Die Bedeutung brachliegender Bahnareale als Lebensraum für Pflanzen am Beispiel der Stadt Wien

Due to numerous, different micro-biotopes (rails, sleepers, railway track beds, embankments, masonry), disused railway areas offer growing space and refuge to numerous plants and animals. On 20 abandoned railway sites in Vienna 516 species of higher plants, 42 species of mosses and 8 species of lichens were found. Neophytes come to 19.4 %, the number of endangered species amounts 19.8 %. The dominating life forms are hemicryptophytes and therophytes. All 20 investigated disused railway sites in Vienna are connected with each other through highly or little frequented railway tracks. Due to this interconnection and the contact with the surrounding countryside, abandoned railway areas can serve as corridors and refuge for plants and animals. These areas possessing nature conservation value contribute essentially to the biodiversity of urban ecosystems.