According to the IUCN guidelines, "Wilderness Dürrenstein“, classified as category I, is obliged to monitor the conditions of the conservancy area. Naturally, research must not interfere with or disturb ecosystems within the area.

The core of research, carried out in "Wilderness Dürrenstein“, is interdisciplinary monitoring. In compliance with the management plan, monitoring focuses on „disruptive facts and control mechanisms within the dynamics of mountain forests“. Research is done in close cooperation with universities and local authorities.

Research Focus

A systematic recording of developments within the area, e.g. the development of secondary spruce forests or sucessions of ecosystems in limestone grassland, is provided by establishing a monitoring plan. Monitoring also focuses on deer, its habitat and its influence on forest regeneration, as well as on the impact visitors have on "Wilderness Dürrenstein“.

A documentation of the development of selected indicator species (- groups) is carried out periodically. Conclusions are supposed to serve as an objective basis for an ecological assessment of "Wilderness Dürrenstein“, for long-term research on ecosystems and for PR purposes.

Research Requirements

Potential project runners have to respect the management plan and follow up issues of relevance for "Wilderness Dürrenstein“. They are also asked to meet the following requirements:

• research applications have to be clearly structured and related to a specific area;
• applicants have to take permanent observation areas of „Wilderness Dürrenstein“ into consideration;
• results of previous research projects have to be taken into account;
• all research results will be held in trust by the administration of "Wilderness Dürrenstein“.

Research projects have to be evaluated by the scientific advisory board before their implementation.

Research Projects

Research projects carried out in the area of "Wilderness Dürrenstein“ have to comply with the aims of IUCN, category I, the management plan and the overall research plan. Depending on who commissions these research projects, two categories can be distinguished:

• Research projects commissioned by the administration of "Wilderness Dürrenstein“ and carried out by University institutes; these projects are mainly monitoring projects.
• Research projects initiated by individuals or organisations, which are approved of by the administration of "Wilderness Dürrenstein“, given they follow research requirements and match with the overall research plan.

From 1997 to 2003 the following projects have been executed in the area of "Wilderness Dürrenstein“:

• mapping of FFH types of habitats
• mycological studies
• studying bats
• recording of the grouse population
• studying big birds (black stork, honey buzzard, golden eagle, peregrine falcon and eagle owl)
• recording of woodpecker species (black -, grey-headed -, white back -, spotted – and three-toed woodpeckers)
• recording of xylobiont coleoptera
• recording of lepidoptera-, locust– and odonata-species
• recording of the diptera fauna
• recording of the formica fauna
• recording of selected hymenoptera
• recreation and visitor management
• assessment of areas of the management zone „limestone grasslands“

Project results have been assembled by „Kulturpark Eisenstraße Ötscherland“ and can be viewed at http://www.eisenstrasse.info/schatzsuche/ .

The University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna (Universität für Bodenkultur) has been carrying out an interdisciplinary research project on “disruptive facts and control mechanisms within the dynamics of mountain forests”, which is the guiding principle of research in "Wilderness Dürrenstein“. The Institutes of Forest Ecology, of Forest Entomology, Forest Pathology and Forest Protection, of Forest Growth and Yield Research and of Wildlife Biology and Game Management of the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences are participating in this project. For further information consult http://www.boku.ac.at/urwaldforschung.

Since 2001, a research project, called „DIANA“, has been carried out by the Austrian Federal Forest Office and Research Centre (Bundesamt für Wald/BFW). The project focuses on soil and soil organisms as well as on sustainable forest management. For further information visit http://bfw.ac.at/300/2197.html.

Many nature conservancy parks like "Wilderness Dürrenstein“ have to be concerned with game regulation. In 2004, a project for monitoring browsing by game was initiated in cooperation with the Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna and the Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management. First tangible results came up in 2007. Some parts of "Wilderness Dürrenstein“ have been sites of research projects for years. Follow this link for a list of corresponding scientific publications in German: http://www.wildnisgebiet.at/literaturzitate.pdf