SUPERVISOR: Erwin SCHMID

PROJECT ASSIGNED TO: Katharina BAUER

Most river systems and floodplains in Austria are heavily modified, with a large proportion of potential restoration areas in agricultural land (Hein et al. 2016). Floodplain and wetland restoration is necessary to support functioning river systems and the ecosystem services they can provide, and a declared aim of existing policies and the new Nature Restoration Law. However, this presents trade-offs between flood risk management, nature restoration, food production and settlement, expressed in a competition for available (agricultural) land (Grüneis et al. 2023; Nordbeck et al. 2023; Kirchmair et al. 2024). To reconcile these aims and allow social-ecological transformation of mostly degraded systems, policy integration and approaches to collaboratively engage with farmers alongside other stakeholders are required. In addition, the understanding of the institutional, social, economic and environmental factors that impact individual and collective choices of farmers who operate in restoration areas needs to be improved to inform plausible scenarios at the farm to catchment-scale (Fickel et al. 2024; Mitter et al. 2019; Thaler et al. 2023). 

The aim of this dissertation project is to investigate farmers’ decision-making affecting multifunctional floodplain restoration in Austria. Within HR21, this links mainly to the research cluster ‘governance and planning’.  The dissertation will (1) analyse current land use in priority floodplain restoration areas across Austria and its interplay with flood risk and catchment management and nature restoration. Focusing on a priority restoration case study area, it will (2) elicit the factors that drive farmers’ land use and management choices in the catchment, including socio-economic aspects and the impact of policies. This will (3) inform the shared development of a plausible spatially explicit restoration scenario for which multifunctionality can be assessed with stakeholders and potential mechanism for implementation identified. 

This research will use mixed methods, bringing together quantitative GIS analysis, participatory mapping and interviews/surveys to elicit qualitative and semi-quantitative data, and inform an integrated modelling framework. 

Findings will help inform the integration of policies particularly in the water-land context, supporting the development of participatory processes for restoration planning and potential incentive mechanisms. This will enable transformation of modified catchments and enhance multi-functional outcomes.  

 

References

Fickel, Thomas; Sunderer, Georg; Schramm, Engelbert; Graul, Hansjörg; Hummel, Diana (2024): Farmers’ satisfaction and cooperation in conflicts about river restoration in Germany. What influence have economy and participation? In: Journal of Rural Studies 108, S. 103095. DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2023.103095.

Grüneis, Heidelinde; Niedermayr, Julia; Schroll, Karin; Wagner, Klaus (2023): Die Landwirtschaft im integrierten Hochwasserrisikomanagement. Bundesanstalt für Agrarwirtschaft und Bergbauernfragen (BAB-Report 005). Online verfügbar unter bab.gv.at/jdownloads/Publikationen/BAB/BAB_Report/bab_report_005_pocoflood.pdf, zuletzt geprüft am 02.12.2024.

Hein, Thomas; Schwarz, Ulrich; Habersack, Helmut; Nichersu, Iulian; Preiner, Stefan; Willby, Nigel; Weigelhofer, Gabriele (2016): Current status and restoration options for floodplains along the Danube River. In: The Science of the total environment 543 (Pt A), S. 778–790. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.09.073.

Kirchmair, Gabriel; Pfeiffer, Marie; Pichler-Scheder, Christian; Gumpinger, Clemens (2024): Potenzial für die Wiederherstellung frei fließender Flüsse in Österreich. Online verfügbar unter www.muttererde.at/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Potenzialanalyse-fuer-die-Wiederherstellung-frei-fliessender-Fluesse-in-Oesterreich-Endversion_Oktober-2024.pdf.

Mitter, Hermine; Larcher, Manuela; Schönhart, Martin; Stöttinger, Magdalena; Schmid, Erwin (2019): Exploring Farmers' Climate Change Perceptions and Adaptation Intentions: Empirical Evidence from Austria. In: Environmental management 63 (6), S. 804–821. DOI: 10.1007/s00267-019-01158-7.

Nordbeck, Ralf; Seher, Walter; Grüneis, Heidelinde; Herrnegger, Mathew; Junger, Lena (2023): Conflicting and complementary policy goals as sectoral integration challenge: an analysis of sectoral interplay in flood risk management. In: Policy Sci 56 (3), S. 595–612. DOI: 10.1007/s11077-023-09503-8.

Thaler, Thomas; Hudson, Paul; Viavattene, Christophe; Green, Colin (2023): Natural flood management: Opportunities to implement nature‐based solutions on privately owned land. In: Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water 10 (3), Artikel e1637, e1637. DOI: 10.1002/wat2.1637.