A botanical examination of five railway stations and five sections of the tracks between Schärding and Wels has yielded a list of 383 species (47 of them are named in the Red List of Endangered Species of Upper Austria (Strauch 1997).
According to Adler (1994), some of them are new to Upper Austria:
Carex secalina Wahlenberg (Roggen-Segge)
and Papaver dubium L. subsp. confine Jordan
(Verkannter Mohn).
Some very rare or highly endangered species are: Agrostemma
githago L. (Kornrade), Anthemis ruthenica
MB., (Ruthenische Hundskamille), Bromus arvensis L. (Acker-Trespe),
Bromus commutatus Schrader (Verwechselte
Trespe), Bromus squarrosus L. (Sparrige
Trespe), Centaurea jacea subsp. angustifolia
(Schrank) Gremli (Schmalblatt-Wiesen-Flockenblume), Eryngium
campestre L. (Feld-Mannstreu), Geranium
purpureum Villars (Purpur-Storchschnabel), Geranium
rotundifolium L. (Rundblatt-Storchschnabel), Isatis tinctoria
L. (Färberwaid), Oenothera parviflora
agg. (Kleinblütige Nachtkerze), Ononis
repens L. (Kriech-Hauhechel), Pimpnella
nigra Host (Schwarz-Bibernelle), Plantago
arenaria W. & K. (Sand-Wegerich), Reseda
luteola L., (Färber-Reseda), Senecio
vernalis Waldst. & Kit. (Frühlings-Greiskraut), Thymus
serpyllum L. (Sand-Thymian), Tragopogon dubius
Scop. (Großer Bocksbart), Verbascum chaixii
subsp. austriacum Vill. (Österreichische Königskerze).
Vulpia myuros (L.) Gmelin (Mäuse-Federschwingel) (According to Adler et al. 1994: 1006 - "rare to very rare, endangered, uncertain for Upper Austria" and Saxifraga tridactylites L. (Finger-Steinbrech) (According to Adler et al. 1994: 378 - "sparse to rare, endangered") are worth mentioning because large numbers of them were found e.g. in the area of railway stations of Neumarkt/Kallham and Wels.
Analysis of the species list:
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| Light factor | 7,3 plant generally in well lit place |
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| Temperature factor | 6,0 between indicative of fairly warm
conditions and
warmth indicative, in warm lowland sites |
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| Moisture factor | 4,3 between dry-site indicative and moist-site indicative |
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| Reaction factor | 7,0 indicative of weakly acid to weakly basic conditions |
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| Nitrogen factor | 5,2 indicative of moderate acid soils |
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(For the calculation of the average figures only the most frequent species were considered, the range indication covers all species.)
29 % Submediterranean
14 % Eurasiatic
13 % Eurasiatic-subozeanic
10 % Nordic
8 % Mediterranean
6 % Eurasiatic-continental
6 % Subatlantic
3 % Continental
3 % Temperate-continental
8 % others (less than 3 %)
Most of the railway plants have Sub-Mediterranean characteristics, they come from the south. Only then come the "Eastern-plants".
No plant from the West was found apart from two species, which had 'escaped' from gardens. This is interesting because the wind usually comes from the west. It appears to prove migration along the railway tracks. This distribution is strongly influenced by man.
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| Annual average
(1981-1990): |
Lowest day-time average
(1981-1990): |
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| Wels: | 9,1 °C | - 20,6 °C |
| Neumarkt i.H. | 7,9 °C | - 27,8 °C |
The vegetation along the railway tracks is almost the same as the surrounding vegetation because the embankment consists of moist soil due to the vicinity of the river "Pram" and the indigenous plants cover the whole embankment. In the dry conditions between the sleepers and next to the rails only "specialists" can survive.
The railway stations, however, offer the plants variable conditions concerning moisture, acidity, nutriments, etc. On the station tracks you can find a lot of rare, and also several new species. There is enough space for newcomers to grow because of the regular use of herbicides. A railway station is a habitat in its own right and deserves further investigation.
47,0 % hemicryptophyte (hibernating buds near the soil surface)
29,5 %therophyte (overwinters as a seed)
5,6 % herbaceous chamaephyte (hibernating buds above the soil)
5,5 % geophyte (hibernating buds beneath the soil surface)
4,1 % phanerophyte (trees, but mostly small)
3,3 % liana or vine
3,2 % nanophanerophyte (shrub or small tree)
0,7 % wooden chamaephyte (dwarf shrub)
0,7 % hydrophyte (aquatic, buds normally under water)
0,2 % hemi-parasite
0,2 % holo-parasite
0,0 % epiyphyte
In May 1997 herbicide was used between Schärding and Neumarkt/Kallham. Two weeks after that most plants were dead, including rare and endangered species such as Anthemis ruthenica in Schärding. Herbicides are becoming more and more ineffective because more and more plants have become immune to them
The mainproblem is the danger to the ground water or the risk of herbicides being blown on to the wheatfields by the wind, where it enters our food chain (forever?).
Annual precipitation (1901-1990): 889 mm
Air temperature - annual average (1981-1990): 8,15 °C
Highest daytime average (1981-1990): 26,3 °C
Lowest daytime average (1981-1990): -27,8 °C
(measured in Neumarkt i.H.)
(Information courtesy of Land OÖ.)
Altitude: Schärding 313 m
Neumarkt i.H. 386 m
Wels 313 m
Layers of soil: humus, loam, marl
Railway ballast: mostly "Schärdinger Granit", serpentine, chlorite shale etc.
Material of the platforms: granite gravel or slag
This survey was carried out as part of an extended Hausarbeit for the Pädagogische Akademie der Diözese LINZ from May to August 1997.
Tutors: HR Mag. Dr. Wilfried Dunzendorfer, Rohrbach
and Dr. Wolfgang Neuper (Didactics).
Scientific adviser: OStR Mag. Helmut Melzer, Zeltweg.
(Joint trips to the railway stations of Schärding, Andorf, Neumarkt/Kallham
and Wels)
Michael Hohla, Obernberg am Inn, January 1998