Foehn Storm Causes Enormous Damage
The foehn storms of the lastyears felled some millions cubic metres of wood. Most of the trees were broken at a height of two metres, which lowers the value of the wood dramatically, resulting in damage currently estimated to be worth of many millions.
Due to the low value of the wind-thrown wood and difficult retrieval from forests that are not easily accessible, however, the timber market will not be flooded and roundwood prices are expected to remain stable. The damage suffered by the Austrian forest owners will be covered by the Disaster Fund and various programmes should alleviate the effects.The Austrian Federal Forests as the largest forest enterprise in Austria suffered the greatest damage with some millions cubic metres. However, this quantity will be integrated in the regular logging volume, thus relieving the market further. The wind-thrown timber will have to be removed as quickly as possible to protect the forests, but this will be rendered difficult by the onset of winter in mountainous regions.
In order to guarantee a reasonable wood price, the conclusion of processing agreements between forest owners and timber buyers, and cooperation between the forest owners and the wood industry are advisable.
Further information is available from the district forest inspectors, the forest divisions of the Chambers of Agriculture, and the Life Ministry, DI Dr. Albert Knieling, albert.knieling@lebensministerium.at, phone: 01/71 100-7326, or Ing. Leopold Ziehaus, leopold.ziehaus@lebensministerium.at, phone: 01/71 100-7322.
The lion’s share of the wind-throw areas is in protection forests, which puts them at risk of losing their protective function. In the short term, there may be an increased risk of avalanches, mudslides and obstructed streams and rivers due to the unprocessed wood. Therefore the Forest Engineering Service in Torrent and Avalanche Control will be initiating protection forest rehabilitation projects and other projects forthwith. The government will provide the necessary funds from the Disaster Fund.
The fact that no damage worth mention was caused in Austria’s neighbours (Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland and the Czech Republic), i.e. that the wind-throw disaster was only regional, is positive in that it will not cause pressure on the international market.
The force of the storm hit all types of forest equally. The storms, which have been increasing in recent years, developed such a force that not even the healthiest and most naturally managed forest was able to withstand it. The most severe damage occurred in protection forests with high biological diversity this time, not in the productive forest. Three natural forest reserves were also destroyed almost completely. Enormous damage was also registered in areas that were classified as particularly natural in a study by the University of Vienna (hemeroby of Austrian forest ecosystems).
In recent years the Austrian forests have become more and more natural as a result of forest policy measures in the area of promotion and consulting, as the surveys of the Austrian Forest Inventory, the forest monitoring system of the Federal Office and Research Centre for Forests show impressively.
By comparison with the Inventory periods 1986/90 and 1992/96, the areas covered with broad-leaved trees have increased by 60,000 hectares. The share of broad-leaved trees in the managed forests is thus more than one fifth. The increase in beech is particularly marked (+13,000 hectares). In contrast, the coniferous areas have decreased by a total of 21,000 hectares. Compared with the period 1986/90, the Forest Inventory 1992/96 reports an increase of 70,000 hectares for mixed stands and pure broad-leaved stands.
Natural regeneration is applied in just over 50% of the areas, and a further increase in this value would appear possible as a result of the enormous natural regeneration potential. The Austrian forest is utilised on a small scale: More than half the regeneration areas in the productive forest are smaller than 0.1 hectare, and only one quarter of all regeneration areas on open land are larger than 0.5 hectares.
01.07.2009,