Stand structure and natural regeneration of Taxus baccata at "Stiwollgraben" in Austria

English yew (Taxus baccata L.) is a rare tree species in Austria and gene conservation forests reserves are used to maintain English yew populations by silvicultural treatments. This paper describes the current situation of an English yew population at “Stiwollgraben”in Austria with regard to stand structure, vitality and natural regeneration. The area is one of the most important sites in Austria as it consists of 2236 yews.The vitality condition of the yew is very good, and more than 79% of the yews have been assessed as very vital to vital. The potentiality for natural regeneration (13019 one-year seedlings ha–1) is very high, but not all height classes are represented. This indicates a high survival ability of English yew at this site. Three different treatment strategies are described to maintain the yew population. The future effects of these treatments are discussed in the light of the environmental requirements of English yew.