In the City-Tree-Soil project, the Federal Research Centre for Forestry (BFW), the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) and the University of Innsbruck are investigating the growth conditions of urban trees in Vienna and Innsbruck. Citizen scientists (schools and the general public) are responsible for recording the growth in thickness. In addition, soil carbon is being measured in both cities.
Cemeteries are not only places of remembrance but also valuable habitats for numerous rare animals, plants, and fungi. Amid urban hustle and bustle, they offer refuges of tranquility and protection for diverse species. Our project, “Biodiversity at the Cemetery” (BaF), aims to document, analyze, and preserve this biological diversity through targeted educational efforts.
The Horizon European Project ProCleanLakes aims to develop an Action Plan and a Guidelines for long-term restoration and protection of European Natural Lakes (ENL) ecosystems and biodiversity’s. This plan aims to:
Enhance the ecological and chemical status of ENL, including biodiversity, through the use of innovative integrative Nature-based Solutions (NbS).
Implement new 4.0 Digital solutions to support ecosystem monitoring, restoration, protection, and the transfer of knowledge to other regions.
Promote business activities grounded in the circular economy concept, facilitating the shift from a Blue to a Green Economy.
Increase awareness, empower communities, build capacities, and collaboratively develop solutions with citizens and stakeholders to address challenges related to the restoration and protection of ENL.
Thus, 6 European lakes, situated in different geographical locations, different climate conditions and under impact of different chemical and biological stressors were chosen.
ProCleanLakes introduces a dynamic and adaptable approach that emphasizes learning through observation and practical application. A key aspect of this Project will be the ongoing dialogue between the scientific and social communities. Citizen input, including ideas and opinions on “how” and “who” should be involved, as well as both qualitative and quantitative improvements in the ENL ecosystem and biodiversity, will be crucial elements in developing the ENL Action Plan.
As a follow-up project to "Heavy Metal City-Zen", the project once again invites Viennese community gardens, garden projects or similar garden initiatives to take part in this project and conduct research together with.
The aim of this project is to scientifically assess the potential risk of heavy metal contamination of crops in Viennese city gardens and to investigate the extent of soil contamination with microplastics.
The project will make the results of the study and additional information on soil health available on the City-Zen soil research platform, which is developed as part of the project.
What can we do to protect our wetlands and floodplains in Europe? What does the water management need to implement measure for the benefit of both the environment and the human society?
The Horizon Europe project Restore4Life aims at offering an online system that supports the restoration of wetlands in Europe. One important aspect is the development of easily applicable and meaningful methods to assess the state and functionality of wetlands before and after the restoration. This enables us to see whether the measures are sustainable for the future of the wetlands, for the climate and for us.
Citizen science-based bumblebee monitoring is a pillar of the Austrian wild bee survey. Most wild bee species can only be distinguished under a microscope. The genus of bumblebees (Bombus) is an exception and can usually be distinguished at species level after a training phase in the field (see Gokcezade et al., 2010), so that not only professionals can help with the observation and recording of bumblebees. Bumblebee monitoring ties in with the already existing reporting platform "naturbeobachtung.at" of the Austrian Society for Nature Conservation.
The aim is to develop a functioning citizen science network in the next two years, which will be used in the long term. We aim to cooperate with other European countries that have established similar projects in order to address the ongoing biodiversity crisis on an international level. In the future, trends for individual populations are to be derived from the data and conservation measures improved.
The AmphiBiom project is focused on the study of the European green toad in Austria. With the support of Citizen Scientists, we investigate the distribution of this endangered amphibian species, which, as a typical pioneer species, can quickly colonize newly emerging water bodies.
Therefore, the European green toad is an ideal species for projects to investigate the distribution status through call monitoring and the installation of small water bodies with the support of the Citizen Science Community. With AmphiBiom we want to show that everyone can support the survival of this protected species with just a little effort. Already through these small but valuable measures, the general awareness that is needed to better understand species and habitat protection measures, is strengthened.
This project uses Citizen Science to study this pioneer species in order to investigate its distribution in areas that are often inaccessible for research (e.g., private gardens) and to actively involve citizens in the project.
In a further step, the complementary evaluation of already existing protection measures will clarify in which areas such measures (still) make sense, or where they could contribute to the resurgence of populations classified as extinct.
The Citizen Science project ServeToPe develops methods to better quantify the demand for ecosystem services (ESS) and their availability in a landscape. ServeToPe thus aims to contribute to more sustainable management of ESS and more targeted policies that focus on people's needs. ServeToPe is thereby based in the biosphere reserve Wienerwald as a case study region.
ServeToPe mainly aims to answer the following research questions.
What is the current demand for ESS and to what extent can the Wienerwald region satisfy this demand with the offered ESS?
What does "good management" mean from the citizens' point of view? How can policies contribute to a convergence of demand for ESS and their supply?
ServeToPe will reveal mismatches between the demand for ESS and their supply and will propose countermeasures. An example of this could be regional conservation efforts specifically planned for the landscape.
Plastic Pirates - Go Europe! was first developed in Germany in 2016. Since January 2022, with the support of the EU Commission, the initiative has been extended to the whole of Europe as a European citizen science action in which school classes and youth groups (young people aged 10-16) collect plastic samples from streams and rivers and document their findings. The data collected across Europe is entered into a database and then analysed by scientists. Young people who are interested in science and the environment are given the opportunity to participate in practical research. They make an important contribution to researching the state of European rivers and the extent and pollution caused by plastic waste.
The COwLEARNING project aims to explore possible changes by bringing together scientific knowledge from universities with experiential knowledge from production, processing, trade, gastronomy and consumption. Together, possible changes are being sought and various innovations are also being looked at. These could be, for example, pasture feeding, cow-calf contact (the calf stays with the cow for a longer period of time after birth), mobile slaughterhouses, cow sponsorships or the slaughter of cattle only after all its parts have been sold, as well as milk and meat substitute products.
The project focus on the first recorded, accidently introduced wild bee in Europe, the Sculptured Resin Bee (Megachile sculpturalis). The aim of the project is to evaluate if the species has to be considered as an invasive species causing ecological consequences by its establishment and to reconstruct its colonization history particularly with regard to further invasive wild bees emerging in Europe.
In this citizen science project, we use scientific methods to create an overview in Austria of where which animals are road-killed and what the reasons for this might be. With your reports we aim to identify hotspots and mitigate them together with our partners.
The golden jackal is a very shy animal and lives very hidden, at a first glance the distinction to fox or wolf is sometimes not so easy - but on closer inspection, there are a few unique features. If you feel you have seen a golden jackal in Austria, or find a canine animal on your game camera, please notify us of your reference. Coordinator: Jennifer HatlaufInstitute: Institut für Wildbiologie und JagdwirtschaftProject website:www.goldschakal.at
Fire-Database
In spring 2013, the Institute of Silviculture has created a web platform that enables a simple and system-independent collection and analysis of forest fires. The Web-GIS application "Fire Database" is freely accessible and allows interested parties to query forest fire events and to create statistics or graphics. Similarly, current or historical forest fires can be reported via an online entry form. Coordinator: Harald VacikInstitute:Institut für WaldbauProject website:http://fire.boku.ac.at/public/
