The role of information in understanding forest ecosystem services

Općekorisne funkcije šuma važna su znanstvena i stručna tema o kojoj se na globalnoj razini raspravlja već dugi niz godina. U Hrvatskoj također postoje višegodišnji napori u promišljanju sistematizacije i vrednovanja općekorisnih funkcija šuma, kao i osiguravanju naknade za njihovo pružanje. Ipak, pregled literature pokazuje da opseg znanstvene i stručne produkcije nije u skladu s važnosti ove teme za hrvatsko šumarstvo. Posebice se to odnosi na istraživanje stavova i percepcije građana, kao i njihove informiranosti o problematici općekorisnih funkcija šuma. Cilj je ovog članka analizirati ulogu informiranosti na poznavanje problematike općekorisnih funkcija šuma, uz pretpostavku da veća informiranost vodi i boljem poznavanju te problematike. Korištena je metoda ankete na uzorku populacije studenata triju raznorodnih fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu – Šumarskog fakulteta (ŠF), Fakulteta strojarstva i brodogradnje (FSB) te Hrvatskih studija (HRSTUD). Pretpostavljeno je da će studenti ŠF imati bolje razumijevanje problematike jer su bolje informirani o njoj kroz izvedbu studijskog programa. Uzorak je bio namjeran i prigodan, a ukupno je anketirano 247 ispitanika. Primijenjene su metode deskriptivne statistike, kao i hi-kvadrat i Kruskal-Wallis neparametarski testovi. Rezultati su pokazali da su studenti ŠF prema vlastitom mišljenju puno više upoznati s pojmom općekorisnih funkcija šuma i Naknade za njih od studenata drugih fakulteta. Međutim, pitanja znanja pokazala su da i oni imaju problema s prepoznavanjem tih funkcija, kao i namjena za koje se koristi Naknada. Ipak, gotovo uvijek je postojala statistički značajna razlika u odgovorima između studenata ŠF i studenata drugih dvaju fakulteta. Zaključuje se da informiranost donekle utječe na poznavanje problematike općekorisnih funkcija šuma, ali vjerojatno postoje i neki drugi čimbenici koji utječu na poznavanje i formiranje stava. U budućnosti je neophodno nastaviti istraživati razumijevanje i stavove različitih segmenata građanstva o općekorisnim funkcijama šuma i Naknadi, kako bi se razvili i primijenili prikladni instrumenti šumarske politike, a kojima bi cilj bio veće razumijevanje problematike i pozitivniji stav prema šumarskim aktivnostima u tom smislu.Ecosystem services including forest ecosystem services are hot topic globally among scientists and practitioners for decades. In Croatia there is a long tradition of discussing forest ecosystem services in terms of how to systemise them, assess and value, as well as how to secure payment for their provision. However, literature review showed discrepancy between scientific and professional production and importance of this topic for forestry sector in Croatia. This is especially a fact when it comes to research related to citizen perceptions and attitudes and whether they are informed about the topic. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the role of information in better understanding of the topic with the assumption that being informed leads to better understanding of the topic. Survey questionnaire was applied on the sample of three student populations of the University of Zagreb – Faculty of Forestry (FoF), Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture (FMENA) and Centre for Croatian Studies (CCS) (Table 1). The hypothesis was made that respondents from FoF would have better understanding of the topic since they are more informed through their study programme in comparison to respondents from other two faculties. The sample was purposeful and convenient at the same time, and included 247 respondents. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for statistical data analysis that included Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric tests beside descriptive statistics. Results showed that respondents from FoF in their own opinion were more informed about the topic of forest ecosystem services and payment for ecosystem services in comparison to respondents from other faculties (Figures 1 and 2). However, questions concerning their actual knowledge on the topic showed that even them had problems with recognising forest ecosystem services and purposes of the payment for forest ecosystem services (Tables 2 and 4). However, there was always statistically significant difference in answers between respondents from FoF and other two faculties (Table 3). When asked about who has the obligation to pay for forest ecosystem services respondents provided various answers, while only 29.2% of respondents from FoF, 9.9% of respondents from FMENA and 15.2% of respondents from CCS provided correct answer to this question (Figure 3). Similarly respondents were asked about the institution responsible for distribution of resources collected as payment for forest ecosystem services. Correct answer was given only by 41.5% of respondents from FoF, 26.8% from FMENA and 19.7% from CCS (Figure 4). Furthermore, respondents were asked to express their agreement with four statements related to payment for forest ecosystem services in terms of purposeful and transparent money spending, whether it contributes to the better state of forests in Croatia or it should be abolished (Figures 5-9). Results showed that rather high share of respondents does not have opinion, especially respondents from FMENA and CCS. The conclusion is that information has a role in better understanding of the topic of forest ecosystem services, but there are probably other factors that were not included in this research. In future it is important to continue studying understandig and attitudes of various segments of citizens. The purpose of these studies would be to contribute to creation and implementation of proper forest policy instruments that would help in better understanding of the topic and eliciting positive attititude towards forestry activities related to forest ecosystem services by citizens

