In our gardens

Call for a census of amphibians and reptiles

Newt(Bild: sunakri - stock.adobe.com)

More than half of the reptile and amphibian species native to Austria are endangered. However, one important area remains unconsidered in the inventory: private gardens. To close this gap, several organizations have called on garden owners to photograph frogs, lizards, newts, snakes and more.

"In Austria, there are two million home gardens covering an area of almost 1850 square kilometers - similar in size to the Hohe Tauern National Park," said Dominik Linhard, biologist at Global 2000, at a press conference.

So far, however, we hardly know how many reptiles and amphibians populate these gardens and which factors are decisive for colonization.

Toad(Bild: APA/dpa-Zentralbild/Patrick Pleu)

Sightings are entered into the database
In order to shed more light on reptile and amphibian life, the web app "artenzählen.at" was launched as a central reporting point, which was also funded by the Ministry of Climate Protection due to its great importance for local biodiversity. Sightings can be entered into the database in just a few simple steps.

Fire salamander(Bild: GERMANFRANCO, stock.adobe.com)

In addition, the gardens and their surroundings are analyzed in detail from the air. Finally, all the data collected will be processed, evaluated and published in the Biodiversity Atlas Austria, which is operated by the Biodiversity Hub of the University of Continuing Education Krems.