Alptrees - Interreg Alpine Space

Here are the results of the City Nature Challenge 2023: https://www.citynaturechallenge.at/.../cnc2023-ergebnisse/
More than 80.000 observations were made in all 12 regions in Austria!
A big thank you to all more than 960 observers in Austria who participated in this event! Without you these results would not have been possible!
The City Nature Challenge 2024 will take place from April 26-29!

#CNC2023 – Die Ergebnisse sind da! – City Nature Challenges in Österreich Die ist vorbei! 4 Tage beobachten und 10 Tage bestimmen sind vorüber. Am Montag 8. Mai um 9 Uhr früh (jeweilige Ortszeit) hat die Bestimmungswoche geendet und die offiziellen Ergebnisse der diesjährigen City Nature Challenge wurden verkündet: weltweit haben >66.000 Natur...

Only 2 days to go till this year's City Nature Challenge starts from Friday April 28th till Monday May 1st! Have a look at iNaturalist which regions in Austria are participating. Which region will be under the top three with the most observations of wildlife and species?

City Nature Challenges in Österreich 2023 Österreich ist artenreich! Ob in urbanen oder in ländlichen Lebensräumen, überall lässt sich eine Vielzahl wilder Lebewesen entdecken - und sei es nur in den eigenen 4 Wänden oder unmittelbar vor der Haustür. Dieses Dach-Projekt bietet eine Übersicht darüber, wie viele Arten und Beobachtung...

You want to inhale Knowledge about non native trees species in the shortest possible time? Let us invite you to our video that features experts on the use and management of non native tree species in the Alpine Space! The project ALPTREES may be closed - but the collection of data, our results and products find their way to influence and inform experts, lawmakers and the general public by providing the latest information and recommendations concerning the future of forests in urban and forest space. Enjoy!

ALPTREES, sustainable use and management of non-native trees in the Alpine Region - EN Produttore esecutivo: FONDAZIONE EDMUND MACH Produzione: ARINGA STUDIO Un documentario a più voci che narra un viaggio affascinante: quello delle piante…

As temperatures in urban areas are rising, green spaces become more crucial for providing shadow and and enhance the quality of life for citizens and urban flora and fauna. Our colleagues Srđan STOJNIĆ, Claudia COCOZZA, Erna VAŠTAG contributed to this important topic with their article "DROUGHT RESISTANCE OF NON NATIVE TREES"

Introducing non-native tree species (NNT) alongsidedrought-resistant autochthonous species has been identifiedas a possible solution for increasing species diversity incities. Although there is widespread concern that biodiversityloss may occur as a consequence of harmful effectsof NNT on native species a recent study conducted inthe UK showed that 75 % of respondents would be happyto see more non-native planting in UK public spaces if theselected species were better adapted to the changing climatethan existing vegetation. It is therefore likely that the relevanceof NNT will increase under future climate changeconditions, since public awareness regarding their role insecuring the resilience of urban tree populations is rising.Accordingly, a number of studies have discovered evidenceof higher drought tolerance of NNT growing in urbanareas as compared to autochthonous species. For example,a dendroecological study conducted on several tree speciescultivated along the streets of Dresden (Germany) showedthat Quercus rubra and Platanus x hispanica are better adaptedto warm and dry conditions than Acer platanoides and Acerpseudoplatanus. Similarly, Vaštag et al. reported that.
Acer platanoides trees growing in the urban area of Novi Sad,Serbia, exhibited a more severe reduction in physiologicalperformance than Liquidambar styraciflua when subjected todrought stress. Finally, using chlorophyll a fluorescence techniqueto study the state of the photosynthetic apparatus inyoung trees of eight species and cultivars in Warsaw, Poland,Swoczyna et al. found that the three introduced speciesGleditsia triacanthos, Platanus x hispanica, and Pyrus calleryanaachieved the maximum quantum yield of photosystem IIvalues approximate to optimum regardless of their distancefrom roads and the date of the measurements.Even though the physiological condition of trees is closelylinked to their capacity to provide ecological services in urbanenvironments, high tree biodiversity should be promotedto enhance the overall resilience of urban forests to biotic andabiotic stresses. Moreover, as the stresses encountered byurban trees depend on growing conditions in urban areas(e.g., park trees and trees growing in urban woodlands are lessaffected by stress factors than trees occurring on squares), intree pits, or along roads, a variety of tree species including NNT and less commonly used autochthonous species shouldbe considered for planting in urban environments. In thiscontext, comprehensive guidance on the drought toleranceand growing potential of different tree species in variousurban conditions should be developed for specific regions,including a list of traits that could be exploited as bio-indicatorsof those species’ resistance to stresses.

Photo: Liquidambar styraciflua

Während sich Gärtner über Blütenreichtum, Herbstfärbung, Konkurrenzkraft und Widerstansfähigkeit einiger nicht-heimischer Baumarten freuen, erkennen Naturschutzvertreter oft die Gefahr einer möglichen Invasivität neophytischer Baumarten in unsere heimische Natur. Weiterhin werden fehlende Mykorrhiza-Partner und fehlende Anpassung heimischer Insekten an nicht-heimische Baumarten, die zu einem Verlust an Artenvielfalt bei Insekten und damit einer Nahrungsverknappung für insektenfressende Vogelarten führen kann, als Argumente gegen vermehrte Anpflanzung nicht-heimischer Baumarten vorgebracht. Das Argument der Nahrungsarmut durch fehlende Insektenarten ist tatsächlich nicht zu vernachlässigen. Unsere heimischen Insekten sind auf Baumgattungen, die bei uns nicht-heimisch sind (z.B., Cedrus, Ailanthus, Paulownia, Liriodendron, Tsuga) evolutiv nicht angepasst.

