Nature conservation evaluation of alpine management in the Gesäuse National Park (cicadas, spiders, small mammals)

In the Gesäuse National Park, some 1.500 hectares of land are traditionally cultivated as a “preservation zone”. The specific nature conservation value depends to a large extent on the nature and intensity of the management. In order to document this value from a zoological point of view and to describe the effects of the management, selected alpine areas were examined in 2004 using the bioindicators groups of cicadas, spiders and small mammals.