From Wilderness to a Cultivated Landscape
Austria’s forests are today a cultivated landscape, the product of centuries of human care and attention; virgin forests (forest without human interference) are encountered as relicts only.
This to quite some extent because the forest industry has striven to take measures in line with natural conditions only, taking into consideration natural development cycles on the basis of ecosystem-related know-how.
While the virgin forest is left to its own resources in the natural cycle of growth and decay, man controls the development of cultivated forests. Tending measures increase the stability of forests and favour desired tree species, the well-timed removal of old trees provides light and space for a speedy natural regeneration and for reforestation.
The felling of mature trees anticipates the decomposition phase of a virgin forest, assures the economic utilization of the raw material wood and prevents areal “collapses” of forests.
Controlling forest development guarantees that forests can perform all their functions on a permanent basis – in particular the protective function.
06.10.2009,