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COVID-19-induced visitor boom reveals the importance of forests as critical infrastructure
Abstract
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, countries around the globe have implemented a certain degree of lockdown, restricting citizens' freedom of movement and freedom of assembly. This article aims to illustrate the impact that the measures against the spread of COVID-19 have on forest recreation, building on a study in an urban context around Bonn (Germany) that was conducted between April 2019 and February 2020. The quantitative and qualitative data on urban forest visits from that study were supplemented with new census data supported by selected expert interviews. We found that visitor numbers since the inception of COVID-19 measures in March 2020 have more than doubled. Visitor patterns have drastically shifted, from an even distribution throughout the day with small peaks before and after office hours to a culmination in the late afternoon. Lastly, the interviewed forestry professionals have noted that a new set of visitors, i.e. young people, families with children and non-locals, has arrived to the forest. This influx of more and novice visitors poses challenges for forest managers and urban forest policy. It is, however, also a unique opportunity for a substantial engagement of forestry with society at large, that has implications for forest policy, especially in urban areas, possibly beyond the COVID-19 pandemic era.
... A comparison of forest visitor numbers and distribution before and during the COVID-19 lockdown in Bonn, Germany, showed that there was a significant increase in forest visitations, and visitor patterns drastically shifted from an even distribution throughout the day with small peaks before and after office hours to a culmination in the late afternoon [27]. From a global-scale analysis, the frequency of visits to urban parks was much higher during COVID-19 when compared to the pre-pandemic baseline [28]. ...
... Visitation to green spaces is a common COVID-19 coping strategy promoted by state and national public health officials and political leadership [28]. Forests have long been reservoirs for human health and well-being, and the COVID-19 pandemic reaffirmed that visitor experiences in the woods provide these essential services [27]. After reopening from the initial closure of national parks in the U.S. followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, visitation numbers to national parks almost immediately rebounded [51]. ...
... However, sudden and unusual events often result in short-term changes in visitations. Derks et al., Geng et al., Grima et al., and Kupfer et al. in [27,28,32,51] showed six popular national parks in the United States as an example, the visitation of the national parks fell sharply in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak when compared with visitation numbers in 2019. As restrictions eased, and people were allowed to resume enjoying the benefits of outdoor recreation, the visitor numbers returned to 2019 levels by late summer and early fall in 2020. ...
COVID-19 global pandemic has caused massive disruption of travel behaviors along with other aspects of human life, such as social distancing, staying at home, and avoiding crowds. People substituted outdoor activities for indoor activities, and the forest environment has become a popular alternative. Taiwan has a high population density, but it had few COVID-19 confirmed cases in 2020 during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. No forest areas have been closed due to the COVID-
19 outbreak. In light of this generally increased demand for suburban forests for recreational uses, the current COVID-19 pandemic situation poses specific challenges regarding forest use, management, and policy. This study integrates visitation numbers of the popular forest recreation area and selects the unblocking index and social distancing index as the COVID-19 index to capture the impacts of
forest recreation area on the COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan. The results show both COVID-19 indices have high explanatory power for suburban forest visitation and both have a significant impact on the number of visitors. Although the number of visitors to suburban forests decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic alert, it bounced when the COVID-19 outbreak was under control. This study provides a brief overview of management implications for recreational visits during COVID-19. We posed an early warning to forest managers for greater revenge traveling post-COVID-19.
... A comparison of forest visitor numbers and distribution before and during the COVID-19 lockdown in Bonn, Germany, showed that there was a significant increase in forest visitations, and visitor patterns drastically shifted from an even distribution throughout the day with small peaks before and after office hours to a culmination in the late afternoon [27]. From a global-scale analysis, the frequency of visits to urban parks was much higher during COVID-19 when compared to the pre-pandemic baseline [28]. ...
... Visitation to green spaces is a common COVID-19 coping strategy promoted by state and national public health officials and political leadership [28]. Forests have long been reservoirs for human health and well-being, and the COVID-19 pandemic reaffirmed that visitor experiences in the woods provide these essential services [27]. After reopening from the initial closure of national parks in the U.S. followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, visitation numbers to national parks almost immediately rebounded [51]. ...
... However, sudden and unusual events often result in short-term changes in visitations. Derks et al., Geng et al., Grima et al., and Kupfer et al. in [27,28,32,51] showed six popular national parks in the United States as an example, the visitation of the national parks fell sharply in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak when compared with visitation numbers in 2019. As restrictions eased, and people were allowed to resume enjoying the benefits of outdoor recreation, the visitor numbers returned to 2019 levels by late summer and early fall in 2020. ...
... Forest managers face the need to adapt forest areas for the needs of recreation, which is currently one of the challenges of forest management (eggers et al. 2019). The growing demand for recreation in the forest led not only to conflicts between foresters and society, but also between various groups of forest users before the coronavirus disease pandemic (Derks et al. 2020;Wilkes-Allemann et al. 2020). The reasons for the conflicts included different expectations of the society regarding forest management and investment in forest areas, as well as excessive traffic (recreation) in forests (Nousiainen, Molayudego 2022). ...
... Considering all these circumstances, the role of green areas in improving human well-being has become even more evident (Dushkova et al. 2021;zhang et al. 2021). During the pandemic, the demand for recreational opportunities in forests also increased (Derks et al. 2020;Pichlerová et al. 2021;Ciesielski et al. 2022). Recreation in forest areas and its accessibility have also been the subject of numerous debates at various levels of decision-making (Derks et al. 2020;Venter et al. 2020). ...
... During the pandemic, the demand for recreational opportunities in forests also increased (Derks et al. 2020;Pichlerová et al. 2021;Ciesielski et al. 2022). Recreation in forest areas and its accessibility have also been the subject of numerous debates at various levels of decision-making (Derks et al. 2020;Venter et al. 2020). However, as Weinbrenner et al. (2021) note, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and numerous restrictions implemented by national governments meant that society had to relearn how to relax in the forest. ...
ciesielski M., Tkaczyk M., 2023. Visits in forests during the COVID-19 pandemic in the cross-border area of Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. Quaestiones Geographicae 42(2), Bogucki Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Poznań, pp. 71-84. 4 figs. absTracT: Mobile phone data were used to examine the differences in the number and structure of visitors to the Forest Promotion Complex Sudety Zachodnie in 2019 (pre-pandemic year) and 2020 (pandemic year). The studies not only compared the total number of visitors in each year, but also distinguished four pandemic and restriction periods. This allowed us to capture the dynamics of the impact of the pandemic on visits to forest areas. The results show that although the total number of visitors increased in 2020 compared to 2019, different trends were observed in each pandemic period. In general, the number of visitors to forest areas decreased during the first lockdown, as well as during the ban on entering green areas and forests. However, during the easing of restrictions and the second lockdown in the fall of 2020, there was an increase in visitor numbers. The article also shows the evolution of visitor numbers at a very detailed level of a grid of 750 × 750 m. During the pandemic, the structure of visitors also changed taking into account the place of residence. Local tourism was more important than national tourism. A significant decrease in the number of visitors from abroad was also observed, which is a consequence of the introduced restrictions on travel between countries. The methodology presented in this article can be used not only to study the impact of the pandemic on visits in forest, but also to manage forest areas with a view to adapting forest management to the needs of society.
... In some cases, illness or forced isolation may have prevented people from visiting nearby nature. Alternatively, adoption of remote working policies may have increased some individuals' available time for nature interactions in their neighborhood (Derks et al., 2020;Soga et al., 2021). At the same time, it is also possible that motivation to interact with nature was affected; there is some evidence that the importance of nature experiences increased during the lockdowns (da Schio et al., 2021;Rousseau and Deschacht, 2020). ...
... Recent research efforts have focused on exploring such changes in nature interactions during the pandemic. However, existing studies either relied on perceived changes in nature interactions (Grima et al., 2020;Randler et al., 2020) or measured changes through indirect data on green spaces visitation (e.g., mobile phone geolocation) (Day, 2020;Derks et al., 2020). To date, no longitudinal study, to our knowledge, has compared experiences of nature before and during the lockdowns, among the same individuals. ...
... The COVID-19 pandemic largely modified our interactions with nature (Soga et al., 2021). While previous studies found both increases and decreases (e.g., Day, 2020;Derks et al., 2020) in nature interactions during the pandemic, our repeated surveys among the same individuals provided empirical evidence of a large decrease in urban nature experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown. Contrasting results across studies may be due to cultural differences in human-nature relationships, as people use and value nature differently across cultures . ...
Nature provides a myriad of intangible and non-material services to people. However, urbanites are increasingly disconnected from the natural world. The consequences of this progressive disconnection from nature remain difficult to measure as this process is slow and long-term monitoring or large-scale manipulation on nature experiences are scarce. Measures to contain the spread of the recent covid-19 pandemic (i.e., lockdowns) have potentially reduced or even suppressed nature experiences in cities. This situation provided an opportunity for conducting a longitudinal study that can serve as a sort of natural experiment to quantify the effects of nature deprivation on individuals' health, well-being and relationship to nature. We collected data on these variables from the same individuals inhabiting a large metropolis (Tel Aviv, Israel) twice, in 2018 (before) and during the lockdown in 2020. Our results confirmed that frequency, duration and quality of nature interactions dropped during the lockdown, while environmental attitudes and affinity towards nature remained similar. This was particularly true for people living in the least green neighborhoods, where a significant decrease in personal and social well-being was also found. Finally, affinity towards nature influenced well-being through nature experiences in 2018. The mediation effect was not significant in 2020, probably due to the decrease in nature experiences during the lockdown, but the direct relationship between affinity towards nature and well-being remained strong. These results provide insights into the means required to align the public health and conservation agendas to safeguard urbanites' health and well-being during a pandemic and mitigate the biodiversity crisis.
