The Benefits of Local Forest Recreation in Austria and Its Dependence on Naturalness and Quietude

Abstract

The benefits of local recreation in the State-owned forests in Austria (i.e., about 15% of all Austrian forests) are ascertained in this paper. A representative survey of households dealt with their local recreation, perceptions of and disturbances in forests. Total annual benefits of local recreation activities in State-owned forests, such as walking, hiking, cycling and wildlife observation, amount to about EUR 500 per person. Based on the respondents’ valuation of the degree of naturalness and quietude, as well as the options of forest management, the current management increases recreation benefits by EUR 13 per person through increased naturalness, and EUR 1.30 per person and year through increased quietude. Emphasis was placed on the benefits of the current management regime of multifunctional forestry compared to the benefits of a baseline scenario that was drafted specifically for this study, assuming higher levels of lumbering up to the limits allowed by existing nature conservation and forestry laws. The results suggest that forest management has a higher impact on recreational benefits through the naturalness of forests than through reducing artificial noise. A more sustainable forest management could further increase the benefits people derive from both naturalness and lower levels of artificial noise.

Listening to Forests: Comparing the Perceived Restorative Characteristics of Natural Soundscapes before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The aforementioned variances may be attributed to the differences between soundscape and visualscape. The Burleigh Heads National Park is a partly closed space, which is more conductive for natural soundscapes preservation than other types of space [60]. Since the extent and diversity of natural soundscapes is more novel and interesting than ordinary visualscapes, individuals are more likely to focus on various natural soundscapes, restoring directed attentional fatigue [61].…”

Who Are the Visitors of Forest Park Grmoščica and What Are Their Needs? Results of Quantitative Exploratory Survey

“…Literature review on the human relationship with urban green spaces indicates that survey is the most common method used in research on users' preferences and perceptions (Kabisch et al 2015). Furthermore, the survey was also used as a method of data collection about characteristics and preferences of users visiting urban forests or forests with emphasised recreational functions in multiple studies with one or more individual forests (Roovers et al 2002, Aasetre et al 2016, Larondelle and Haase 2017, Meyer et al 2019, or in national research on forest recreation (Getzner andMeyerhoff 2020, Šodková et al 2020). The survey used for the purpose of this research was developed within URBforDAN project, translated into Croatian language, and adapted to specific forest park conditions (see Supplementary File 1).…”

Evaluation of Landscape Natural Values in Tourism, with Special Regard to Vegetation – Case Study: Otwock Commune, Central Poland

“…The landscape is assessed for tourism regarding various components, including natural resources being an essential contents. The research shows that natural values of landscape are generally highly estimated by tourists [15][16][17], often in the first place before cultural values. The occurrence of natural protected areas of high range (national parks, nature reserve, landscape parks, lately Nature 2000 sites) is a kind of magnet for tourists [18].…”

“…Natural evaluation is the assessment of landscape natural values, as well as "estimation and classification of complex goods of nature or products of human work, and their relationship" [15,21]. Its purpose is to assess the analyzed elements and indicate areas of different landscape value.…”