Success for eco-pioneer

Forest mantle has been protecting trees and animals for 33 years

Karlheinz Piringer in front of the forest mantle and display boards in Drösiedl, which are intended to give people an understanding of the interrelationships of nature and the benefits of the shelterbelt and biodiversity.(Bild: Willi Bauer)

With his huge belt on the edge of the forest 33 years ago, eco-expert Karlheinz Piringer managed to set an example that is still being followed today. The "forest mantle" offers protection from the wind, a special habitat and food for wild animals, birds and insects.

Karlheinz Piringer was a pioneer from the very beginning when it comes to the "forest mantle". Even today, the issue of protecting an existing forest area is usually understood differently than it is meant here.

Back then - the project to protect the forest began in 1991 - when the forest was still considered a pure investment in many places, people knew much less about it. This happened precisely in the unspoiled Waldviertel, more precisely in Drösiedl near Pfaffenschlag in the district of Waidhofen an der Thaya. "I thought that conventional management was no longer good for the forest in the long term and took action," says eco-pioneer Piringer, who once planted a 1,800-metre-long and ten-metre-wide shelterbelt with 500 wild fruit trees and 5,000 shrubs at the edge of the forest together with several organizations and fellow campaigners, such as the mountain and nature watch.

More and more interest in eco-project
High-stem trees were planted along 1500 meters of paths and plant material from old fruit varieties was used. "This does more than just protect the forest and animals from the wind - it creates a habitat and the fruit serves as food for game, birds and insects," says the 76-year-old, who is delighted that more and more imitators and interested groups, including from schools, are visiting the forest mantle project.René Denk