... This decline has had large economic impacts, as Spennemann and Whitsed (2021) found that changes in recreation patterns led to severe declines in economic activity. Contrarily, other studies concluded that the pandemic led to visitor booms within forests (Derks et al., 2020a). ...
... The changes in recreation patterns from the pandemic pose additional challenges as well as opportunities for federal agencies such as the National Park Service, the US Forest Service (FS), and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), along with state, regional, and municipal entities that manage large quantities of land that provide recreation opportunities. Specifically, increases in visitation raise the risk of damage and also increase management costs (Buckley, 1991), as higher visitation levels might strain key ecosystem services, such as water resources, and increase wildfire risks (Derks et al., 2020a). This is especially true for the western United States with a more arid climate (Osterkamp and Friedman, 2000) and a greater amount of public land (Leonard et al., 2021) than the eastern states. ...
... This is consistent with other studies that have documented pandemic-induced changes in recreation behavior, either negatively (e.g., Landry et al., 2021) or positively (e.g., Derks et al., 2020b). The results also support previous findings that recreational activity has increased in remote, forested areas (Derks et al., 2020a), which might be due to the ability to socially distance in these locations. This paper extends the work examining recreation during the COVID-19 pandemic by showing that the increased visitation has led to a change in the valuation of recreational amenities. ...
Understanding behavioral changes in the usage of outdoor recreational resources is important for the management of landholding agencies and organizations like the US Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management. Although the costs of operating these resources are often contrasted with the values they offer, little is known about how the values of benefits change in times of crisis. This work investigates the effect of a public health crisis - the COVID-19 pandemic - on recreation patterns and economic values for two wilderness areas in California: Desolation Wilderness and the Inyo Wilderness Area. The effects of the pandemic are estimated using a set of count data models with a robust set of controls. Results show that the value of recreating in wilderness areas increased during the pandemic, albeit temporarily. Further, we find that the group size and duration are important factors that determine the value of forest recreation.
... Over the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented changes in the everyday lifestyles of most people worldwide. Imposed public health and economic restrictions in the form of social distancing, lockdowns, home isolation and drastically reduced time spent outdoors have left a strong mark on the mental and physical state of millions of people [6,[10][11][12][13][14]17]. The influence of restrictions was severe in the area of TFE MF Křtiny, but not in the way that the authorities expected. ...
... The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021 changed the lifestyles of local communities and entire societies [11,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]. Globally, pre-pandemic UGS, such as parks or primeval forests, provide many services and benefits to people and biodiversity. ...
... Globally, pre-pandemic UGS, such as parks or primeval forests, provide many services and benefits to people and biodiversity. Particularly in urban forests-located on the outskirts of cities-significant increases in visitation were observed during this period, e.g., in Bonn or Freiburg (Germany) [11,20], Krtiny (Czech Republic) [19], Burlington, Vermont (USA) [26] and Kanas (China) [21]. The analysis of the number of visits during the strongest restrictions shows a large number of people visiting such areas. ...
Urban forests provide benefits in terms of the environment and society. Many people living in urban areas could profit from the recreational services provided by urban forests to alleviate the physical and psychological stresses caused by closure restrictions during the COVID-19 epidemic. However, limited research has been conducted on the role of forest recreation during the COVID-19 lockdown to support future policy decisions regarding such dramatic circumstances. The study aims to investigate the frequency of visitors in the reference Training Forest Enterprise Masaryk Forest Křtiny in Brno, Czech Republic, and to verify if the lockdown led to its intensified use, under the context of weather conditions. Data were collected using a Pyro Box Compact reader and TRAFx Infrared Trail Counter. Regression analysis was performed to determine whether individual weather factors significantly influenced the intensity of forest visitations before and during COVID-19. The number of visits in 2021 during the strict lockdown and post-lockdown periods was significantly higher during spring and autumn than in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The frequency pattern of forest users visibly changed in 2021, and the total number of visits was much higher, even though 2021 had worse weather than the reference years before the pandemic. The results show the recreational use and importance of the forest, especially during the pandemic. This work is a continuation of our previous research with regard to this area, which indicated the importance of forest recreational services for the well-being and health of city dwellers.
... Analysing the impact of local interventions on Polish forest policy and governance contributes to a better understanding of factors impacting forest policy in a centralised post-socialist context (Lawrence, 2009;Sikor et al., 2009;Weiland, 2010) and sheds light on the mechanisms of bottom-up mobilisation concerning forest management and their role in institutional change contributing towards more polycentric governance arrangements (Bixler, 2014) and integrated forest management (Aggestam et al., 2020). It also contributes to the literature on the impact of Covid-19 epidemic on forest management (Derks et al., 2020). ...
... As expected by some commentators (Logmani et al., 2017;Paschalis-Jakubowicz, 2020), rapid changes in the socio-economic and environmental context have challenged the dominant position of expertise and professional beliefs and norms of forests and have highlighted the need to transition from a hierarchical governance to participatory approaches based on networking. We argue that the Covid-19 pandemic was particularly instrumental in the development of the new advocacy coalition, as it stimulated local interest in forest managementlocal people were for some time prohibited from leaving homes and entering forests and then their mobility was limited, which made them rediscover local forests as recreation spaces, as also observed in other countries (Derks et al., 2020;Stanturf and Mansuy, 2021). Also, to escape crowded cities, urban people were increasingly interested in buying second homes in the countryside and were spending more time in them (Czarnecki et al., 2021). ...
... Through networking and policy-oriented learning local interventions reached a critical mass difficult to ignore by dominant actors in the subsystem. This finding corroborates earlier studies suggesting that, with regard to forest policy, Covid-19 pandemic increased the pressure on forest decision-making to respond to new expectations, demands and outcomes, particularly through greater local involvement in forest management (Derks et al., 2020;Saxena et al., 2021). The new contribution of this study illustrates how new local demands, strengthened by pandemics, bring about institutional adjustments to existing arrangements in the context of centralised, top-down governance. ...
... Scholars worldwide have been interested in the changes in urban green space utilization patterns and value perceptions after COVID-19 [1]. They have found that urban landscape utilization has increased in green spaces that allow for outdoor activities [5][6][7][8][9][10], and the role of green space in health promotion is being increasingly valued [3,9,[11][12][13][14]. In addition, from a social equity perspective, the importance of accessibility has been emphasized to ensure that anyone, anywhere, can easily reach green spaces [9,11,14,15]. ...
... In addition, from a social equity perspective, the importance of accessibility has been emphasized to ensure that anyone, anywhere, can easily reach green spaces [9,11,14,15]. The preferences for and visits to urban and suburban forests with dense trees and forests, abundant shade, and trails have increased [5,7]. This is important not only for physical health but also for mental health as it promotes stress reduction and psychological safety [11,14,16] and social health by allowing for social interactions and bonding [12,13,16]. ...
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, urban forests have become important restorative environmental spaces for which demand-customized management based on users’ experiences is needed. We collected 21,557 data points from blogs from January 2020 to December 2021. For data analysis, keyword frequency, term frequency–inverse document frequency, and sentiment analyses were conducted using TEXTOM 4.0, and a semantic linkage network was established and analyzed using Gephi 0.92. In the analyses, the restorative environment components of “being away”, “fascination”, “extent”, and “compatibility” were derived from users’ experiences. Fascination, which stems from natural objects such as rocks, valleys, and trails, was derived the most frequently, and being away and compatibility, representing leisure activities such as climbing and walking, formed the largest cluster in cluster analysis. Sentiment analysis revealed a high positive word rate of 91.6%, with favorable feelings accounting for 87.5%, whereas the proportion of joy and interest (12.5%) was relatively low. In addition, this study showed that hard fascinations such as sports, entertainment, and education are required to improve the experience quality in urban forests as restorative environments. Hence, the necessity of local government policies and projects is emphasized.
... Scholars worldwide have been interested in the changes in urban space utilization patterns and value perceptions after COVID-19. They have found that urban space utilization has increased in green spaces that allow for outdoor activities [4][5][6][7][8][9][10], and the role of green space in health promotion is being valued more [2,8,[11][12][13][14]. In addition, from a social equity perspective, the importance of accessibility has been emphasized to ensure that anyone, anywhere can easily reach green spaces [8,11,14,15]. ...
... In addition, from a social equity perspective, the importance of accessibility has been emphasized to ensure that anyone, anywhere can easily reach green spaces [8,11,14,15]. The preference for and use of forests with dense vegetation, abundant shade, and trails has increased [4,6,10]. This is important not only for physical health, but also for mental health as it promotes stress reduction and psychological safety [11,14], and social health by allowing for social interactions and bonding [12,13]. ...
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, urban forest mountains have become important restorative environmental spaces, and demand-customized management based on users’ experiences is needed. We collected 21,557 data points from blogs from January 2020 to December 2021. For data analysis, keyword frequency, term frequency-inverse document frequency, and sentiment analyses were conducted using TEXTOM 4.0, and a semantic linkage network was established and analyzed using Gephi 0.92. In the analyses, the restorative environment components of “being away” “fascination,” “extent,” and “compatibility” were derived from users’ experiences. Fascination, which stems from natural objects such as rocks, valleys, and trails, was derived the most frequently, and being away and compatibility, representing leisure activities such as climbing and walking, formed the largest cluster in cluster analysis. Sentiment analysis revealed a high positive word rate of 91.6%, with favorable feelings accounting for 87.5%, whereas the proportions of joy and interest (12.5%) were relatively low. This study showed that leisure activities related to nature objects had a positive impact. However, joy and interest, which correspond to vitality, were relatively lacking in the restorative experience. To improve restorative experience quality, diversification of leisure activities should be promoted and customized management plans corresponding to restorative environment components developed.
