The Danube-Auen National Park protects a large area of lowland forests, meadows, wetlands, and other riparian habitat along the Danube just downstream of Vienna.

In the 1950s, development began of a nearly unbroken chain of hydroelectric power plants and associated dams on the Austrian section of the Danube River.

After police tried several times to clear protestors from the area, in December 1984 the Federal Government declared a pause for reflection.

The most important result of these studies was that the Danube lowlands area (Donau-Auen) in and east of Vienna was determined to be worthy of becoming a national park.

With the variety of insects living on both land and water, and other invertebrates, the total number of species in Donau-Auen National Park is estimated to be at least 5,000.

In a natural riparian ecosystem woody plants and deadwood have a strong impact on the natural flow dynamics, by stabilizing riverbanks, by reducing erosion, and by creating areas of reducing or increased flow rates, and thus affecting in which areas sediments are deposited or removed.

Large tree trunks and accumulations of smaller flotsam cause the water to stagnate and the speed of the current to drop, leading to increased sedimentation.