The fire brigade had to go out to forest fires almost every day in Lower Austria. Only at the weekend did 20 hectares of forest burn down in Raabs an der Thaya (Waidhofen an der Ybbs district) – more on that in Forest fire caused a large-scale operation (noe.ORF.at; March 12, 2022). Forest fires were recorded in Frankenfels and Tullnerbach (both in the St. Pölten district) on Monday.
A flying spark may have triggered the flames in Frankenfels. Someone had burned beetle wood in a meadow near the forest, police said. The risk of forest fires in Lower Austria is currently “extremely high,” emphasized fire department spokesman Franz Resperger to noe.ORF.at. The combination of sun, little rain and light wind in the past few days and weeks has ensured that “the soil has dried to a depth of half a meter, a small spark is enough and the catastrophe is perfect”.
The number of forest fires has increased steadily in recent years due to climate change. In the previous year, 480 forest fires were recorded in Lower Austria, “where Hirschwang is counted as one forest fire” and around 1,000 field and meadow fires. This year, the missions start unusually early, “since there is no more snow below 1,000 meters,” says Resperger. “That means the forest and meadow floors are exposed, the grass has dried out.”
Hardly any precipitation in winter
Something similar can also be observed in agriculture. “Normally in January and February we have a lot of snow or precipitation, which fills up the groundwater reserves,” says Lorenz Mayr, Vice President of the Chamber of Agriculture of Lower Austria, “and often there are months in autumn when there is a lot of fog and precipitation. We missed that in 2021.”
This is confirmed by the data from the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG): With less than forty liters of precipitation per square meter from the beginning of December to the end of February, Langenlois (Krems district) was the driest place in Austria, the long-term average was 54 liters. At other weather stations such as Schöngrabern, Retz (both in the Hollabrunn district) or Horn, the values are well below the long-term average.
Rain from April important for yield and quality
The drought is not a major problem in agriculture at the moment, but if April, May and June are also very dry, this might affect yield and quality. However, strategies have also been developed to better deal with the increasing drought. Mayr cites “greening plants” as an example of being able to store more water in the soil: “They are cultivated immediately following the grain harvest in summer and cover, root through and shade the soil.” This reduces evaporation, among other things.
“The plants remain standing over the winter, freeze off and then, in the spring, the sugar beet, corn or potatoes are grown directly.” This also reduces tillage, because “every tillage means water loss”. Hedges that slow down the wind might also help to reduce water loss, for example.
In any case, the fire brigade advises caution until the next rainfall, and that the situation is not expected to ease in the coming days. It is also assumed that the forest fire ordinance will come into force in several districts in Lower Austria in the coming days.