... Recent studies show some measures have had a negative impact on people's mental wellbeing, especially in vulnerable groups and right after the inception of the lockdown measures (Schwinger et al. 2020). There are indications that the lockdown has influenced forest recreation both in terms of visitor numbers (Derks et al. 2020;Venter et al. 2020) and in terms of attitude towards the role and the importance of forests and forest management (Hunziker 2020;Rice et al. 2020;da Schio et al. 2021). The emerging literature shows that in countries where forest visits remained possible, visitor numbers have greatly increased (Ugolini et al. 2020;Venter et al. 2021). ...
... Our study originally set out to analyse the importance of the previously mentioned social and cultural functions in the Kottenforst, a large peri-urban forest in the densely populated region of Bonn, Germany.Visitor counting as well as a large set of interviews were conducted in 2019, well before the COVID-19 pandemic. When the lockdown was established in March 2020, a drastic increase in visitor numbers was observed in the forest (Derks et al. 2020). Hence, we decided to investigate how this increase was related to the attitudes of the visitors and spontaneously conducted a second round of interviews with forest visitors during the lockdown. ...
Urban forests play a crucial role for the wellbeing of city dwellers, and their importance for people has been emphasised during the COVID-19 pandemic. This exploratory study analyses the visit patterns and visitor attitudes and perceptions in a peri-urban forest nearby Bonn, Germany, as well as the impact of the lockdown. Methodically, we combined automated visitor counting with a total of 345 on-site interviews. Respondents were asked a variety of open-ended and closed questions on various aspects of forest management and recreation. The results show that shortly after the inception of the lockdown the number of forest visitors doubled and the visit pattern changed markedly. In contrast, people’s associations with the forest remained rather stable. The forest visitors interviewed primarily associated the forest with tranquillity, recreation and fresh air, and they were generally positive about forest management. However, these expectations conflicted with the sense of crowdedness experienced during the lockdown, when novel forest uses and new motivations for visiting the forest arose, with an important focus on the forest as a place for social interaction. These were mainly a result of the lockdown restrictions, rather than COVID-19 itself, which left people with more time and flexibility, and less alternative activities. The results highlight the importance of forest management in catering to people’s expectations and ultimately for the role that forests play for people’s wellbeing. This was the case before the lockdown but arguably even more so during, in response to a variety of needs resulting from unprecedented circumstances.
... The visitor number in PAs presented here is incomplete because it does not include domestic visitors in conservation areas such as Annapurna and Manaslu, which receive a large number of domestic tourists for trekking and hiking. Our observation of increased domestic visitors to the PAs including urban recreational parks aligns with the national (e.g., Derks et al., 2020;Grima et al., 2020) as well as global level studies (Geng et al., 2021). The COVID-19 lockdowns and mobility restrictions have led to reduced social and physical contact, which can result in feelings of boredom, frustration, and isolation (Brooks et al., 2020). ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has had diverse impacts on global poverty, food security, and biodiversity conservation. While reports have highlighted both positive and negative effects of COVID-19 on biodiversity worldwide, the negative impacts have, in general, outweighed the positive ones. Despite initial reports and anecdotal evidence, there is a notable absence of country-specific empirical research assessing the COVID-19 impacts on biodiversity conservation. We documented the COVID-19 impacts on Nepal's conservation sector by analyzing the trends of tourist visitation and revenues in Nepal's protected areas, examining the progress on conservation programs at national and individual protected area levels, evaluating research and conservation activities, and recording the experiences of conservation practitioners. Our results, based on two online surveys and reviews of the government documents showed that the pandemic has had adverse effects on nature-based tourism, particularly leading to a significant reduction in visitation numbers to the protected areas. Furthermore, the progress of conservation programs and actions, and research activities in Nepal also suffered. Nevertheless, government agencies have maintained impressive progress in the planned activities. Protected area authorities continued to carry out critical conservation activities even during lockdowns, and most of the affected activities were resumed once the lockdowns were lifted. The study's result is critical in mitigating the impacts of global crises such as COVID-19 on protected areas and in enhancing their resilience for the future.
... Visiting forest at least once a month was found to increase the preferences of the respondents (between 1.4 to 4.6 odd ratios) in utilizing all non-wood products, i.e., mushrooms, berries, honey, flowers, and herbs, combined with the younger-aged respondents for berries, honey, flowers, and herbs (Table 3), indicating the forests are visited by relatively physically active attendees. In contrast to the negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the national economy in general, a considerable increase in the number of forests visits was observed, as confirmed by several studies in Europe, such as in Germany (66) and Slovakia (67). A study in the Western Italian Alps also reported that forest cultural service was gaining more attention than the provisioning function after the pandemic (68), implying the potential recreational service development for improving human wellbeing. ...
With the alarming increase in dying trees and massive logging in the Czech forests due to bark beetle infestation, the collection of non-wood forest products, a beneficial recreational activity in the Czech Republic, is now being promoted as an alternative to wood provisioning services. This paper aims to present findings on the non-wood forest product preferences in the country as part of a baseline assessment for promoting the usage. This study relied on the 2019 national survey data of public preferences in collecting forest berries, mushrooms, honey, and medicinal herbs. K-means cluster analysis was employed to classify the respondents. A binary logistic regression with a conditional forward approach was employed to identify the potential predictors of the high preference for each non-wood forest product. Data from 1,050 online respondents were included, and two groups of respondents were clustered based on their preferences for the entire non-wood forest, i.e., higher and lower utilization. The regression analysis revealed that frequent forest visitors were the primary predictor of high utilization of all non-wood forest products (between 1.437 to 4.579 odd ratios), in addition to age, gender, and location of the forest property. By clustering the respondents based on the high and low preferences in utilizing non-wood forest products, the promotion of this service, from recreational to potential livelihood activities and economic benefits, can be better targeted, e.g., target customer, infrastructure development in the location with high preferences, scenarios based on the type of owners (municipal or private forest owners), which in accordance to the national forest policy and laws, and, at the same time, maintain the ecological stability.
... Lockdowns of countries had an impact on changing travel behaviour. Many authors in their studies emphasise that tourists have rediscovered green space in their cities and a kind of return to nature has been observed, which also, in the post-COVID-19 era, has remained a popular leisure activity [37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. Also, an increasing number of tourists have found tourist products that have been created as a result of sustainable development and that promote slow tourism (characterised by time, conscious decision making, engaging the senses, holiday duration and location, and anti-commercialism) [44][45][46]. ...
The concept of sustainable mobility and related green travel will play an increasingly important role in the development of tourism and climate policy in the European Union. Initiated by the European Commission, Erasmus+ green travel is a new initiative and not yet researched by EU institutions or in the literature. However, it fits in with the literature research on green mobility. The aim of this paper was to assess whether young tourists are interested in green mobility, whether they are willing to use means of low-emission transport when making trips, what factors play a role in their means of transport choices, and whether risk aversion influences their choices. For the purpose of this work, the authors conducted a survey in Poland among 36 Polish and foreign people from Generation Z studying in Poland and taking advantage of the green travel program in the Erasmus+ program and an economic experiment regarding their level of risk taking. Based on these data, it was examined whether young tourists are interested in green mobility, what factors play an important role when choosing a low-emission means of transport, and whether the level of risk taking influences their choices. The results of the survey indicated that young tourists tend to choose means of high-emission transport or a mix of high- and low-emission transport. However, if they receive a financial incentive, they are willing to use means of low-emission transport when travelling. The results of this study also indicated that environmental factors do not influence the propensity of young tourists towards specific means of transport, including low-emission transport, and economic and cognitive factors play an important role. It was also found that there is some positive relationship between the level of risk taking of the traveller and the propensity to green travel.
... Due to the closure of schools, workplaces and indoor leisure facilities (such as gyms, cafes, and restaurants), outdoor green spaces were one of the few recreational places that remained accessible during periods of lockdown. Previous studies have indeed shown a general increase in green space use during the COVID-19 pandemic (Berdejo-Espinola et al., 2021;da Schio et al., 2021;Derks et al., 2020;Geng et al., 2021;Lu et al., 2021) and perceived access to public and private green space has been linked to better health and wellbeing during this time of crisis (Poortinga et al., 2021). However, also due to different levels of restrictions adopted on movements and on the use of public spaces, parks, and facilities during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in usage patterns varied across cities/countries (e.g., Italy and Israel banned any kind of physical exercise and walking farther than 100/200 m from home and going outdoors was allowed only for essential reasons; see Ugolini et al., 2020). ...
Our study examined the use of green spaces before and during the pandemic in a large cohort of Italian twins and evaluated its impact on measures of mental health (depressive, anxiety, stress symptoms). Twins were analysed as individuals and as pairs. A twin design approach was applied to minimize confounding by genetic and shared environmental factors. Questionnaires from 2,473 twins enrolled in the Italian Twin Registry were screened. Reduced green space use was associated with significantly higher levels of depression, anxiety and distress. Being a woman, residing in urban areas, and having a high perceived risk of the outbreak resulted in a higher likelihood to modify green space use, with a negative impact on mental health.
... Timko Olson et al. (2020) also carried out a review that focused on mindfulness and forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku) and suggest that during uncertain events these approaches can be useful in supporting those experiencing loneliness, isolation, and mental health problems. Derks et al. (2020) call for forests to be seen as critical infrastructure because of the increase in visitors to forests in Germany during the pandemic. A strong element of the media focus in Britain concerned how well-being could be supported whilst people were spending more time at home and were sometimes isolated from friends and family, whilst experiencing anxiety about disease spread, job security, and the future trajectory of the pandemic (Public Health England 2020). ...
COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic on 11 March 2020 and has meant entire populations have experienced a significant change in lifestyle. Restrictions in England occurred through a series of phases from a lockdown through to the opening of shops and facilities. The initial restrictions led to a strong media focus on nature and getting outdoors for exercise and mental well-being. Alongside this but not related to COVID-19, there is a strong policy focus on forest creation and expansion in England with debate about where new forests might be created, what benefits they might provide, and to whom. In this research, we explored, for those with an existing interest in nature, whether this connection to nature and specifically to trees and forests could support people in coping with the restrictions they faced during the pandemic. We carried out an online survey in England in June/July 2020 and received 3333 qualitative comments. We then carried out 25 follow-up interviews in August/September 2020 with a sample of those who had completed the survey. We use the Kübler-Ross change curve as a lens to explore people’s reactions and responses to the significant changes brought about by the COVID-19 crisis, with a focus on their experiences relating to trees and forests. The results highlight that some people did move through the four stages of change outlined in the Kübler-Ross framework, although not always in a linear process, from shock and denial, to resistance, to exploration, and adaptation. The change curve model proved useful in this study but also had some limitations. Engagement with forests supported some adaptation as well as exploration through people undertaking new activities, visiting local spaces, and spending more time outdoors with their children. We also found that the benefits of engaging with trees and forests could help to support people’s well-being in times of high anxiety. The study highlights the importance of trees and forests as part of people’s lives, and the role they can play in supporting them when faced with major challenges.
... 9,10 Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, Tuan 11 has suggested that a common instinct of humans is to escape to nature when they are confronted by harsh environmental changes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many studies have once again emphasized the importance for people to have access to nature 2,10,[12][13][14] Prior to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, scholarly inquiries regarding outdoor activities and the utilization of community common spaces in China have been undertaken since around 2000. [15][16][17][18] These investigations have revealed that despite variations in activity patterns among residents based on geographical location and housing conditions, a bond between residents and their neighborhood was nurtured through daily activities, such as greetings, chatting with neighbors, and recreational engagements within common spaces. ...
To examine the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) pandemic on the elderly, this study conducted field surveys of three communities in Zhengzhou City in China. The results showed that, outdoor activities and common space use by the elderly were not significantly affected by the pandemic. Through the reports of their lives under the general and the extreme (after restrictions on movement were imposed) conditions of the pandemic, we identified the value of activities on a daily basis and activities in the general definition to the elderly. This study also re‐recognized the role that was played by the use of common spaces that were located in close proximity to residential units during the pandemic.
... The population deprived of green space in their residential region might visit urban parks on weekdays during times of stress to enjoy the benefits provided by nature. A study on weekday urban forest recreation in Bonn, Germany found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were novice urban park visitors (e.g., young people), and recreation culmination occurred in the late afternoon, which differed from the common peaks seen before and after office hours 55 . Longitudinal studies on the health effects of urban green space recreation are also necessary. ...
The positive health effects of green space have received increasing attention, however, on-site surveys and city-level research to reveal the relationship between urban park recreation and urbanite health in metropolitan areas during a post-pandemic period are lacking. We conducted an on-site survey using a questionnaire with 225 respondents from 22 urban parks distributed across the metropolitan area of Beijing during the early COVID-19 eased period with another 1346 respondents in 2021 to make verification. We identified factors that could influence public perceptions of park quality and human health (i.e., physical, mental, and social health) and revealed gender differences in perceptions of park characteristics. The correspondence pattern of perceived urban park quality with social health is distinct from that of physical and mental health. Due to the strict social distancing policy in early COVID-19 period, urban parks in different levels of urbanization environment could exert varied health effects.
... Seit Anfang 2020 haben die Verbreitung des Corona-Virus und die dagegen ergriffenen Schutzmaßnahmen zu erheblichen Verhaltenseinschränkungen im Alltag geführt, die für die meisten Menschen auch Änderungen des Freizeitverhaltens mit sich brachten. Die Nachfrage nach Walderholung scheint auch in Deutschland deutlich gestiegen zu sein -nicht allein in Bezug auf die Gesamtzahl an Besuchen schlechthin, sondern auch durch den Zugewinn weiterer, bisher weniger waldaffiner Besucher (Derks et al. 2020). Es gibt derzeit noch keine neueren Untersuchungen, wie weit sich dies auch in höheren Zahlungsbereitschaften für Waldbesuche niederschlägt (und wie dauerhaft eine solche Änderung gegebenenfalls wirken wird); die hier mitgeteilten Zahlen geben daher den derzeitigen Wissensstand wieder. ...
... Some studies have indicated that, after the first COVID-19 lockdown, everything returned to normal, and the drastic increase in (urban) forest visits at the start of the lockdown was a temporary effect [45]. However, for people with disabilities in wheelchairs, the feeling of impossibility continues due to the often-inaccessible locations of high interest. ...
This research deals with the problem of the accessibility of urban forests and parks for people with disabilities in wheelchairs. Through an analysis of spatial data, trails were categorized on the basis of the measurements of the independent movements of eight subjects on six trails. The critical longitudinal slopes were determined for independent movement in wheelchairs, complex independent movement with certain risk, and categories of trails that are not suitable for wheelchair movement. The results indicate that a slope of 5.50% was the tipping point, after which all respondents experienced some uncertainty. In addition, a gradient of more than 9.01% was almost impassable for people in wheelchairs, with respect to the gravel trails examined in this study. Modern measurement technology was used in the field, including the mobile apps GAIA GPS and GNSS GPS, and a total (geodetic) station; the subjects’ heart rates were measured using a Garmin Fenix 6 Pro watch. In addition, people with disabilities were included in the implementation of the research through the Croatian Association of Paraplegics and Tetraplegics (HUPT). The results indicate the zones/trails that disabled people in wheelchairs can pass independently, the zones that can be accessed with a certain risk, and those that are not accessible, all according to the defined longitudinal slope zones using measurements of the movement of people in a wheelchair, their heart rate loads, and personal communication with the subjects regarding the insecurity they felt.
... The availability of good quality green areas has been proven to encourage more physical activity, which further has mental health benefits, and benefits are greater in green areas as opposed to those in less natural environments [17,18]. The recent COVID-19 pandemic clearly showed how much green areas in cities are important for strengthening physical and mental well-being of the urban population [19,20]. ...
The positive impacts of urban forests on residents’ health are widely acknowledged. However, the methods used to quantify and demonstrate this relation are still a focus of research. The aim of the paper is to examine the relationship between the size and quality of different urban green areas to residents’ health based on the face-to-face survey and remote sensing data at 12 locations in Belgrade. The socio-economic and self-perceived health characteristics were analyzed. Based on green areas’ size and pollution, municipalities were divided into “less green” and “green”. Vegetation quality was assessed by Sentinel-2 vegetation indexes (VI). Results show that residents in less green and green municipalities differ in physical, social, and emotional health. The quality of green areas was inversely proportional to the amount of money spent on medications and the number of doctor’s visits indicating potential mechanisms of the health benefits of green areas. The lack of facilities led to different appreciation among residents. Results suggest that the quality of green infrastructure is more important than the amount in promoting residents’ health. Relating the characteristics of green areas to visitors proved to improve the correlation between residents’ health and the quality of green areas.
... Urban green spaces, complemented by infrastructure in the form of footpaths and bicycle lanes, also provide a place for recreational activities, the positive and important importance of which was particularly recognised during the pandemic (Venter et al., 2021). Studies show that during the pandemic, forests played an important social role in terms of both mental and physical health (Derks et al., 2020). Urban vegetation is also an effective method to promote the reduction of heat intensity (Marando et al., 2022). ...
Motives: Rapid urbanisation and the associated spatial, environmental, and economic changes have shifted the researchers’ attention to modern cities. Urban green spaces are a vital component of sustainable development because they reduce noise, purify air, improve the local climate and rainwater quality, and provide numerous recreational and relaxation opportunities for the residents. The implementation of the green city concept can have a positive impact on both the environment and the quality of life in a city. Aim: The aim of the study was to analyse changes in the landscape and surface of urban green spaces, to present the structure of green areas, and to identify change trends in urban green spaces in the Polish city of Toruń and the Slovak city of Košice. The ecological resilience of the studied areas was also examined. Results: The results of the study indicate that the area occupied by urban green spaces (including urban green areas, sport and leisure facilities, and forests) continues to expand in the studied cities. The rate of increase was much higher, but still low, in the Slovak city of Košice. The analysis of change trends revealed that most industrial and commercial areas were developed in urban green spaces. At the same time, new green spaces were created mainly at the expense of semi-natural areas. Both Toruń and Košice are characterised by average landscape stability.
... According to Gołos (2003), a forest is a place where the inhabitants, especially of urban areas, can fulfill one of their basic needs i.e. contact with nature. This need was also noticeable during the COVID-19 pandemic (Derks et al., 2020;Ugolini et al., 2020). Recreation in forest areas can take various forms of active and passive recreation. ...
Motives: Unlike nature monitoring, recreational activities in forests are not monitored regularly or over wide areas. Therefore, research studies involving various methodologies are needed to generate valuable data for forest management.
Aim: The aim of the present study was to identify different types of forest recreational activities in Wdecki Landscape Park based on data recorded by seven camera traps between 12 December 2019 and 12 December 2020.
Results: The collected data revealed that walking, biking, and mushroom picking were the most popular recreational activities. Most activities were undertaken by single visitors or groups of two visitors between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., mostly on weekends and in the autumn.
... Conversely, the demand for companion animals increased as a result of the social quarantine policies established to slow the spread of the pandemic leaving many animal shelters empty (Frost, 2020;Oakes, 2020;Puente, 2020). Additionally, outdoor recreation was affected in number of trips, location of trips, and monetary value of trips when social and physical distancing policies limited access to other forms of entertainment (Derks et al., 2020;Landry et al., 2020;Randler et al., 2020;Rice et al., 2020;Howarth et al., 2021). ...
