HabitAT: Red List of habitat types in Austria – Data mining and fast analysis

^{Duration: 01/01/2024 - 30/11/2024}

^{Funding: Austrian Biodiversity Fund}

The Austrian biodiversity strategy aims to improve the conservation status of 30% of threatened habitat types. Therefore, the assessment of quantitative and qualitative changes concerning biotopes plays an important role. The changes of red list statuses are a central headline indicator in Austrian-wide biodiversity monitoring. This should be verified by means of an Austrian-wide monitoring. Firstly, an update of red list habitat types is absolutely necessary. Basically, red lists should be updated every 10 to 15 years to illustrate possible amended hazardous situations. The last preparation of Austrians threatened habitat types was implemented during the years 2002 to 2008 and therefore is mainly based on data of the 20th century. Current data, expertise and basic information are dispersed over competent departments of the Austrian provinces and ministries, conveyors, expert institutions, stakeholders, NGOs, expert bureaus, scientific departments and parts which are privately owned. The proportion of grey literature as well as literature of non-public and non-prepared data is very high. Basically, metadata is lacking.

Within this project, a team of experts of Carinthia University of Applied Sciences (FH Kärnten, UNESCO Chair), the Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research (University of Vienna), the Environment Agency Austria as well as the specialist bureaus E.C.O Institut für Ökologie GmbH and Revital Integrative Naturraumplanung GmbH want to provide the necessary requirements for a baseline study as basis for a prospective monitoring.

Contact:
Agnes Groiß
Thomas Wrbka