List of ecoregions in Austria

This is a list of ecoregions in Austria as defined by the World Wildlife Fund and the Freshwater Ecoregions of the World database.

Austria is made up of four terrestrial ecoregions and two freshwater ecoregions. Austria's ecology is largely influenced by the Alps and the water which flows from them. The central western part of Austria is home to these mountains, and the eastern and northern portions of the nation are less extreme in their elevations. The country is home to diverse terrestrial and marine fauna. These ecoregions are descriptions of the areas in their natural state; many are home to farms and urban populations.

Terrestrial

Alps conifer and mixed forests
Central European mixed forests
Western European broadleaf forests
Pannonian mixed forests

Austria is part of the Palearctic realm, one of the eight biogeographic realms that cover the earth's land surface. By Köppen climate classification, the flatter parts of eastern Austria has a warm temperate humid climate (Cfb), the west and central foothills have a humid snow climate (Dfb), and the mountainous areas are classified as subarctic (Dfc), tundra (ET), or ice-cap (EF).[1] The following are the four terrestrial ecoregions of Austria:

Freshwater

Map of Austrian rivers and basins

Austria has two freshwater ecoregions. Much of Austria's freshwater has its origins from the Alps.

  • Almost all of Austria lies within the Upper Danube (417) freshwater ecoregion, which is made of various rivers flowing through valleys and many lakes. The Danube, and hence water from this area drains to the Black Sea. Within this ecoregion in Austria, there are many alpine and subalpine lake, including Lake Attersee and Lake Traunsee. Many salmonid fish along with some pikes, sanders, aps, tenchs, and catfish are native to this region. Carps have been introduced by humans.[6][7]
  • The far west of the its panhandle belongs to the drainage basin of the Rhine and a sliver of north central Austria belongs to that of the Elbe are part of the Central and Western Europe (404) freshwater ecoregion. This area ultimately drains to the North Sea. Various species of whitefish can be found in this region, notably in Lake Constance on Austria's western border.[8]
    Largest lakes of Austria

References

  1. "Climate". Austria. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
  2. "Southern Europe: The Alps of northern Italy, southern France, Switzerland, and Slovenia | Ecoregions | WWF". World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
  3. "Central Europe: Austria, Belarus, Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, Moldovia, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine | Ecoregions | WWF". World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
  4. "Western European broadleaf forests | Ecoregions | WWF". World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
  5. "Eastern Europe: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine | Ecoregions | WWF". World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
  6. www.feow.org https://www.feow.org/ecoregions/details/417. Retrieved 2020-10-26. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. "4. US CARP HISTORY". American Carp Society. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  8. www.feow.org https://www.feow.org/ecoregions/details/404. Retrieved 2020-10-26. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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