The novel COVID-19 virus caused a global pandemic disrupting lives, industries, and economies. The result was an impact on prices due to challenges with production and supply chain distribution. This study investigates the financial strain COVID-19 had on equine owners and leasers, what the market for equine care would bear if costs for care increased, and what factors contribute to their willingness-to-pay (WTP) for increasing cost of equine care. An online survey was distributed for 4 weeks to adult US residents. Respondents reported their involvement in the equine industry, financial response to COVID-19, and responses to a double-bound dichotomous choice question on their WTP for care given a randomized increase (1-20%) in their current cost (n = 506). Data were analyzed using interval regression models where a = 0.05 (Stata15). Respondents were separated into 3 groups: owner keeping their horse at their residence, owner boarding their equids, and leaser. Boarders reported mean monthly payments of 23.33 ± 90.37 USD (n = 15) for free board, 236.47 ± 151.92 USD, (n = 75) for partial board, and 514.75 ± 291.71 USD (n = 181) for full board. Results show all owners, leaser, and boarders have different WTP values which range from 18.5% to 26.2% increase in current care costs which extends beyond the presented range due to many respondents responding "yes" to both WTP questions (71% of owners, 6% of boarders, 65% of leasers). Equine owners, with on farm equids from the southern US were WTP 11% less than from other regions (P = 0.015). The current boarding fees from owners that board their equids lowered their WTP by 0.01% (P = 0.029) for each additional dollar paid, whereas current care costs were not a significant factor for other owners (P = 0.370) or leasers (P = 0.395). Those that had a full lease for their equids, housed on farm or at a facility, were WTP 15% higher (P = 0.036) than those that had a partial or no lease. In comparison, boarding status (full, partial, or no boarding) did not significantly (P = 0.51) impact boarder's WTP. Age of respondent and annual household income heterogeneously affected WTP across all groups. These results indicate the market for equine care can bear the increases in cost associated with financial distress related to COVID-19, and may aid equine owners, caregivers, and associated individuals in making informed decisions regarding essential care. Results from this study should be taken in context of the global pandemic and the restrictions in place, or lack thereof, at the time the survey was administered.
... Nature parks in particular, where human entry was not restricted, experienced sudden increases in the number of visitors and pressure on the ecosystem. Higher numbers of visitors were observed during lockdown periods (Cukor et al., 2021;Derks et al., 2020;Venter et al., 2020) or shortly after the ease of some restrictions (Day, 2020;McGinlay et al., 2020). For example, in a forest located northeast of the city Zlín in the Czech Republic, the visitation rate of humans in the forest areas increased over five-fold from 200 people per day in April 2019 to 1100 people per day in April 2020 (recorded by 14 randomly placed camera traps), resulting in increased disturbance of wildlife species (Cukor et al., 2021). ...
Expansion of urban areas, landscape transformation and increasing human outdoor activities strongly affect wildlife behaviour. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in particular led to drastic changes in human behaviour, exposing wildlife around the world to either reduced or increased human presence, potentially altering animal behaviour. Here, we investigate behavioural responses of wild boar (Sus scrofa) to changing numbers of human visitors to a suburban forest near Prague, Czech Republic, during the first 2.5 years of the COVID-19 epidemic (April 2019-November 2021). We used bio-logging and movement data of 63 GPS-collared wild boar and human visitation data based on an automatic counter installed in the field. We hypothesised that higher levels of human leisure activity will have a disturbing effect on wild boar behaviour manifested in increased movements and ranging, energy spent, and disrupted sleep patterns. Interestingly, whilst the number of people visiting the forest varied by two orders of magnitude (from 36 to 3431 people weekly), even high levels of human presence (>2000 visitors per week) did not affect weekly distance travelled, home range size, and maximum displacement of wild boar. Instead, individuals spent 41 % more energy at high levels of human presence (>2000 visitors per week), with more erratic sleep patterns, characterised by shorter and more frequent sleeping bouts. Our results highlight multifaceted effects of increased human activities ('anthropulses'), such as those related to COVID-19 countermeasures, on animal behaviour. High human pressure may not affect animal movements or habitat use, especially in highly adaptable species such as wild boar, but may disrupt animal activity rhythms, with potentially detrimental fitness consequences. Such subtle behavioural responses can be overlooked if using only standard tracking technology.
The future of biodiversity lies not just in the strategies and mechanisms by which ecosystems and species are practically best protected from anthropogenic pressures. It lies also, and perhaps foremost, in the many billions of decisions that people make that, intentionally or otherwise, shape their impact on nature and the conservation policies and interventions that are implemented. Personalised ecology – the set of direct sensory interactions that each of us has with nature – is one important consideration in understanding the decisions that people make. Indeed, it has long been argued that people’s personalised ecologies have powerful implications, as captured in such concepts as biophilia, extinction of experience and shifting baselines. In this paper, we briefly review the connections between personalised ecology and the future of biodiversity, and the ways in which personalised ecologies might usefully be enhanced to improve that future.
The future of biodiversity lies not just in the strategies and mechanisms by which ecosystems and species are practically best protected from anthropogenic pressures. It lies also, and perhaps foremost, in the many billions of decisions that people make that, intentionally or otherwise, shape their impact on nature and the conservation policies and interventions that are implemented. Personalised ecology – the set of direct sensory interactions that each of us has with nature – is one important consideration in understanding the decisions that people make. Indeed, it has long been argued that people’s personalised ecologies have powerful implications, as captured in such concepts as biophilia, extinction of experience and shifting baselines. In this paper, we briefly review the connections between personalised ecology and the future of biodiversity, and the ways in which personalised ecologies might usefully be enhanced to improve that future.
The future of biodiversity lies not just in the strategies and mechanisms by which ecosystems and species are practically best protected from anthropogenic pressures. It lies also, and perhaps foremost, in the many billions of decisions that people make that, intentionally or otherwise, shape their impact on nature and the conservation policies and interventions that are implemented. Personalised ecology – the set of direct sensory interactions that each of us has with nature – is one important consideration in understanding the decisions that people make. Indeed, it has long been argued that people’s personalised ecologies have powerful implications, as captured in such concepts as biophilia, extinction of experience and shifting baselines. In this paper, we briefly review the connections between personalised ecology and the future of biodiversity, and the ways in which personalised ecologies might usefully be enhanced to improve that future.
The future of biodiversity lies not just in the strategies and mechanisms by which ecosystems and species are practically best protected from anthropogenic pressures. It lies also, and perhaps foremost, in the many billions of decisions that people make that, intentionally or otherwise, shape their impact on nature and the conservation policies and interventions that are implemented. Personalised ecology – the set of direct sensory interactions that each of us has with nature – is one important consideration in understanding the decisions that people make. Indeed, it has long been argued that people’s personalised ecologies have powerful implications, as captured in such concepts as biophilia, extinction of experience and shifting baselines. In this paper, we briefly review the connections between personalised ecology and the future of biodiversity, and the ways in which personalised ecologies might usefully be enhanced to improve that future.
The future of biodiversity lies not just in the strategies and mechanisms by which ecosystems and species are practically best protected from anthropogenic pressures. It lies also, and perhaps foremost, in the many billions of decisions that people make that, intentionally or otherwise, shape their impact on nature and the conservation policies and interventions that are implemented. Personalised ecology – the set of direct sensory interactions that each of us has with nature – is one important consideration in understanding the decisions that people make. Indeed, it has long been argued that people’s personalised ecologies have powerful implications, as captured in such concepts as biophilia, extinction of experience and shifting baselines. In this paper, we briefly review the connections between personalised ecology and the future of biodiversity, and the ways in which personalised ecologies might usefully be enhanced to improve that future.
The future of biodiversity lies not just in the strategies and mechanisms by which ecosystems and species are practically best protected from anthropogenic pressures. It lies also, and perhaps foremost, in the many billions of decisions that people make that, intentionally or otherwise, shape their impact on nature and the conservation policies and interventions that are implemented. Personalised ecology – the set of direct sensory interactions that each of us has with nature – is one important consideration in understanding the decisions that people make. Indeed, it has long been argued that people’s personalised ecologies have powerful implications, as captured in such concepts as biophilia, extinction of experience and shifting baselines. In this paper, we briefly review the connections between personalised ecology and the future of biodiversity, and the ways in which personalised ecologies might usefully be enhanced to improve that future.
The future of biodiversity lies not just in the strategies and mechanisms by which ecosystems and species are practically best protected from anthropogenic pressures. It lies also, and perhaps foremost, in the many billions of decisions that people make that, intentionally or otherwise, shape their impact on nature and the conservation policies and interventions that are implemented. Personalised ecology – the set of direct sensory interactions that each of us has with nature – is one important consideration in understanding the decisions that people make. Indeed, it has long been argued that people’s personalised ecologies have powerful implications, as captured in such concepts as biophilia, extinction of experience and shifting baselines. In this paper, we briefly review the connections between personalised ecology and the future of biodiversity, and the ways in which personalised ecologies might usefully be enhanced to improve that future.
The future of biodiversity lies not just in the strategies and mechanisms by which ecosystems and species are practically best protected from anthropogenic pressures. It lies also, and perhaps foremost, in the many billions of decisions that people make that, intentionally or otherwise, shape their impact on nature and the conservation policies and interventions that are implemented. Personalised ecology – the set of direct sensory interactions that each of us has with nature – is one important consideration in understanding the decisions that people make. Indeed, it has long been argued that people’s personalised ecologies have powerful implications, as captured in such concepts as biophilia, extinction of experience and shifting baselines. In this paper, we briefly review the connections between personalised ecology and the future of biodiversity, and the ways in which personalised ecologies might usefully be enhanced to improve that future.
The future of biodiversity lies not just in the strategies and mechanisms by which ecosystems and species are practically best protected from anthropogenic pressures. It lies also, and perhaps foremost, in the many billions of decisions that people make that, intentionally or otherwise, shape their impact on nature and the conservation policies and interventions that are implemented. Personalised ecology – the set of direct sensory interactions that each of us has with nature – is one important consideration in understanding the decisions that people make. Indeed, it has long been argued that people’s personalised ecologies have powerful implications, as captured in such concepts as biophilia, extinction of experience and shifting baselines. In this paper, we briefly review the connections between personalised ecology and the future of biodiversity, and the ways in which personalised ecologies might usefully be enhanced to improve that future.
