Since 2016/2017, the Manhartsberg region has been affected by drought damage and bark beetle infestation, which has caused massive damage to the forests. An innovative reforestation project was launched to tackle these challenges. Dipl. Ing. Gerhard Mader, forestry consultant for BBK Hollabrunn and Horn, led the mechanical autumn reforestation on an area of 1.8 hectares. This involved planting 4,500 bare-root plants and using a special water-storing granulate that stores water and nutrients directly in the root area and releases them as required.
One year after this late fall reforestation, Dipl. Ing. Mader returned to evaluate the results in the municipality of Hohenwarth-Mühlbach on the Manhartsberg. The results are impressive: despite the extreme drought, the young oaks are showing exceptional growth. Thanks to the “Polygrain” granulate from Green Legacy, many trees have already outgrown the trunk protection in the first year – a success that Mader has never experienced before in this form. The growth success rate is 95%, which justifies the initial investment of 20 cents per plant. Without the granulate, the replanting costs would have been significantly higher at 2-3 euros per plant.
These results underline the effectiveness of innovative technologies in modern forestry and show that sustainable reforestation is possible through targeted measures despite difficult climatic conditions. The accompanying video impressively documents this success.
