Nationalpark Hohe Tauern

The Carinthian Seebachtal, the Salzburg Obersulzbachtal and Untersulzbachtal and the East Tyrolean Innergschlöß were selected for the long-term monitoring projects.

The core zone of the national park was selected as the ideal area for long-term monitoring projects. As it is subject to long-term protection against direct human intervention, the core zone is the ideal basis for recording and describing natural terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem processes.

All sites were deliberately chosen to be above the tree line, where very steep environmental gradients are prevalent in the smallest space (snow-melt gradients) and along which the living conditions for plants, ground animals and soil microbes can change drastically over a few metres.