Moss vegetation on deadwood in the Gesäuse National Park

In the area of the Gesäuse National Park, during the 2006 growing season, 27 reception areas, spread over 13 forest parcels, were selected and the colonisation of dead wood was documented by foliage and liver moss. This study is related to the efforts of the National Park Administration in cooperation with the Steiermärkisches Landesforsten to transfer spruce-dominated economic forests into natural stocks. A total of 61 species of leaf moss and 40 liver moss species were detected in the study area as colonisers of dead trunks, branches and tree stubs. The analysis of flora by ecological species groups has a much larger proportion (48 %) of species that are ecologically closely bound to the deadwood substrate than for deciduous mosses (10 %). The moss vegetation on dead wood, documented by photographs, was assigned to 11 Moos societies (associations). 6 species of moss that are at risk in Austria or are highly endangered are listed in a total of 12 sites for the areas under investigation. Following the spread of these red-list species, there is a focus on ecologically and conservationally high-quality epixyl moovegetation in the area of the Buchstein. The recommendations for forest management take into account the autecological claims of often tender liver moss: 1. The substrate deadwood should be continuously available to a sufficient extent, in various degrees of debris and dimensions. 2. All measures or influences that interfere with the balanced, humid microclimate of the existing interior should be omitted or reduced. Attention should also be paid to the richest possible stratification of stocks and a natural tree species composition.