2009-11-30 Lower Austria, district Bruck-Leitha (160 m AMSL).The oak tree seems to have been struck by lightning; the wild privet around and in front of it hadn't shed its leaves yet.
Kohler's Medizinal-Pflanzen in naturgetreuen Abbildungen mit kurz erlauterndem Texte :.Gera-Untermhaus :Fr. Eugen Kohler,[1883-1914].biodiversitylibrary.org/page/303622
2010-11-01 Lower Austria, district Gnserndorf (just outside of the WWF nature reserve March-Auen, 141 m AMSL).An oak tree attacked by a beaver; see also this photo.German name: Europischer Biber
2010-11-01 Lower Austria, district Gnserndorf (just outside of the WWF nature reserve March-Auen, 141 m AMSL).To the left you can see the way the beaver comes: from the water, obviously. Oak wood is very tough, and usually (in my experience) beavers prefer the softer wood of Salix and Populus species. (Also, it is less palatable - see remark of Sciadopitys below.) See also this shot here.Beavers were extinct in Austria and almost extinct in Europe some decades ago; since the 1970ies a project to re-install them again proofed to be extremely successful: the tree-felling rodents have become a common occurrence again (and even a nuisance, say some: I've heard reports of them felling trees in gardens right here in Vienna).German name: Europischer Biber
A few oak seedlings appear in the garden each year, possibly planted by Grey Squirrels. This is the first I've allowed to grow to acorn-bearing size, and the first year it has produced them.
2011-09-04 Lower Austria, district Bruck/Leitha, Leithagebirge: Growischerberg (320 msm Quadrant 8065/4).Oak species of this forest: mainly Quercus cerris and Quercus robur, not here (as far as I can tell) but elsewhere in the region also Quercus pubescens, while Quercus petraea either is rare here or not present at all.Other broadleaf tree species: Carpinus betulus (very common), Fagus sylvatica (relatively rare), and a few other species mixed in.Bottom-left corner: Solidago canadensis - Kanada-GoldruteThis forest is exploited through 'Niederwaldwirtschaft' (short-rotation coppice - see also remarks here) which means clear cutting of a greater area every 20 or 30 years (here, I guess, it is nearer to 30 than 20 years), which isn't bad for nature per se - however, in this case a huge area has been cut down (while usually it's only small quadrants), and this is disturbing natural habitats greatly.