Feasibility study Deutsche Tamariske, Myricaria germanica, in Gesäuse

The German tamarisk, Myricaria germanica, was formerly a communal shrub on our rivers from the upper reaches to the deepest locations. But since then, the picture of our rivers has changed drastically with the regulation and straightening of the rivers for the purpose of reclamation of adjacent land and, above all, the supposed reduction of damaging floodwaters. The dynamics have been robbed of the rivers and thus the space for wild river landscapes with great rearrangement areas, such as those still existing at the Tagliamento. The rest, in the cesura of the power of the rivers, led to the construction of power plants and slide retention systems, the latter especially at the feeders to the larger floodplains. This laid the foundation for the decline of Tamarisque populations, which specializes in dynamic shore pioneering sites. This led to the fact that Myricaria germanica now has to be classified as "endangered by extinction" throughout Austria due to its pronounced rarity or has already died out in sub-regions. With the "species protection project Deutsche Tamariske" attempts were made to show the possibilities and prospects of a resettlement of Myricaria germanica in the Gesäuse. Based on the findings, the German Tamariske resettlement project in the Gesäuse National Park was launched. The findings of the project and the results achieved so far are documented in this report. They include a collection of know-how on tamarisk extracted from various resettlement attempts in Austria and South Tyrol as well as observations at autochthonous locations. By means of a photomonitoring of selected locations in the Gesäuse, potential resettlement areas were observed over a growing season and their dynamics were documented and interpreted. In the Gstatterboden area, a specifically planned planting garden was built, which serves the pre-cultivation of tamarisks. This is to ensure that tamarisks are grown in sufficient numbers and as fully developed plants in order to have them properly prepared for application within the national park. In a further chapter, the previous application tests in the national park are documented and finally the collected findings for future application are compiled. In the foreseeable future, the German tamarisk, Myricaria germanica, will return to the Gesäuse and a stable, self-sustaining population can be built up.