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The dwarf bulrush (Typha minima Funk ex Hoppe) is considered as a sensitive target species in natural alpine river landscapes. It disappeared from many rivers due to straightening, thus reintroduction efforts for species conservation have been initiated. Recently, at the Inn river between Stams and Rietz, i.e. a section of about 3 kilometres, the river bed was widened up to 75 meters and a branch as well as a back water zone were created and bank protection was removed. This measure provides potential habitats for T. minima, thus its reintroduction was carried out in 2023 along the banks. Plants originated from an ex-situ culture from the Botanical Garden of the University of Innsbruck, where propagation was carried out with seeds from the Lech catchment. Only 2 weeks after the reintroduction of 1500 plants, a 100-year flood occurred, which washed away many plants and only 17 remained. Thus, additional specimens (n = 37) were planted. Overall, in November 2023 a total of 54 specimens were established and genetically characterised to assess the initial genetic composition for subsequent monitoring. In June and July 2024, again high flows affected the stocks. However, at several sites the stocks were able cope with these conditions and may form a new population along the Inn river.

Translocations are applied in the context of infrastructure projects to preserve certain vegetation types. Within the EIA of a large hydropower project in the Austrian Alps, manifold mitigation measures were defined. Among those, the transplantation of about 1.4 ha Carex-fen at an altitude of about 2000 m was defined. One year before the start of the construction works in 2021, basic infrastructure (roads) was established and different ecological measures were undertaken, e.g. translocation of amphibians to newly constructed habitats as well as the transplantation of the Carex-fen. The turf was cut from the initial area with an adjusted excavator shovel, delivered to a wheel loader which brought each single turf immediately to the target area, where another excavator mounted the turf in a pre-arranged area. At the donor site more than ½ of the area was based on wet gley, while especially areas in the vicinity of the river were based on fluvial gravel. With the 30 to 70 cm thick turfs also animals, e.g. Odonata, were transferred. Before the translocation a monitoring of the donor sites was carried out. The monitoring concept foresees a detailed monitoring of the newly established sites for 10 years. Herein we provide insights in the applied technology and summarize first results of the monitoring. Overall, our project is unique regarding the vegetation type, the technology, the size and the intensity of monitoring.