Recreation in Different Forest Settings: A Scene Preference Study

Forests

Louise Eriksson²  Annika M. Nordlund¹  Olof Olsson² 

[1] Department of Psychology, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden;Department of Geography and Economic History, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden;

关键词: forest scene preference;    recreation activities;    human intervention;    biodiversity;    forest experience;   

DOI  :  10.3390/f3040923

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

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.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2012 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.