The Ministerial Conference for the Protection of Forest Ecosystems (MCPFE) has launched a world-wide network of protected forest areas which should cover all major forest types (MCPFE and UNECE/FAO, 2003). Most of these forests are privately owned, and owners are compensated by the government for loss of income associated with conservation status. Austria had 180 of these forest reserves up to the year 2003. They also provide refugia for rare plants and animals found only in natural forest types. Natural forests are expected to have high biodiversity, where the structural richness of the habitat enables complex relationships between fauna, flora, and microflora. These natural forests are used as reference systems for evaluating silvicultural research on sustainable forest management. The few remaining forests that resemble the natural vegetation composition are located in forest reserves with restricted management. Almost 50% of the total area of Austria is forested, and the forests are dominated by commercially valuable stands of Norway spruce ( (Picea abies).
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