Abstract:The present study focused on how forests will be managed in the future in light of the increased emphasis being put by the public on the ecological and recreational values of forests, the trend towards an increased share of non-resident forest owners, and the increased female forest ownership. The value and belief basis of forest management attitudes was explored using a questionnaire sent to a sample of private forest owners 'residing on' (n = 995, return rate = 51.3%) and 'not residing on' the forest property (n = 997, return rate = 50%). The results showed that a share of private forest owners strongly value both the view that the forest should predominately be used for timber production and the view that preservation is most important. The proposed hierarchical structure of influence, in which the forest management attitude was influenced by values and beliefs, was supported in the study. The ecological, recreational, and production forest values primarily influenced the most closely related forest management attitude, even if some cross-sectional effects and some effects of socio-demographics were found, showing that the view a private forest owner has on different forms of management styles is shaped by the perceived multiple values of the forest.

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This paper examines interregional migration within the five Nordic countries, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland, focusing on the impacts on migration decisions. A background to the study is the regional demographic polarisation of the five countries and the debate about labour market migration. The main questions of the study are: (a) What motives, apart from those relating to the labour market, are important to interregional migrants? (b) Do migrants perceive their decision to move as voluntary? (c) Are migration decisions in conflict with peoples' life projects, values and attitudes? The empirical analysis is based on 9600 responses to a survey conducted in all five countries, with participants including both those who have changed resident municipality in the last two years (migrants) and those who have lived in the same municipality for more than five years (stayers). The study reveals that only about one in five migrants give employment as a major motive for moving. Environmental and social factors are often more important. The majority of migrants claim that their decision to move is voluntary. The results also confirm previous research suggesting that migrants are more likely to be young, single people and have a higher educational level than stayers. There is also evidence that migration is often compatible with migrants' values and preferences. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Recreation activity preferences in forest settings were explored in a scene preference study. The importance of type of human intervention and the level of biodiversity for preference and intention to engage in recreation activities were examined in a sample of forestry and social science students in Sweden. Results showed that forestry students displayed an almost equally strong preference for natural-looking scenes as for scenes with traces of recreation (e.g., paths), whereas social science students preferred recreational scenes the most. Least preferred were scenes with traces of forest management. Different forest settings were furthermore preferred for different recreation activities. Recreational settings were favored for walking and going on outings, and natural-looking settings were more appreciated for picking berries or mushrooms. Respondents displayed a stronger intention to study plants and animals in high biodiversity settings and the intention to exercise was stronger in low biodiversity settings. Implications for future land use planning and forest management are discussed.

This paper presents a total survey of the characteristics and changes over time within the entire population of Swedish non-industrial private forest owners (NIPF owners). By charting the changed demographic, socio-economic and geographic profile of the NIPF owners, it also provides a baseline for a discussion and analysis of potential implications for forest management, policy and values. NIPF owners differ in important ways from the general population of Sweden. However, the gap has narrowed over time with regard to, e.g., educational level and sex composition. The ongoing urbanization process is evident in the growing share of non-residential NIPF owners who live at a distance from their forest property and who differ from their residential (rural) peers through, e.g., higher education, higher income and a higher prevalence of co-ownership of their forest holdings. Although these changes might translate into updated views on forest values among NIPF owners, there could be a delay before this impacts on forest management practices and output.