Research

Road networks account for 47% of the sealed surface area in Lower Austria and thus represent a central component of the cultural landscape. On the one hand, roads are an indispensable foundation for our social life; on the other hand, they have significant impacts on biodiversity. Lower Austria leads the official statistics on wildlife-vehicle collisions in Austria. Nevertheless, comprehensive data are still lacking on animals that are road-killed but are not classified as game species. In the Citizen Science project “Roadkill” at BOKU University, more than 1,000 citizen scientists have been collecting data on road-killed vertebrates in Austria since 2013. Up to now, only presence data have been recorded. As part of the present project, this methodology is to be expanded by collecting presence–absence data through citizen scientists. The central question is: where are animals not being road-killed? The model organism used is the hedgehog genus (Erinaceus sp.). Public outreach campaigns will be conducted via the established social media channels of the project partners, as well as a drawing competition, evening lectures in rural communities, and, not least, events at the Museum of Lower Austria to raise public awareness. The insights gained will not only deepen the scientific understanding of the factors influencing hedgehog roadkills, but also provide an evidence-based foundation for planning and implementing targeted conservation measures. In the long term, the developed methodology is intended to be transferred to other animal species.

Climate change is expected to have a significant impact on the soil biodiversity of alpine regions and thus, ecosystem services and biodiversity hotspots are under increasing pressure. Protected areas (associated management practices) are a crucial management strategy for biodiversity conservation and provision of ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, water regulation and food production. However, a comprehensive evaluation of protected areas conservation and climate change impact on soil biodiversity and ES, including future predictions, has rarely been addressed so far. The main goals of SoilBioMAP are (1) to provide comprehensive framework for integrated assessment of soil biodiversity indicators and ecosystem services (BES) in Alpine soils across pedoclimatic conditions. (2) Collation and harmonization of existing soil BES data to build the Austrian Alpine soil biodiversity database, for the first time, to identify drivers, threats and knowledge gaps for conservation measures. model future climate scenarios for biodiversity protection. (3) Assess consequences of climate change on soil BES to investigate the patterns and causes of biodiversity change in Austrian Alps and explore adaptation strategies. (4) Provide systematic database and assessment of policies covering soil biodiversity across regional and national level to support conservation measures. The project adopts a multi-stakeholder approach, involving interdisciplinary scientists, and policymakers, to deliver national-scale assessments and support policy measures (eg. Soil Monitoring Law, Austrian Biodiversity Strategy 2030+).

Pollinators, especially bees, are essential for biodiversity and food security. In Vienna, a hotspot of bee diversity, urban beekeeping is growing, raising concerns about food competition between honeybees and wild bees due to spatial and temporal limited floral resources. The BeEcoVIE II project aims to assess and mitigate these issues by evaluating Vienna's current wild and domesticated bee populations and modeling the city's carrying capacity for bees. In BeEcoVIE I, we gathered over 12,000 wild bee records from literature and different scientific and citizen science databases. We identified areas with high bee diversity and potential competition zones based on functional trait similarity. BeEcoVie II will expand this work through three main objectives: a comprehensive survey of wild bees in understudied areas, especially conservation areas (e.g., Natura 2000), modeling foraging resources and habitat quality to determine bee carrying capacity, and developing an open-access tool, Hive.City, for sustainable beekeeping practices. This tool will help beekeepers and urban planners make informed decisions to reduce competitive pressures and enhance wild bee conservation. By promoting evidence-based strategies, the project aims to balance urban beekeeping with the preservation of wild bee populations, positioning Vienna as a leader in urban bee conservation and sustainable beekeeping.