The paper presents results of questionnaire research conducted to determine social preferences regarding leisure in Warsaw municipal forests (WMF) (Poland). The preferences pertained to frequency of visits and willingness to pay for recreational infrastructure in a forest depending on its appearance, level of development, and the respondent’s income. The data were processed using statistical analysis (ANOVA Friedman test, U Mann–Whitney test, logistic regression). The results show that the higher the development level of a forest, the more often young people choose it for leisure. Willingness to pay for a forest depends on its development level, with respondents more willing to fund forests with a higher development level. No such correlation with the respondents’ income was found. Preferences regarding the selection of a specific type of forest for leisure were dependent on per capita income of the respondents only in the case of forests at a lower level of development. A forest’s preference level affected the willingness to pay for it and varied depending on the development level.
Manor parks are characteristic cultural features in Polish agricultural landscapes. About 10,000 manor parks are estimated to exist in Poland, and due to their high natural, historic and scenic value, these features represent potential in terms of ecosystem services. To properly manage these sites, it is advisable to determine the preferences of its visitors. The present study presents the results of a quantitative survey based on a group of 352 young visitors to manor parks in south Poland. The results show that visitors with higher monthly incomes have a statistically significant higher awareness as far as caring for the authenticity and preservation of the natural and historical heritage of manor parks and forests. Conversely, for visitors with lower incomes, additional touristic promotion attractions (e.g., souvenirs, guided visits) are increasingly important. The results of the study provide an important basis of information for local authorities, as well as private owners, with regard to preserving the natural and historical values (which are closely connected with the scenic values) of these sites, as well as local tourism development. The values of nature, sustainability, tourism and the improvement of life quality are linked to the enhancement of manor parks, as these facilities are providers of ecosystem services.
The quality of valuable natural areas is assessed through the prism of benefits derived from all the functions performed by them, among which tourist and recreational functions play an increasingly important role. The comparison of benefits and costs related to the provision of recreational services has an impact on the learning of tools used to assess tourist investments. The main purpose of the article was to determine financial benefits obtained by tourists visiting the „Nad Tanwią” Nature Reserve located in the south-eastern part of Poland, calculated using the travel cost method. The survey method was used as part of the research. Surveys were conducted from May to September 2017 on a group of 341 respondents. Data regarding the length of the visit and the amount of costs related to the stay in the Reserve were subjected to statistical analysis using the CART method. The results of the survey showed that the respondents reported a need for 14 types of visits depending on their duration. The value of the consumer surplus amounted to PLN 986/person, and the value of the gross benefit amounted to PLN 1,069/person. The value of the consumer surplus, which was the share of tourists visiting the Reserve during the year, amounted to PLN 108 million, and the gross value of non-market benefits for this group was PLN 118 million. Building a model of travel costs in the area of the Reserve allows for the assessment of recreational benefits of this place. The development of tourism and recreation in areas attractive in terms of nature contributes to improvement with regard to meeting recreational needs of tourists and the existing transportation infrastructure.
The paper presents the results of a survey questionnaire conducted in order to determine the social preferences of young adults regarding their willingness to finance pocket parks in Warsaw (Poland). The preferences concerned the impact of the appearance and attractiveness of pocket parks for the inhabitants of the capital, the impact on the microclimate, the materials used to build water reservoirs, and the effect of the respondent’s income on their willingness to finance them. The data were analyzed statistically (Kruskal–Wallis test, Mann–Whitney U logistic regression). The results show that young respondents prefer parks with natural water reservoirs. Willingness to pay was the highest in the case of natural parks and parks containing the most anthropogenically modified water reservoirs. It has been shown that the willingness to finance increased with the need for more greenery of this type and greater awareness of their positive impact on the improvement of the microclimate in the city. The higher the attractiveness of pocket parks for leisure and the higher the level of respondents’ incomes, the greater the willingness to finance them. The level of financing also depended on the materials used to build water reservoirs in parks—the more elements made of hydrotechnical concrete, the higher the level of financing. This type of relationship was not found for natural materials, which is surprising given the already well-known threat of climate change and the decrease of biodiversity.
The aim of the study was to determine the willingness-to-pay (WTP) in exchange for recreation, to determine the dependency between the frequency of visits and willingness of forest users to make contributions for urban forests and the appearance of the forest, as well as the sociological characteristics of the respondents. The research was carried out on the example of the mediumsized city of Tarnów, southern Poland. To this aim, a survey was conducted on a group of 309 adult respondents inhabitants of Tarnów city and city's surroundings settlements. For statistical analysis, the Classification And Regression Trees (CART) method was used to determine the dependency between the declared contributions and the characteristics of respondents, and the Principal Components Analysis for examining the dependency between WTP and the appearance (structure) of the forest. The dependency between the frequency of visits to urban forests and the demographics was analysed by chi-square test and one-way analysis of variance. The results showed that 97% of respondents are willing to make payments for urban forests, the amount of which differed depending on their place of residence, education, and age. Also, the vast majority of respondents make their WTP contributions dependent on the appearance of the forest. This applies in particular to a multi-stratum, multi-species forest with the undergrowth and recreational infrastructure. In addition, the frequency of visits to the area is affected by gender and place of residence. The obtained results are especially important for the recreation function of urban forests including willingness of inhabitants in Tarnów city and surroundings settlements.
In recent years, recreation in forest areas is gaining in importance. Therefore, there is a need for its valuation. The valuation services of the forest environment is a relatively new field of science but is applied in practice. One of the examples is presented in this paper. The article describes the economic valuation of non-wood forest uses e. g. forest recreational function. The research was conducted in the “Janowskie Forests” Promotional
The aim of this work was to determine preferences and satisfaction of tourists visiting the Polesie National Park (PPN). Preferences were defined in terms of the motives for visiting, ways of spending leisure time, the length and frequency of visits, knowledge of tourist attractions and awareness of the Park’s financing. A survey was conducted in July–August 2019 gathering responses from 125 adults visiting the PPN tourist and bicycle paths. 100 correctly completed questionnaires were analysed using the CART method to determine the respondents’satisfaction with spending leisure time in the Park. The most frequently mentioned reasons for visiting were the beautiful landscape (28%) and the species richness (27%) of the PPN. 39% of respondents visited the area for the first time and 47% came for one day. Most visitors (65%) had very good knowledge of the tourist attractions in the PPN. Walking was the most common way (37%) for visitors to spend theirleisure time in the Park. More than half of the respondents (58%) would be willing to accept additional fees in order to help maintain and protect the PPN. The vast majority of the respondents indicated that they are satisfied (42%) or very satisfied (48%) with their visit to this area. Our statistical analysis indicated that asking the question about financing the Park greatly impacted the responses to the question about visitor satisfaction, but was also correlated with the respondent’s place of residence as well as their knowledge of tourist attractions. The unique character, landscape as well as the natural, historical and cultural richness of the PPN combined with the well-maintained infrastructure are crucial to ensure a high level of visitor satisfaction.
Nowadays, human influence is more noticeable in urban and non-urban ecosystems, which, in turn, leads to the transformation of valuable natural resources. This article presents a study on the diversity of species composition of the vascular herb layer species of ecotones in selected urban forests of the city of Brzesko and in forests outside the city. All forests represented the association of oak–hornbeam plant. The results showed that there are inconsistent and consistent vascular plant species with the Tilio-Carpinetum habitat in urban and non-urban forests. Plant species were significantly (c2 test, p < 0.05) found more frequently in the herb layer of non-urban forests than in urban forests. This proves, among other things, that the influence of anthropogenic activity is more on these objects than in forests outside the city.
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