The future of biodiversity lies not just in the strategies and mechanisms by which ecosystems and species are practically best protected from anthropogenic pressures. It lies also, and perhaps foremost, in the many billions of decisions that people make that, intentionally or otherwise, shape their impact on nature and the conservation policies and interventions that are implemented. Personalised ecology – the set of direct sensory interactions that each of us has with nature – is one important consideration in understanding the decisions that people make. Indeed, it has long been argued that people’s personalised ecologies have powerful implications, as captured in such concepts as biophilia, extinction of experience and shifting baselines. In this paper, we briefly review the connections between personalised ecology and the future of biodiversity, and the ways in which personalised ecologies might usefully be enhanced to improve that future.
The future of biodiversity lies not just in the strategies and mechanisms by which ecosystems and species are practically best protected from anthropogenic pressures. It lies also, and perhaps foremost, in the many billions of decisions that people make that, intentionally or otherwise, shape their impact on nature and the conservation policies and interventions that are implemented. Personalised ecology – the set of direct sensory interactions that each of us has with nature – is one important consideration in understanding the decisions that people make. Indeed, it has long been argued that people’s personalised ecologies have powerful implications, as captured in such concepts as biophilia, extinction of experience and shifting baselines. In this paper, we briefly review the connections between personalised ecology and the future of biodiversity, and the ways in which personalised ecologies might usefully be enhanced to improve that future.
Sweeping changes in park visitation have accompanied the Covid-19 pandemic. In countries where governments imposed strict lockdowns during the first wave, park visitation declined in cities. The benefits of visiting urban green spaces on people’s mental and physical health and well-being are generally acknowledged; many people in confinement during lockdowns reported increasing mental health issues. Therefore, based on lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic’s first wave, urban parks and other urban green spaces remained open in most countries in subsequent pandemic phases. Furthermore, many studies have reported an overall increase in park visitation after strict lockdowns imposed in the pandemic’s first wave have been removed. This study aims to investigate park visitation trends in Hungary based on a dataset of 28 million location data points from approximately 666,000 distinct mobile devices collected in 1884 urban parks and other urban green spaces in 191 settlements between June 1, 2019, and May 31, 2021. Findings demonstrate that park visitation increased in the inter-wave period of 2020, compared to the pre-pandemic period of 2019, and decreased in Waves 2–3 of 2021, compared to Wave 1 of 2020.
The future of biodiversity lies not just in the strategies and mechanisms by which ecosystems and species are practically best protected from anthropogenic pressures. It lies also, and perhaps foremost, in the many billions of decisions that people make that, intentionally or otherwise, shape their impact on nature and the conservation policies and interventions that are implemented. Personalised ecology – the set of direct sensory interactions that each of us has with nature – is one important consideration in understanding the decisions that people make. Indeed, it has long been argued that people’s personalised ecologies have powerful implications, as captured in such concepts as biophilia, extinction of experience and shifting baselines. In this paper, we briefly review the connections between personalised ecology and the future of biodiversity, and the ways in which personalised ecologies might usefully be enhanced to improve that future.
2020 yılının başından itibaren kısa sürede tüm dünyayı etkisi altına alan Covid-19 salgınının olumsuz yönde etkilediği sektörlerden birisi de ormancılıktır. Bartın ilinde yürütülen bu çalışmanın amacı Covid-19 salgınının ormancılık faaliyetlerine olan etkilerini katılımcıların görüşlerine dayalı bir şekilde ortaya koymaktır. Bunun için Bartın ili ormancılık örgütünde (Bartın ve Ulus orman işletme müdürlükleri ile Bartın Doğa Koruma ve Milli Parklar Şube Müdürlüğü) çalışanlarla (iç paydaşlar) tam alanda yapılan anket çalışmasından elde edilen veriler kullanılmıştır. Araştırma verileri betimleyici istatistikler, korelasyon analizi, Kruskal-Wallis H testi yardımıyla analiz edilmiştir. Çalışmada, katılımcıların beş noktalı Likert ölçekli önermelere verdikleri cevaplara göre her bir ormancılık faaliyet grubunun Covid-19’dan etkilenme düzeyleri belirlenmiş ve gruplar arası farklılıklar test edilmiştir. Ormancılık faaliyetlerinin Covid-19’dan etkilenme düzeyleri ile bazı kişisel özellikler arasındaki ilişkiler korelasyon analizi ile incelenmiştir. Çalışma sonucunda; beş noktalı Likert ölçeği sınıflamasına göre etki puanı ≤1,49 olan erozyon kontrolü ve mera ıslahı, silvikültür ve odun üretimi çalışmalarının Covid-19’dan “hiç” etkilenmediği (%0); etki puanı 1,5-1,99 olan orman yolları yapımı ve bakımı, ağaçlandırma ve fidan üretimi, orman ve köy ilişkileri, orman kadastrosu ve odun dışı orman üretimi faaliyetlerinin “çok az” (%13) olumsuz etkilendiği; etki puanı 2,0-2,49 olan insan kaynakları yönetimi, orman koruma, işletme ve pazarlama faaliyetlerinin “az” oranda (%25) olumsuz etkilendiği ve etki puanı ≥2,5 olan doğa koruma ve milli park faaliyetlerinin “orta” derecede (%50) olumsuz etkilendiği saptanmıştır. Çalışmanın sonuçlarına göre Covid-19 salgınının etkilerini azaltmak ve böylece sürdürülebilir ormancılığa katkılar sağlamak amacıyla bazı öneriler de geliştirilmiştir.
The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected people's social habits, especially those related to outdoor activities. We intended to understand the effects of the two national lockdowns in Portugal on the presence and activity of a wild population of red deer (Cervus elaphus) by analysing data from camera traps installed at Lousã mountain, in the central part of Portugal. The cameras were set between 2019 and 2021, and a total of 2434 individual contacts of red deer and 182 contacts of people were recorded. Results showed a higher human presence in the mountain area during the COVID-19 outbreak, especially during the first lockdown in 2020 (0.05 ± 0.17 individuals/day), compared to the same period of the year before the pandemic (0.02 ± 0.05 individuals/day), which resulted in an increase of people by 150%. The increase in human presence did not have a significant direct effect on the presence of red deer. Despite the low overlap of activity patterns between people and red deer, deer showed avoidance behaviour in the 24 h after the detection of human presence on camera traps, as well as an increase in daily activity during the 2020 lockdown, showing red deer's awareness of human visitation. These results showed that people's increased search for cultural services in wild environments during COVID-19 lockdowns, such as hiking and biking, seemed to influence the population of red deer, albeit momentarily.
Spirituality, aesthetic enjoyment, relaxation, and emotions are key non-material intangible values experienced in forests. Despite being a central issue to present-day forest policy and regulation, they are difficult to assess because they are intertwined with people's values and beliefs. In this paper, we explore which participatory methods can serve best to identify and evaluate the emotional and spiritual contributions of forests to people (henceforward Forests' Intangible Contributions to People, FICP). We do so to formulate a series of practical recommendations for forest practitioners and researchers eager to use Participatory Methods (PM) to assess the emotional and spiritual contributions of forests to people. Results from a systematic literature review of different participatory tools were validated using semi-structured interviews with PM facilitators and experts. We found 15 participatory methods used to assess Forests' Intangible Contributions to People (FICP). Performative and walking methods emerge as the most widely used. These tools capture the vision of both individuals and communities and aim at giving an active voice to the environment, making nature part of the decision-making process. This research confirms that participatory approaches are pivotal methods to unfold connections amongst stakeholders dealing with Forests' Intangible Contributions to People, supporting the multifunctional role of forests and thus the delivering of national and worldwide policy objectives.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced many nations to implement a certain degree of lockdown measures to contain the spread of the virus. It has been reported that recreational visits to forests and green spaces increased in response to the lockdown. In this study, we investigated the effect of the policy-induced changes in working conditions during the lockdown period, as well as the effect of COVID-19 infection rates, on forest visits throughout Switzerland early in the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed data from an online panel survey first conducted one week before the government imposed the lockdown in Switzerland and repeated two weeks after the lockdown began. We use a modeling approach to assess the impact of the home-office and short-time working situation on forest visitation frequency, as well as their effects on the length of visits to the forest. For those who visited the forest both before and during the lockdown, the frequency of forest visits increased during the early lockdown phase considered here, while the duration of visits decreased. According to our model, the opportunity to work from home was a significant driver of the increased frequency of forest visits by this visitor group, while COVID-19 infection rates had no effect on their forest visits.
In this study, digital space interpretations through theorists from different disciplines such as Mitchell and Manovich, and the concept of transition from digitalized space to digital space through bank architecture. With the inclusion of digital technologies in space, hybrid spaces have emerged as a transitional form between physical and virtual spaces. These transformations in the space have reduced the need for the physical environment to interact with the user. Decentralized distribution channels and Web 3.0 have important implications for the idea of virtualization of space. Considering both the distributed network protocol and the transaction structures of cryptocurrencies that do not need physical reality, it is observed that many leading banks and financial institutions have adapted their headquarters and branches to this transformation. It was found meaningful to examine the transformation in bank branches within the scope of the study as the area where the transformative effect created by the relationship between finance and technology can be observed the fastest in the user and the place. The digital interfaces of the space, which have been needed by banking transactions since the first periods of its history and shaped accordingly that banking transactions today, have been discussed and it has been tried to predict the way the space will be handled and design decisions in the future.
