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Site description (2000 baseline):

This site lies on the border with Slovakia and is the largest lowland river system in Austria. Annual floods inundate large parts of the lowland area. The majority of the IBA consists of alluvial/very wet forest, dominated by Fraxinus and Quercus, oxbows and wetlands. Wet meadows occupy about 10 km²Human activities include forestry, hunting and angling.

The site is important for breeding woodland and wetland species. Species of global conservation concern that does not meet IBA criteria: Haliaeetus albicilla (8 wintering birds).

The planed Donau-Oder-Kanal could have a dramatic impact on the ecosystem. Plans for a new bridge and road are a serious threat to the northern part of the IBA. Hunting, particularly of wildfowl, occurs.

National Partial International High1,687 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserves (Rabensburger Thaya-Auen, 385 ha; Angerner und Dürnkruter Marchschlingen, 81 ha; Salzsteppe Baumgarten a.d. March, 11 ha; Untere Marchauen, 1,166 ha; Kleiner Breitensee, 44 ha). 12,000 ha of IBA covered by Ramsar Site (Donau-March-Auen, 38,500 ha). 12,000 ha of IBA covered by Special Protection Area (March-Thaya-Auen, 13,009 ha).

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: March/Thaya riverine forest (Austria). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/march-thaya-riverine-forest-iba-austria on 25/11/2024.