Research

The municipality of Mannersdorf am Leithagebirge is currently developing a comprehensive climate strategy to achieve climate neutrality, increase sustainability and pursue the goal of increasing climate resilience. This is being accelerated by improving the microclimate with the help of blue-green infrastructure in public spaces and shady green spaces and footpaths. The establishment of a new rain management system to mitigate heavy rainfall events and promote unsealing is also a declared goal of the municipality. The renaturalisation of municipal water bodies is recognised as a contribution to flood protection. Finally, the opening/reactivation of the currently piped and underground Mühlbach stream is discussed as a key measure in connection with the aforementioned points. The most important cornerstones of the exploratory project for the demonstration of a climate-neutral neighbourhood are Climate protection by avoiding greenhouse gas emissions through the use of local environmental energy to decarbonise the operation of municipal buildings Climate resilience through the development of additional alternative water sources and more efficient use of existing resources Climate change adaptation through the creation of climate-friendly public open spaces with the help of blue-green infrastructures

Dam structures and their ecosystem services are exposed to the effects of climate change. Drought and dryness are often the dominant factors during low water phases. Large embankment slopes result in unfavourable radiation angles depending on the exposure. It can be assumed that heat and the associated drought effects will have an increased impact on the embankment areas. On the other hand, there is a predicted increase in heavy rainfall events, which on the one hand will affect embankment vegetation weakened by drought stress and may lead to erosion processes caused by precipitation falling directly on the embankment surface. On the other hand, the increase in heavy rainfall events may also lead to an increase in the frequency of flood events and the associated loads on the dam structures. The present project plan aims to continue the research work of the past 16 years and to expand it to include aspects of biodiversity and microclimate in order to generate a more holistic understanding of the process.

Climbing plants are used in a variety of ways in façade greening. If they are not planted in the existing soil but in pots, a targeted, site-specific supply of water and nutrients tailored to the plant species is essential for sustainable growth on the façade. Nutrients can be supplied with organic or mineral fertilizers. In the SAVE-Urin research project, a pasteurized urine fertilizer is to be tested for the first time for use on climbing plants. The starting material is urine, which is collected using urine-diverting toilets in a multi-storey residential building. The following research questions will be answered: What effect does a pasteurized urine fertilizer have on plant development compared to the reference? How do relevant microclimatic parameters show on the test plants (climbing plants)? As part of a field trial, climbing plants planted in pots on a roof terrace are supplied with different fertilizer doses. By monitoring specific plant parameters (e.g. vitality, leaf color, growth behaviour, LAI), the aim is to find out whether the urine fertilizer can provide the climbing plants with a satisfactory supply of nutrients in a defined microclimatic environment. The findings from this research project will contribute to the sustainable circular economy of holistically operated, multi-storey residential buildings and represent new, forward-looking possibilities for the use of urine. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)