The social exclusion of the elderly with the Covid19 pandemic crisis calls for an alternative infrastructural system in addition to the commonplace of physical infrastructural needs referring to a new social positioning in urban design. Considering the city's need for social inclusion of the elderly, the study aims to merge leftover spaces as the spatially vulnerable spaces and the elderly as the socially vulnerable group in the investigation of the social role of urban design. In cities, leftover spaces are excluded from public life, isolated for the long term, and vulnerable to change and become a part of everyday life. The redesign of leftover spaces to open public spaces provides a social and physical environment where the public life of the elderly can unfold. In leftover spaces transformed to open public spaces near their homes, the elderly, who have restricted outdoor activity due to their physical and social inabilities, have the chance to encounter and interact. Considering their confinement to home and social exclusion with the COVID-19 global pandemic, the redesigned leftover spaces may enhance the physical health, psychological well-being, and life quality of the elderly in their everyday life. In this regard, the redesigned leftover spaces can contribute to sociality by providing social infrastructure for social connection. The opted methodology is both to conduct a literature review on left-30th Urban Design and Implementations Symposium / 5th International Urban Design and Implementations Congress Future of Urban Design + Urban Design of Future 159 over spaces and critical infrastructure, and to make in-depth interviews with the elderly in Bilge Çınarlar Healthy Aging Center where people from Karşıyaka, İzmir over the age of 60 have the opportunity to socialize, spend quality time and realize their always postponed hobbies. This paper fulfills the lack of research studying the integration of leftover spaces and the elderly with a highlight on the concept of critical infrastructure.
Over the last decade, outdoor recreation has changed from passive (such as relaxation) to much more active (such as mountain biking) activities. Recreational infrastructure, such as mountain bike trails, often consists of technically innovative projects in urban forest areas. However, these projects tend to pose serious challenges to forest managers and forest owners, e.g., liability and cost issues, as well as diverging stakeholder interests. Our research goal is to address the specific governance processes, seeking to tackle such challenges and develop and implement recreational infrastructure. We examine two questions: (i) what led to develop the innovation and (ii) how were negotiations transformed into satisfying results considering their challenges? The article analyzes innovation from a governance perspective, considering stakeholders, stakeholder interactions and the outcomes of these interactions. Based on case studies concerning the establishment of two mountain bike trails located in urban forest areas of Austria and Switzerland, we examine the role innovation plays and analyze the underlying decision-making processes. This research is based on several empirical sources, including seven semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that (i) the processes underlying and surrounding the conflicts have reached unexpected complexity, (ii) the solutions found have high innovation potential in terms of the resulting institutional and organizational changes, and (iii) the trails and their institutional arrangements are subject to constant change and thus may be considered dynamic processes.
The main objective of this chapter is to provide an overview of the status of urban forest policies in Europe. In the context of this chapter 'urban forest policies' encompass the full range of policies aimed at management and conflict regulation of relevance for urban forests as including all woodland and tree resources in and near urban areas (see Chap. 1). In English language texts from the field of policy science three distinct terms are used in order to describe different objects of interest, which in everyday language are commonly referred to as being in the domain of 'politics' (e.g., Glück et al. 2001a). Polity refers to the institutional dimension at formal (e.g. constitution, laws, taxes, parliament) as well as informal (e.g., tradition) levels. Politics refers to the procedural dimension, looking at the dynamics of political processes (e.g., will formation, interest mediation, bargaining, and communication processes). Policy finally refers to the substantial or normative dimension, which includes issues and objectives as well as outcomes of the political process. In the context of this standard terminology this chapter is therefore focusing on 'policy', while also taking into account the 'polity' aspects of the field. Some other issues related to 'politics' are only marginally touched here and are being taken into account in other chapters, namely Chap. 7 and 8. The chapter first introduces a theoretical conceptualization of urban forest policy and planning based on the policy scientific conceptualization of economical and political powers at play in today's urban areas. It then focuses on the specific aspects of policies in the context of urban forestry, as opposed to national forest policies. This stems from the hypothesis that urban forestry policy networks and arenas are determined by different interests than 'traditional' forest policy networks and arenas. As urban forestry is a multidisciplinary domain in which forestry is one among different actors, this is understandable. In addition, the chapter will try to determine to what degree 'national forest policies' of certain countries in Europe are approaching or already coinciding with 'urban forest policies'. Next, some main 'tension lines' or underlying factors that shape urban forest policy to a large extent are outlined. This will assist with identifying some of the main characteristics, challenges and opportunities in urban forest policy-making. After this, empirical results from 14 towns and cities are then presented to introduce the situation of urban forest policy in different parts of Europe. The examples will also serve as illustration of the more theoretical perspectives presented in this chapter.
Integrated forest management (IFM) can help reconcile critical trade-offs between goals in forest management, such as nature conservation and biomass production. The challenge of IFM is dealing with these trade-offs at the level of practical forest management, such as striving for compromises between biomass extraction and habitat retention. This paper reviews some of the driving factors that influence the integration of nature conservation into forest management. The review was conducted in three steps-a literature review, an expert workshop and an expert-based cooperative analysis. Of 38 driving factors identified, three were prioritised by more of the participants than any of the others: two are socio-cultural factors, identity (how people identify with forest) as well as outreach and education, and one is economic-competitiveness in forest value chains. These driving factors correspond to what are considered in the literature as enablers for IFM. The results reveal that targeted, group-oriented, adaptive and innovative policy designs are needed to integrate nature conservation into forest management. Further, the results reveal that a "one-size-fits-all" governance approach would be ineffective, implying that policy instruments need to consider contextually specific driving factors. Understanding the main driving factors and their overall directions can help to better manage trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and biomass production in European forests.
This guidance document provides background on COVID-19 community transmission risks and considerations for public health interventions designed to minimize these risks in outdoor environments.
This commentary serves to provide a rapid analysis of the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on sporting mass gatherings. The focus of this commentary surrounds sporting mass gatherings and strategies to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, with a particular focus on the UEFA EURO 2020 competition. Further references to the 2020 Olympic Games, and community recreational football are made. The intention is to stimulate discussion, analysis, interest and research on what the initial impact of COVID-19 has on sport. COVID-19 could fundamentally change the way sport operates in the future and requires further analysis. We hope this commentary provides an interesting record and reference point for future research and practice of those operating in sporting organisations. Learning lesson from this crisis, must ensure sport managers and practitioners are better prepared in sport and society for similar events in the future.
Besides traditional timber production, other forest functions, such as biodiversity and recreation, have gained increasing importance during the last few decades. Demands on forests have become more diversified, thus making forest management and planning more complex. To meet these challenges, there is a growing interest in a more diversified silviculture, for which a number of different management options are available. However, it remains unclear how the various management options affect economic, ecological, and social aspects of sustainable forest management. Hence, in this study, we assess the consequences of various management options on different aspects of sustainable forest management through scenario analysis using a forestry decision support system. We evaluate 10 different forest management scenarios for two contrasting municipalities in Sweden, based on expert participation by way of a web-based multi-criteria decision analysis framework. We asked experts in economic, ecological, and social forest values, as well as those in reindeer husbandry, to weigh a number of indicators in their field of expertise against each other, and to create value functions for each indicator. We then determined scenario ranking for different sets of weights for economic, ecological and social forest values. Our results indicate that current management practices are favorable for economic aspects (wood production), while a number of scenarios would be better suited to fulfill the Swedish co-equal forest policy goal of production and consideration of environmental issues, such as scenarios with longer rotation periods, a larger share of set-asides and a higher share of continuous cover forestry. These measures would be beneficial not only for ecological values, but also for social values and for reindeer husbandry. Furthermore, we found that expert participation through the web-tool was a promising alternative to physical meetings that require more commitment in terms of time and resources.
Research demonstrating the biophysical benefits of urban trees is often used to justify investments in urban forestry. Far less emphasis, however, is placed on the non-bio-physical benefits such as improvements in public health. Indeed, the public-health benefits of trees may be significantly larger than the biophysical benefits, and, therefore, failure to account for the public-health benefits of trees may lead to underinvestment in urban forestry. In addition, the distribution of trees that maximizes bio-physical benefits may not maximize public-health benefits.
Systematically collected information on outdoor recreation participation, motives and behaviors can improve recreation opportunities and reduce the risk of user conflicts. There are many uses of this type of information for managers of recreational areas including analyses of environmental, social and economic impacts, development of infrastructure, and marketing to appropriate audiences. One key component in building this knowledge is the application of visitor monitoring. This study takes an exploratory approach by analyzing managers' experiences on different on-site monitoring methods at 12 recreational areas in Sweden. Results show that knowledge of these methods and their use are strongly linked to individual managers' skills and competence. Contemporary changes in recreation behavior calls for more innovative monitoring approaches, but managers included in this study primarily work with rather traditional methods, which is likely representative of the overall situation in Sweden. Networking, educational programs and closer collaborations with universities could facilitate some of the challenges identified.
Management implications
● The study showed the relevance of improved visitor monitoring practices, and tailor-made monitoring guidelines, based on actual use and experience-based data.
● Adequate visitor monitoring practices:- help to better incorporate recreation activities and values in natural resource management decisions,
● increase the awareness of possible conflicts between recreational and other resource users,
● show the possible need for increased management capacity, additional training or new ways of visitor management and provide a better foundation for decision making.
Policy integration and cross-sectoral programmes are discussed as means to better achieve the endeavour of sustainable develop-ment. Lately, political programmes, such as integrated rural devel-opment (IRD) funding schemes emerge taking an integrated, inter-sectoral approach. In Germany forestry, however, so far has been observed to only play a minor role in IRD. In this article we seek an answer to the fundamental question of why forestry actors only play a minor role in such integrated programmes? The article theoreti-cally reveals that sectors tend to avoid being coordinated by sector-external entities and programmes. Our case study indicates that forestry as a sector, shows abstract as well as active resistance against external attempts of integrated coordination. In the rare cas-es where the sector opens up towards integrated programmes, how-ever, forestry actors lack the ability, resources as well as institution-al preconditions for cooperation. Lastly, the agricultural bias of formally integrative programmes causes refusal among forestry actors. These findings lead us to the conclusion that forestry partic-ipation in integrated programmes is a question of willingness and specific utility as well as of ability in terms of institutions and resources. However, the existence of truly integrated programmes is a prerequisite, which policy makers still need to deliver.
