Current international, national and regional research results show serious declines in native biodiversity. Red Lists illustrate the state of the living world in the respective area in a particularly striking way by summarising the situation of a species with an indication of the endangerment category. In Austria, Red Lists for ferns and flowering plants have recently been published at both federal and provincial level for the provinces of Burgenland, Carinthia and Tyrol. Depending on the area, around a quarter (North Tyrol) to a third (Austrian Alpine region) of the species are categorised as endangered (Red List categories RE, CR, EN and VU).

In North Tyrol, more than 438 species (22.4 %) of the originally native ferns and flowering plants are endangered (endangerment categories CR, EN and VU), of which 131 are threatened with extinction (CR), 143 are critically endangered (EN) and 164 are endangered (VU). A further 64 species (3.3 %) are currently no longer present in the area (RE, RE?). This means that almost 26 % of vascular plants in North Tyrol are endangered or already extinct. Almost half of the flowering plants and ferns native to North Tyrol have declined by more than 10 % in Tyrol. More than a third of the species have a negative future prognosis. These two values are therefore significantly higher than the proportion of endangered species (cf. Pagitz et al. 2023a).

A number of anthropogenic factors are cited as significant factors, including land use change in agriculture and landscape consumption (see Stöhr 2022). Climate change will also play an increasingly important role in the future. Another increasingly important factor is the spread of neophytes, as species with a tendency to form mass populations pose an additional potential threat to native species.

The Red List of ferns and flowering plants in Austria also lists invasive plant species among the main factors for biodiversity loss and lists several particularly affected species (Stöhr 2022). In North Tyrol, neophytes account for almost 31 % of the total number of vascular plants and specific examples of negative impacts are also cited here (Pagitz et al. 2023a). Currently, 14 neophytes are categorised as problematic in North Tyrol (Pagitz & Moling 2000).
As part of the project, 3 areas were selected that combine the above-mentioned problems in different ways. The common factor in all areas is the presence of at least one species that is threatened with extinction in North Tyrol (Red List North Tyrol CR) and the occurrence of neophytes as a potential threat.

Habitat management is one of the key measures for upgrading areas in order to enable the survival of individual, very rare species on the one hand and to improve the habitat situation as a whole on the other. The measures are intended to improve the survival of the target species and their companions by greatly reducing, and in the best case eliminating, the impact on the areas and the threat to the species through intensive neophyte management. The focus is on neophytes, which are listed as problem species in the strategy for Tyrol for dealing with alien plant species (neophytes) (Pagitz & Moling 2020).

The objectives also include raising public awareness of the biodiversity crisis, biodiversity loss and biodiversity protection on the one hand, and the importance and problems of invasive plant species and how to deal with them on the other. The third objective is the development of a practical guide, a handbook for neophyte management, based on the scientific support of the measures and the accompanying monitoring and evaluation.

Gaisau, Hatting, Inzing, Pettnau

The Gaisau is a relatively young protected area in the Inn Valley to the west of Innsbruck, established in 2009. The total area covers approx. 27 ha, of which approx. 12 ha is the surrounding buffer zone and approx. 3.6 ha the core zone (https://www.tiroler-schutzgebiete.at/schutzgebiet/gaisau/). The buffer zone includes farm meadows, but these are not part of the project area, so that the measures are limited to the core zone and the neighbouring area of the protected area (approx. 15 ha). The Gaisau represents a complex wetland habitat that includes open standing water, flowing waters, reed beds, large and small sedge reeds, riparian and wetland forests. It is the last remaining complex wetland on the valley floor in the Upper Inn Valley.

Selected Target species Auswahl:
Liparis loeselii RLNT CR, RLÖ EN, Art der FFH, Richtlinie, Anhang II;; Pulicaria dysenterica, Großes Flohkraut RLNT CR, RLÖ NT; Iris sibirica, Sibirische Schwertlilie RLNT EN, RLÖ VU; Potamogeton crispus, Krauses Laichkraut RLNT EN, RLÖ LC, im westlichen Alpengebiet gefährdet; Dactylorhiza incarnata, Fleischrote Fingerwurz RLNT VU, RLÖ VU; Pentanema salicinum, Weiden-Alant RLNT VU, RLÖ NT, im Alpengebiet
gefährdet; Stuckenia pectinata, Kamm-Laichkraut RLNT VU, RLÖ LC; Typha shuttleworthii, Silber-Rohrkolben RLNT VU, RLÖ NT