In a European research project backed by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, researchers tested stakeholder approaches to scenarios of future land use in five European model regions. For Austria, the Mostviertel region was taken as an example for discussing and weighing the tensions arising between the poles of uncompensated benefits for the ecosystem, farming productivity […] Continue reading “Scenarios for future land use”
In a project supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, the biologist Jitka Polechová created a theoretical model to describe the spreading of animal and plant species. She was able to show that the underlying mechanisms are simpler than previously thought, which has important consequences for species conservation. Continue reading “A new model for the geographic ranges of species”
As studies have shown, higher biodiversity enhances the benefits derived from the vineyard ecosystem. Within the context of a project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, researchers investigated the interaction of soil cultivation and landscape structure in European wine regions. Continue reading “More life between vine rows”
Silviculturist Rupert Seidl talks about the positive effects of bark beetle and forest fires, at what point the forest ecosystem could collapse and why the climate problem needs to be solved mainly from the bottom up. Continue reading “Forest man – working hand in glove with practitioners”
In the long term, climate change and land use are going to be detrimental to Africa’s tropical rain forests. International research teams including Austrian scientists have calculated the man-made impact on biodiversity in the Congo Basin. They predict that deforestation will rise by at least 55 percent. Continue reading “The future of rain forests in Congo”
Human interventions increasingly threaten the habitat of many plant and animal species. A project funded by the FWF now aims to provide fundamental insights for countering the loss of biodiversity and preserving ecosystems in agrarian regions. Continue reading “Corridors to enhance biodiversity”