It is important to know whether a property is a forest or not. This is because the application of the Forest Act with all its provisions and all ancillary laws is based on this. Especially in urban areas, such as in the suburbs of conurbations, it is not always immediately apparent whether a forest is present or not. For real estate valuations in particular, it is important to obtain a precise overview of the type of use of the property.

”The legal definition of § 1a FostG reads: ‘Forests within the meaning of this Federal Act are areas of land stocked with wood plants of the species listed in the annex (forest vegetation), provided that the stocking covers an area of at least 1,000 m² and an average width of 10 m.’ [1]

In the annex of the law, you can find, for example, trees like spruce, fir, or beech, as well as shrubs like hazel as forest vegetation. Property boundaries are not an obstacle for an area of 1,000m². For size assessment, the contiguous forest area is to be considered.

If the forest stand is removed, for example, through use, the forest property in the sense of § 1a Abs 1 ForstG remains in effect.[2] In this case, the obligation to reforest must be observed.[3]

If forestry infrastructure facilities are constructed on forest areas for the purpose of management, such as forest roads or skid trails, these “areas” are considered forest.[4]

The following are not considered forest:

1. Lightly vegetated areas with a canopy cover of less than 30% that are older than 60 years and are not used for forestry.[5] An area is also considered to be used for forestry if the forest stand is left to natural regeneration.[6] Canopy cover refers to the projection of the tree canopy onto the ground.

2. Areas characterized by a “park-like structure” and not serving forestry purposes. If “park plants” (e.g. hedges) are planted in the forest and the goal is to create a park, the area is still considered a forest.

3. Shrub areas that are not forestally used. Exceptions to this are coppice, protection forests, and forests under protection order. They are considered forests within the meaning of § 1a of the Forest Act. Coppice is characterized by stump shoots and is therefore also referred to as shoot forest. The legal definition of protection forests can be found in § 21 of the Forest Act, and for forests under protection order in § 27 of the Forest Act.

4. Fundamentally, tree rows. With the exception of windbreaks.[10] “Windbreaks are to be understood as strips or rows of trees or shrubs that primarily serve to protect against wind damage, particularly for agricultural land, as well as snow retention.” [11]

5. Short-rotation areas with a rotation period of less than 30 years, forest gardens, forest seed plantations, Christmas tree plantations, plantations for fruit production (walnut).[12]

Also important is: Forest in relation to the boundary and land tax cadastre.

If a land area (plot of land or part of a plot of land) is assigned to the land use type ‘forest’ in the boundary cadastre or land tax cadastre and 1. a permanent clearance permit has not been granted for this land area or 2. a reported permanent clearance of this land area has not been carried out in accordance with § 17a, then it shall be considered as forest within the meaning of this Federal Act, until the authority has determined that it is not a forest. [13]

Furthermore, the provisions on reforestation according to § 4 of the Forest Act (ForstG) must be observed. These will not be explained in more detail here.

If there are doubts as to whether an area constitutes a forest within the meaning of § 1a of the Forest Act (ForstG), an application should be submitted to the forestry authority pursuant to § 5 of the Forest Act to determine the forest status. The authority will then issue a decision on the forest characteristics of the affected area.

Stand 02.02.2022

Fö. Ing. Dominique Ebner