Managing the Future: A Forester's Perspective in the Austrian Forests

2023-12-25 16:04:05

As a forester, Marcella Mühlbach heads the Attergau forest district near Traunsee. She grew up as a city child in Dresden. During her studies in Brazil and Russia she gained a lot of experience and eventually became a forester in Austria. She describes herself as the manager of the forests. For the FM4 Field Recordings on December 26th she takes us to her territory.

By Elisabeth Scharang

“When I’m in the forest, I feel at home.”

Marcella drives every curve on the steep forest road just as confidently in reverse gear as she does in forward gear. The SUV is her office. From here she manages the transport of wood, observes the flight of bark beetles, takes care of the repair of the forest paths and designs the forest so that it will be able to survive in 100 years. Only then will you see the result of your work.

Elisabeth Scharang

The aesthetic forest

“For me, forest also has to do with forest aesthetics, and that is also part of my work. When I cut down trees, I create structures, so you can see far into the forest, I can promote different tree species and thus create a play of colors,” says Marcella, as we look over the valley at an altitude of 2,000 meters.

“If I didn’t intervene here, I would have a beech forest and a monoculture across the board. Of course, in every decision I make, I consider which tree species have a chance with global warming.”

Elisabeth Scharang

In the restricted area

We stop the car in front of the board that strictly forbids any further travel. Restricted area due to forest work. Marcella gets a hand signal from one of the forestry workers that we can pass. You have to learn where the cut is made, how the wedge is driven in so that the tree falls in the desired direction and injures as few other trees as possible. Slowly, almost in slow motion, the 30 meter long trunk bends and falls. Very majestic. I thought that the healthiest forests were those that people simply left alone, i.e. jungles that were left to their own devices.

Elisabeth Scharang

Good for biodiversity

Marcella explains to me why active forest management, as she does for the Austrian federal forests, is good for the forest. “Science has proven that a managed forest creates a high level of biodiversity. Very few tree and animal species need a jungle; “But I have five plots of land that have been put out of use as virgin forest and left to their own devices.”

Elisabeth Scharang

A job for the future

We make our way into the heated trailer where the forestry workers warm themselves at the wood stove and eat their snack. Marcella stops again and again, explains individual tree species to me, and looks at how young trees develop.

“For me, it’s a nice job that involves a lot of responsibility because I’m creating the forest for the next generation. With the outlook that global warming will increase by 7 degrees or 10 percent.”

Elisabeth Scharang

Who owns the forest

Austria is a timber country, over 290,000 people work in the forestry, wood and paper industries; 48% of Austria’s area is covered with forests, which means there are around 3.5 billion trees in an area equivalent to 5.5 million football fields. Marcella shows me on one of her maps, which are saved on the tablet, which area belongs to her territory and therefore to the Austrian federal forests and which is privately owned. I am very surprised when I hear that 80% of the forest area in Austria belongs to private individuals.

In the FM4 field recordings, Marcella talks about the printers and engravers – both types of bark beetles – and why they are so dangerous, we talk about hunting and visit Christian and Martin, the two young forestry workers, during their lunch break in the forest. “We are outside in weather conditions where others say: You must have a bird!”