This book covers all aspects of planning, designing, establishing and managing forests and trees and forests in and near urban areas. The disciplinary background of the authors is varied, ranging from forestry and horticulture to landscape ecology, landscape architecture and even plant pathology. The first chapters in the first part of the book deal with the concept, history, chapter deal with the form, function and benefits and functions of urban forests and urban trees. , after which These are followed by second part the chapters in the second partthat focus on the more strategic aspects of accommodating the demands of the urban population, including policies, design, public participation and partnerships. In the third part the reader will find chapters on . But main emphasis is given to the establishment and selection of trees for urban uses, as well as information on growing conditions specific for urban areas. Part four deals with the management of urban forests and trees, including the use of information in management and a chapter on an overview of arboricultural practices. TFinally the book concludes with three chapters that providinge an overview of research and education in the field as well as shed someding light on the future perspectives for planning and managing urban forests and trees. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005. All rights are reserved.
Chronic stress and little physical activity play an increasing role in dominant civilization diseases. The positive contribution of nature to health has been examined in a multitude of studies. The ambition of this study is to review the present state of international research on exposure to forests and its specific effects on human health, particularly stress-reducing effects. The review focusses on research in Asia and German-speaking countries (GSC) in Europe, distinguishing between forest benefits for physical and mental well-being. Considering the objective of the EU Forest Action Plan (FAP) to contribute to quality of life by improving the social dimensions of forests, it also examines and compares the forest strategies and programmes of GSC. With regard to plan implementation at national levels, attention is drawn to preventive health care aspects. The results are discussed and challenges, especially for forestry in GSC, are deduced.
Spanish
El estrés crónico y la escasa actividad física desempeñan un papel creciente en las enfermedades dominantes de la civilización. La contribución positiva de la naturaleza a la salud ha sido examinada en multitud de estudios. La meta de este trabajo es revisar el estado actual de la investigación internacional sobre la exposición a los bosques y sus efectos específicos sobre la salud humana, en particular los efectos de reducción del estrés. La revisión se centra en investigaciones en Asia y en países de habla alemana (GSC, por sus siglas en inglés) en Europa, distinguiendo entre los beneficios de los bosques para el bienestar físico y mental. Teniendo en cuenta el objetivo del Plan de Acción de la Unión Europea en Defensa de los Bosques de contribuir a la calidad de vida mediante la mejora de las dimensiones sociales de los bosques, se examinan y comparan asimismo las estrategias y programas forestales de los GSC en Europa. En cuanto a la planificación de la implementación a nivel nacional, se hace una llamada de atención sobre los aspectos de la asistencia sanitaria preventiva. Se discuten los resultados y deducen los desafíos, especialmente para el sector forestal en los GSC.
French
Le stress chronique et la carence d'activités physiques jouent un rôle prépondérant dans les maladies dominantes de notre civilisation. La contribution positive de la nature à la santé a été examinée dans une multitude d'études. Cette étude a pour ambition de présenter l'état actuel de la recherche internationale sur l'exposition aux forêts, sur ses effets spécifiques sur la santé humaine, et sur ses effets pour réduire le stress en particulier. L'étude se concentre sur la recherche en Asie et dans les pays germanophones (GSC) en Europe, en distinguant les bénéfices des forêts pour le bien-être physique et le bien-être mental. Tour en considérant l'objectif du Plan d'action des forêts de l'Union Européènne (FAP) visant à contribuer à la qualité de vie en améliorant les dimensions sociales des forêts, il examine et compare également les stratégies forestières et les programmes des GSC. Dans le but de prévoir une mise en oeuvre au niveaux nationaux, notre attention est attirée sur les aspects des soins préventifs. Les résultats sont analysés et les défis en sont déduits, en particulier pour la foresterie dans les GSC.
This paper provides insights into foresters’ perceptions of forest recreation and its management. It is based on qualitative interviews with foresters in Berlin and the region of Stuttgart, Germany (N = 16). The results highlight the lack of strategic planning concerned with recreation management at both locations. Moreover, recreation management seems to depend mostly on the local forester in charge. Foresters’ perceptions of recreation, in turn, appear to be closely linked with how they perceive their work. Three narratives of the foresters’ self-perception are constructed that address three key items: perception of foresters’ skills and tasks, perception of the societal and political context of the foresters’ work and of their own scope of action in this context, and visions for future recreation management. The first narrative emphasises classical forestry and silvicultural aspects; the second understands foresters as multifunctional service providers for communal clients; and the last criticises the classical orientation of forestry and highlights new challenges for foresters in urban areas. These three views of recreation management in urban forests relate to classical forestry culture in different ways: either embodying this culture; differentiating from it; or adopting a new view which challenges this culture. Further research needs are discussed. The paper lastly argues for increased awareness of the importance of the social dimensions of forest management as one of the crucial future challenges for the forestry profession.
The benefits of outdoor recreation and the need for recreation inventories and monitoring are described in various policy and legislation documents at the European level. The objective of this paper is to analyse how these recreational aspects are reflected at the national level in core forest policy and legislation documents as well as related domains. The COST Action E33 network was used to extract information about national policies and monitoring practices for international comparison, using the Delphi method. The results provide insights into national policy setting and legislation in the field of outdoor recreation, and reveal similarities, differences, gaps and future needs. Among the main findings is a contradiction between the expressed political importance of outdoor recreation at the national level, and the absence of binding commitments for action. The majority of the countries surveyed recognise and express outdoor recreation in some form of political and/or legislative way. However, recreation monitoring or measurements are rarely mentioned in relevant policies or acts at the national, regional or local level, perhaps due to a lack of political will or resources. The analysis indicates that a consistent forest recreation monitoring system, linked to sustainable forest management, as described for example in the Helsinki process, should be better transferred into national policy and legislation. Comparable data across Europe could then provide a sound base for making decisions on outdoor recreation policy, planning and management, and furthermore provide a basis for the detection of societal changes and demands over time.
Recreation use in two urban forests in Vienna, Austria was compared. Visitors to an inner-urban forest and to a peri-urban forest were monitored by means of video observation during 1 year, from dawn to dusk. The amount of use and the temporal use pattern of the main user types, identified by video interpreters as walkers, cyclists, dog walkers and joggers, were compared. In the inner-urban forest, surrounding settlements, schools and business areas evoked high-use pressure, commuting activities, high shares of all-day activities, more morning and evening use particularly on workdays and, overall, more workday use. The peri-urban forest was, by far, not so heavily used and the proportion of daily routine activities such as dog walking and jogging was reduced because of the lower population density in the surroundings. While the potential for user conflicts in the inner-urban forest seemed to be quite high at weekends and workday late afternoons and evenings, in the peri-urban forest this potential was only high during weekend afternoons in the warmer season, due to the temporally concentrated appearance of walkers and bicyclists.
This research utilises two valuation techniques (a frequency-based choice experiment model and a contingent behaviour model) to value a range of improvements to recreational facilities in forest and woodlands in Great Britain. We provide the first comparison in the literature of welfare results from these two approaches. Four groups of forest users are targeted in this research: cyclists, horse riders, nature watchers and general forest visitors, and look also at “sub-groupings” within these classes of forest user. We found that heterogeneity of preferences exists within each of these groups. In particular, more specialist forest user groups attain generally higher values for improvements than general users. For example, downhill mountain bikers were willing to pay more for the provision of dedicated downhill courses than family cyclists for easy cycle trails. It is also argued that the use of a frequency-based choice task in the choice experiment has advantages over the more traditional choice tasks for applications such as forest recreation since a frequency-based task better reflects actual behaviour and encourages respondents to pay closer attention to the “distance travelled” attribute.
New demands are being made by society on forest managers. They are obliged to implement silviculture practices which prioritize recreation and conservation over wood production. The decision-making about priorities is taken by the political authorities, who depend upon preliminary studies by multidisciplinary teams and on an objective knowledge of the social demands. Development for recreation, adapted to each individual case, depends upon an analysis of the environmental conditions. The conservation objective implies, for a fraction of the forests in question, the creation of reserves of various types: integral or managed, etc. For the remainder of the landscape, an adapted sylviculture will promote biodiversity, carried out by a precise ecological zoning, the management of landscapes and the protection of patrimonial riches. This paper emphasizes the specific problems of the Mediterranean region, where the restoration of degraded zones generally implies a different approach from that adopted in the countries of central and northern Europe. Implementing a forestry policy that focuses on conservation and recreation – even when limited to only a part of the totality of forests – is not cost-free. It assumes complementary financing if the income from the sale of wood cannot cover management costs.
The Psychological and Physical Impacts of Spending Time in Forests: A Case Study of Two Forests in Ireland
- Y Iwata
- Á N Dhubháin
- C H Bullock
Iwata, Y., Dhubháin, Á.N., Bullock, C.H., 2016. The Psychological and Physical Impacts of
Spending Time in Forests: A Case Study of Two Forests in Ireland. Irish Forestry.
The COVID-19 Pandemic Is Changing the Way People Recreate Outdoors: Preliminary
- W L Rice
- C Meyer
- B Lawhon
- B D Taff
- T Mateer
- N Reigner
- P Newman
Rice, W.L., Meyer, C., Lawhon, B., Taff, B.D., Mateer, T., Reigner, N., Newman, P., 2020.
The COVID-19 Pandemic Is Changing the Way People Recreate Outdoors: Preliminary
Report on a National Survey of Outdoor Enthusiasts amid the COVID-19 Pandemic.
- J Derks
J. Derks, et al.
Forest Policy and Economics 118 (2020) 102253