Mehr dazu in unserem aktuellen Gastbeitrag "Zur Insekten- und Vogelwelt an nicht-heimischen Parkbäumen" Der Autor Olaf Schmidt leitete bis 2020 als Präsident die Bayerische Landesanstaltfür Wald und Forstwirtschaft in Freising.

News - Non Native Trees In den Parks und Grünanlagen unserer Städte ist die Vielfalt an Baumarten deutlich höher, als in unseren Wäldern. Zwar dominieren auch in den Städten, mit gewissen Unterschieden nach Klima und Standort, heimische Baumarten, wie z. B. Winter- und Sommerlinde, Berg- und Spitzahorn, Stiel- und Tra...

Forester Jörg Heumader was part of the team in the Tirolean Alps that already experimented with seedling of non native tree species back in the 1970s. His unit was implementing protection measures for torrents, avalanches and rockfalls and faced lacking tree diversity in high altitudes. As a student he got inspired by his professors to look far across the Atlantic to find more diverse genetic material in the golden West. The Rocky Mountain region should have some surprises in store, that should change the Tyrolean region to this day.
Please enjoy the whole article:
http://www.non-native-trees.eu/index.php/news

News - Non Native Trees by Petra Meisel This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Austrian Research Centre for Forests

The obstacles and topics of the ALPTREES project are featured in this week's Top-Topic spectrum of the ORF/science of Austria's national broadcasting corporation!

Nichtheimische Bäume vor allem in Städten Während in den städtischen Grünflächen des Alpenraumes nichtheimische Baumarten rund 80 bis 90 Prozent des Gesamtbestandes ausmachen, halten sie in Österreichs Wäldern bisher erst einen Anteil von weniger als zwei Prozent. Laut einem Waldforschungsprojekt ist die Tendenz unter anderem durch di...

Today 1pm the topic of ALPTREES will be featured in Austria's Television News! Begins at 15:20 - More to come!

ZIB 13:00 vom 04.08.2022 um 13:00 Uhr China startet Manöver vor Taiwan | Atomverhandlungen gehen weiter | Suizid entfacht Debatte um Hass im Netz

On June 30th, the ALPTREES project was closed for good! BUT - no worries! - We start to provide you with all the information and possibilities to download all the publications, trainingsmaterial sets, timber analysis, policy analysis and management recommendations and gathered scientific data with in depth analysis in our OPEN ALPTREES Knowledge Hub, accessible for everyone!
We continue our work and stay open for questions and input from YOU, the general public, stakeholders in forestry and city planning, teachers, experts and scientists.
Stay with us and use this huge pool for your own work, to care for a livable future for the cities and forests of the Alpine Space!

Home - Non Native Trees Federal Research and Training Centre for Forests,Natural Hazards and Landscape (BFW)Department Forest Biodiversity and Nature ConservationSeckendorff-Gudent-Weg 8A-1131 Vienna, Austria

What a milestone for the ALPTREES project!!! Our colleague Anica is holding in her hands what we all dreamed of and waited for the last months. We are delighted to present the printed edition of our three Handbooks. The Identification Handbook serves as your pocket friend on hikes to help you recognize non native tree species.
The Handbook for non native trees in Urban Space gives insights about the use, policy and management of non native tree species in Green Spaces, Parks and Gardens in Cities.
and the Handbook for non native tree species in forests provides information about the situation of NNTs in forests throughout the Alone Space.

If you are interested in the Handbooks, get in contact with us - there is also an online version.

https://www.alpine-space.org/projects/alptrees/en/project-results/wp-communication

Great News! The first ALPTREES Handbooks in English and German, have been delivered today! Our colleague Anja Bindewald from the Forest Research Institute in Freiburg is one of the first partners to hold the REAL books in her hands.
Enjoy reading, Anja!

Non-native tree species in Swiss Forests: More and more accepted by forest practitioners

Thomas Wohlgemuth, our colleague from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forests is member of the forest dynamics research unit in Switzerland. During our Trento conference May 3rd, he gave is insightful talk about the acceptance of NNTs in Switzerland:

Switzerland has a long tradition of close-to-nature forestry, resulting in a comparatively low rate of non-native trees of less than one percent nationwide. Based on experiences and research regarding extreme events in the frame of climate change, practitioners have started to increasingly admix Douglas fir and other tree species in lowland forests. In addition, in the frame of an ongoing test plantation project, both native and non-native trees are grown at 60 different locations spread nationwide in various habitats. This long-term project will evolve to an important decision support tool for the next decades.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jgKQnGvlv4

ALPTREES Conference Trento - 4 - Thomas Wohlgemuth Non-natives in Swiss forests: more and more accepted by forest practitioners | Thomas Wohlgemuth - Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Res...