No polarization–Expected Values of Climate Change Impacts among European Forest Professionals and Scientists

The role of values in climate-related decision-making is a prominent theme of climate communication research. The present study examines whether forest professionals are more driven by values than scientists are, and if this results in value polarization. A questionnaire was designed to elicit and assess the values assigned to expected effects of climate change by forest professionals and scientists working on forests and climate change in Europe. The countries involved covered a north-to-south and west-to-east gradient across Europe, representing a wide range of bio-climatic conditions and a mix of economic–social–political structures. We show that European forest professionals and scientists do not exhibit polarized expectations about the values of specific impacts of climate change on forests in their countries. In fact, few differences between forest professionals and scientists were found. However, there are interesting differences in the expected values of forest professionals with regard to climate change impacts across European countries. In Northern European countries, the aggregated values of the expected effects are more neutral than they are in Southern Europe, where they are more negative. Expectations about impacts on timber production, economic returns, and regulatory ecosystem services are mostly negative, while expectations about biodiversity and energy production are mostly positive

Influence of Urbanization Processes on the Dynamics and Scale of Spatial Transformations in the Mazowiecki Landscape Park

This paper explores how urbanization processes, since the 1950s, affected forested areas in the Mazowiecki Landscape Park and determines if these processes resulted in a significant reduction of forest. Spatial analyses, which were used to generate very detailed data on the area of forests, agricultural land, and development areas, were carried out, and the spatial directions of the changes were determined. The results indicate that, in comparison to the 1950s, in the 1990s, the forest area did not decrease, but, in fact, increased, despite a significant increase in the development area, both in the present area of the park and in its buffer zone. This was due to the fact that new buildings were constructed in mainly agricultural areas. At the same time, intensive afforestation of weak soils, mainly inland dunes, was carried out in this area. Comparing the current period to the 1990s, further dynamic growth of the development area can be observed, especially in the park’s protective zone, with a simultaneous decrease in the forest area and agricultural land

The Psychological Effects and Benefits of Using Green Spaces in the City: A Field Experiment with Young Polish Adults

Green spaces in cities are places where city dwellers can have contact with nature, which, according to the research to date, can have a very beneficial effect on their mental well-being. However, it is still not entirely clear which characteristics of green spaces are most beneficial in terms of their positive impact on people. In this study, we focus on identifying the restorative attributes of tree canopy sites (forests, street greenery) and open green spaces (water, meadows). Four psychometric tests were used to examine the subjects’ reactions before and after exposure to the analyzed environments (the control environment was the room in which the pre-test was conducted). The experiment was conducted with 55 young adult university students. It was shown that, compared to the post-housing (control) environment, all green spaces influenced the subjects’ well-being. The water environment had the most beneficial effect, followed by a meadow, a forest, and a housing estate with the presence of urban greenery. A short walk amid open urban green spaces, which provide more opportunities for observation, has a better impact on the well-being of the respondents compared to tree canopy sites such as forests or street greenery

Running events in Polish forests in the opinion of their participants

The article presents the results of a questionnaire survey aimed at determining social preferences in relation to running as a form of active leisure time in forests. These preferences were established on the basis of surveys conducted via the Internet by means of social media services. The survey was carried out in 2016 and covered 346 people living in Poland, interested in running and jogging. It involved people over 18 years of age. As a research tool, an Internet questionnaire was used, which included questions concerning the attractiveness of the forest for practicing running, the frequency of running events in the forest, and factors motivating to take part in the running event. Statistical analysis was performed considering the influence of personal characteristics (gender, age, place of residence) and experience in running on the preferences of respondents with the use of the chi-square test. Men dominated among the respondents. The majority of respondents were people aged 35–44 living in towns. Over half of the respondents declared that they practiced athletic or recreational running for more than 4 years. The results show that the Polish forests are an attractive place for running. The preferences varied significantly, mainly in relation to gender, age, and experience in running. Age differentiated the views of respondents on the attractiveness of the forest as a place for running. Participating in forest running events was determined by gender, place of residence, and experience in running. Participants of such events are more frequently men, residing in towns. It was observed that the frequency of participation in running events increases with experience. The attractiveness of the running event was associated mainly with its general atmosphere and the characteristics of the running trail. However, the views were diversified according to gender, age, residence, and experience in running

Assessment of the forest landscape along selected motor vehicle routes

This paper presents the results of research that aims to analyse and evaluate the attractiveness of the forest landscape in the vicinity of selected motor vehicle routes that differ in terms of technical parameters, such as motorways, regional roads and local (municipal) roads. The diversity of landscape units was used as the measure of landscape attractiveness. Landscape diversity analysis allows to establish the details related to specific parts of the road and the options for configuring the road environment. These options relate to the way the forest is managed and mainly involve aspects of infrastructure and cultivation. They include activities such as afforestation work and rebuilding the species composition of forest stands. According to the research, the lower the technical class of a road, the greater is the need to take action to adapt the structural-tree stand system to meet the safety requirements of road users

Running events in Polish forests in the opinion of their participants

The article presents the results of a questionnaire survey aimed at determining social preferences in relation to running as a form of active leisure time in forests. These preferences were established on the basis of surveys conducted via the Internet by means of social media services. The survey was carried out in 2016 and covered 346 people living in Poland, interested in running and jogging. It involved people over 18 years of age. As a research tool, an Internet questionnaire was used, which included questions concerning the attractiveness of the forest for practicing running, the frequency of running events in the forest, and factors motivating to take part in the running event. Statistical analysis was performed considering the influence of personal characteristics (gender, age, place of residence) and experience in running on the preferences of respondents with the use of the chi-square test. Men dominated among the respondents. The majority of respondents were people aged 35–44 living in towns. Over half of the respondents declared that they practiced athletic or recreational running for more than 4 years. The results show that the Polish forests are an attractive place for running. The preferences varied significantly, mainly in relation to gender, age, and experience in running. Age differentiated the views of respondents on the attractiveness of the forest as a place for running. Participating in forest running events was determined by gender, place of residence, and experience in running. Participants of such events are more frequently men, residing in towns. It was observed that the frequency of participation in running events increases with experience. The attractiveness of the running event was associated mainly with its general atmosphere and the characteristics of the running trail. However, the views were diversified according to gender, age, residence, and experience in running