Urban woodland management – The case of 13 major Nordic cities

Public Opinions and Use of Various Types of Recreational Infrastructure in Boreal Forest Settings

“…often contrast what is available for them in their neighborhood. Urban forests in Norway are dominated by forest roads and forestry for production purposes [27], or a high amount of recreational facilities around the largest cities [49]. To meet cars in the forest is the most distracting element for the respondents.…”

State of biodiversity in the Nordic countries

“…Industrial and post-industrial development has transformed most European regions into societies where a vast majority of the population is living in towns and cities. In the Nordic countries 76-92% of the population is living in settlements with more than 200 inhabitants and 25-70% in urban agglomerations with more than 100 000 inhabitants (Gundersen et al 2005). Urban areas in the Nordic countries have relatively large proportions of green areas compared to many southern and western European cities.…”

Effects of recreational use and fragmentation on the understorey vegetation and soil microbial communities of urban forests in southern Finland

“…Within the city of Helsinki, the majority of forest patches are less than two hectares in size (Saukkonen 2007). Urban forests are mainly managed for recreational use, but scenic values, protective abilities and biodiversity are also taken into account (Gundersen et al 2005).…”

“…In general, they are less intensively managed than commercial forests (Gundersen et al 2005). For example, the proportion of broad-leaved trees and amount of coarse woody debris may be higher in urban forests than in commercial forests (Lehvävirta and Rita 2002, Maene 2005, Hamberg et al 2007).…”

“…Upper canopy layers of urban forests were more open than in reference forests, probably because forest management in urban areas does not aim at a high production of timber as is the case in commercial forests (Gundersen et al 2005). Furthermore, recreational users prefer open, clean and safe-looking forests (Tyrväinen et al 2003), which has consequences for forest management decisions in urban areas.…”