdinand Müller
• Natural forest reserve-Database: Dipl.-Ing. Karl-Manfred Schweinzer
• National Register - List of approved basic material (as provided by the Austrian Federal Act on Forest Reproductive Material §10 (1)): Dipl.-Ing. Ilse Strohschneider

Silviculture- Technical Notes
"Merkblätter"

• No. 2 Krissl, Wolfgang; Müller, Ferdinand: Begründung von Mischbeständen (Establishment of mixed stands), 25 p., 1990. In German
• No. 3 Kilian, Walter; Müller, Ferdinand: Kulturbegründungseinheiten im Sturmschadensgebiet des nördlichen Alpenvorlandes (Niederösterreich, Oberösterreich, Salzburg) nach standortskundlichen Kriterien (Stand establishment units in the area damaged by storm located on the foothills of the Northern Alps (Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Salzburg) according to site criteria; 8 p., 1990. In German
• No. 4 Müller, Ferdinand: Anzucht, Kultur und Erziehung von Edellaubbaumarten (Propagation, planting and tending of noble hardwood), 26 p., 1991. In German
• No. 5 Müller, Ferdinand: Gen-Erhaltungswälder. Ein Beitrag zur Erhaltung der genetischen Vielfalt (Gene reserves. A contribution for the conservation of genetic diversity), 7 p., 1993. In German.

Teaching

University of Agricultural Sciences

Dr. Georg Frank

• Integrated land use, habitat management and ecotope tending. Lecture (2hrs), University of Agricultural Sciences (Teamteaching in collaboration with Vacik, Schacht, Gossow, Holzner), winter term 2000/01 http://www.lzk.ac.at/lva/H405.html

Cooperation

Austria

• National Programme on the Conservation of Forest Genetic Resources (Dr. Ferdinand Müller)
• Management of the Task Force for Grafting and Tree Planting Outside the Forest (Dr. Ferdinand Müller)
• Meeting of official responsibles for silviculture (Dr. Ferdinand Müller)
• Expert Panel for Silviculture of the Austrian Association of Foresters (Dr. Ferdinand Müller, Dr. Georg Frank)
• Meeting of nursery managers (Dipl.-Ing. Ilse Strohschneider)
• Meeting of official inspectors (Dipl.-Ing. Ilse Strohschneider)
• Advisory committee on biodiversity monitoring of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (Dr. Georg Frank) University of Agricultural Sciences, Institute of Silviculture
• Federal Environment Agency
• University of Vienna, Institute of Ecology and Nature Conservation Research
• Chairman of the Committee of Experts for Silviculture and Nature Protection of the Austrian Foresters Association  (Dr. Georg Frank)
  
• National Biodiversity Commission (Dr. Georg Frank)
• Board member of PRO SILVA AUSTRIA (Dr.Georg Frank)
• Integrated Monitoring - National Park Limestone Alps (Dipl.-Ing. Werner Ruhm)

International

• National coordinator for tasks arising from Helsinki-Resolution H2 "General Guidelines for Conservation of Biodiversity of European Forests" ergeben. ( Dr. Georg Frank)
• Austrian representative in the Standing Committee for Agriculture, Horticulture and Seed and Plant Material, forestry branch, Brussels (Dr. Ferdinand Müller)
• OECD, Forestry, Forest Reproductive Material, national representative (Dr. Ferdinand Müller)
• Strasbourg Resolution S2 "Conservation of Forest Genetic Resources" EUFORGEN-Noble Hardwood-Network, representative of Austria (Dr. Ferdinand Müller)
• COST E27 - Protected Forest Areas in Europe - Analysis and Harmonisation (PROFOR) (Dr.Georg Frank, Dipl.-Ing. Karl-Manfred Schweinzer)
• MCPFE Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe - ad hoc working group on "Biodiversity, Protected Areas and Related Issues" (Dr. Georg Frank)
• Convention on Biological Diversity - liaison officer for national report, roster of experts (Dr. Georg Frank)