Limestone Alps National Park: A Sea of Trees and a Castle of Water

The Upper Austrian Limestone Alps National Park in the mountain ranges of the Sengsengebirge and Reichraminger Hintergebirge is the largest protected forest area of Austria.  It comprises 20,825 ha and extends from an altitude a. s. l. of 385 to almost over 2000 m.  It is a colourful mosaic of extensive forests, hidden gorges, untouched mountain brooks and pleasant alpine pastures.

Rare and endangered animals and plants find their habitats and refuge here: the Northern lynx, for example, and the white-backed woodpecker, the longicorn beetle Rosalia alpina, or the primrose Primula clusiana and the lady’s slipper.
 
A Sea of Trees
Nearly natural forests are the basic units of a coherent natural forest in the future.  Diversity returns to the national park.  Trees are allowed to grow, become old and die according to their natural destiny.  Forests in the area are dominantly composed of spruce, fir and beech.  Beech and orchid forests of lower altitudes are one of the special features as are the Sycamore maple and ash forests of the gorges, the winter heather and pine forests, and the floodplain forests with alder.

Alpine pastures and mountain meadows rise from this sea of trees like colourful islands.  They are a typical element of our mountain landscape and offer a habitat for the multitude of animals and plants that need open landscapes: grassland birds, for instance, or butterflies and rare orchids.  The national park works towards maintaining alpine pastures and their ecological management.
 
Karst and Water
Water flows through the national park in numerous streams.  At higher altitudes, precipitation seeps into the ground in an extensive network of cracks and crevices.  In a gigantic cave system the water rushes down, gushes out of hundreds of springs and merges into crystal-clear brooks.  Karst springs are richly populated; there are more than 500 animal species that have already been discovered such as hydrobiid spring snails.  The Limestone Alps National Park is also one of the rare places where the original river Danube type trout lives.
Water has played a major role in shaping the landscape of the national park.  The deep gorges of the Reichraminger Hintergebirge mountains have been produced by the erosive force of water working over millions of years.
 
Experiencing Nature
Marked footpaths, theme walks through the national park, designated bridle ways and biking routes are waiting for the friends of nature in the Limestone Alps National Park.  In the course of guided adventure walks with national park staff, visitors learn about nature in an entertaining way using all their senses.  Accompany a forester in the national park on his way to the chamois grounds in the morning dawn or in stag rutting season in autumn!  Why not join experienced ornithologists and learn about the lives of singing birds of the forest and predatory birds of the pastures or immerse in the realm of the dipper.  You can also go on botany walks to spot rare orchids and soothing medicinal herbs or join a guided cave expedition if you are more of an adventurer.

Link: >> www.kalkalpen.at
 

31.10.2005,