Survey Research in the Forest Science Journals - Insights from Journal Editors

Background and Purpose: Survey research is one of the most commonly applied approaches in the social sciences. In the forest research it has been used for more than five decades. In spite of that or the fact that the amount of survey-based articles in the forest science journals has increased during the last decade, their share in all articles published in 20 forest science journals (9,372 articles, 2005-2014) is quite modest (3.2%). In our paper we look at the opinions and attitudes of forest science journal editors towards survey research, as their perspective might enlarge our understanding of the use of this approach in the field of forestry. Materials and Methods: We selected 20 forest science journals - 15 from the SCI list and five non-SCI journals and contacted editors of these journals with the self-administered e-mail questionnaire. Data were collected in October 2014 and analyzed by descriptive statistics. The overall response rate was 75%. The assumptions for the study were based on the evidence addressing opinions and attitudes of journal editors from other research fields (finance) since no similar study was found in the field of forestry. Results: The majority of editors reported the same review process for survey-based articles as for all others. In two journals, articles with the survey-based content are screened more rigorously and in two journals their publishing is generally discouraged. 40% of journal editors hold the view that no difference should be made between survey research and other types of original research, and another 40% think that survey research should in the first place play a complementary role. As the main strength of survey research editors see the possibility to obtain data unavailable from other sources. They perceive adverse selection and the difficulty to generalize results as the main weaknesses. Conclusions: Editors of forest science journals have similar opinion on survey research as those from the field of finance. In both fields, survey-based articles typically undergo the same review process as all other original research articles. Journal editors were evenly split in their views if survey research should be considered equal or complementary to other types of original research. The two most commonly identified strengths and weaknesses differed just by the order

Assessment of Forest Damage in Croatia Caused by Natural Hazards in 2014

Background and Purpose: Recent natural disasters (ice-breaks, torrents, floods) that affected five Croatian counties caused significant damage on forest stands and forest infrastructure. Since in Croatia there is no common methodology for fast and reliable assessment of forest damage, the aim of this paper is to develop and present methodology for rapid damage assessment and to prescribe urgent recovery measures, as well as to provide first preliminary results of the total damage to forests. Materials and Methods: An attempt was made to develop the methodology which would rely on existing legislations, regulations, instructions and experiences for forest damage assessment as much as possible. Estimation of forest damage was based on field observations, spatial data of forest management units and data from the existing Forest management plans. Results: According to conducted assessment, forests of Primorsko-goranska County are the most affected by the overall damage caused by ice-storm. Major damages occurred both on the forest and on forest roads. Ice-storm also caused serious damages on forests and on forest roads in Ličko-senjska County and Karlovačka County, while floods and torrents caused damages on forest roads in Zagrebačka County, Sisačko-moslavačka County and Karlovačka County. Money-wise, the total forest damage amounts 942 252 183 €. Conclusions: Methodology for rapid damage assessment presented in this paper resulted on first preliminary estimate of range, intensity and cost of forest damage caused by recent natural disturbances. More precise data on forest damage will be known after the implementation of the proposed emergency recovery measures. Also, certain improvements of methodology in terms of precision and collection of data may be achieved by incorporating remote sensing methods

VALUATION OF URBAN FOREST BENEFITS: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Urbane šume vrijedni su prirodni resursi koji modernom društvu pružaju višestruke koristi, pri čemu proizvodnja drva nije prioritet (Konijnendijk 2000). Stoga koristi od urbanih šuma vrlo često imaju obilježja netržišnih dobara i usluga. Prilikom donošenja odluka vezanih za urbane šume javlja se potreba za konkretnim informacijama, u idealnom slučaju rezultatima analize troškova i koristi, gdje su koristi od urbanih šuma važan ulazni podatak. Rezultati dobiveni znanstvenim metodama vrednovanja urbanih šuma mogu poslužiti za savjetovanje sudionika u procesu odlučivanja i donošenja politika u skladu s konceptom uporabljive znanosti (engl. usable science) (Stevanov i dr. 2011). Cilj je ovog rada kvalitativno analizirati literaturu koja se odnosi na vrednovanje koristi od urbanih šuma metodama vrednovanja netržišnih dobara i usluga. Na osnovi pretrage baze Science Direct izdvojeno ukupno 38 članaka koji su obuhvatili razdoblje od 1997. do 2012. godine. Analiza pokazuje da se najčešće primjenjuju metoda hedonističkih cijena (HPM) i metoda vrednovanja kontingenta (CVM), dok su metaanalize za sada rijetke. Odabrane studije obuhvaćaju različite tipove urbanih šuma (drveće, parkove, šume, rekreacijska područja) ili se odnose općenito na koncept otvorenog prostora (engl. open space) unutar kojih se nalaze i urbane šume. Većinu studija objavili su autori iz SAD-a (13) i Kine (8), a gledano po kontinentima najviše ih se odnosi na Europu (14), Sj. Ameriku (13) i Aziju (9). Istraživanja koja primjenjuju HPM pokazuju da blizina urbanih šuma (do 500 m) znatno utječe na porast vrijednosti nekretnine, a osim blizine, ključne varijable su tip i veličina urbane šume, slobodan pristup (ne naplaćuju se ulaznice) te razina kriminala. Najčešće vrednovana korist je mogućnost rekreacije. Rezultate vrednovanja različitim metodama treba tumačiti s oprezom, jer svaka pojedina metoda ima svojih prednosti i nedostataka. Analiza literature otkriva manjak ovakvih istraživanja u Hrvatskoj i upućuje na potrebu za jačom zastupljenosti ovakvih tema u budućnosti. Svrha je članka dati pregled studija vrednovanja koristi od urbanih šuma, pokazati koje varijable utječu na rezultat vrednovanja te općenito upozoriti na potrebu provođenja ovakvih studija. Prikazana analiza literature može poslužiti istraživačima, urbanistima, krajobraznim arhitektima te uživateljima koristi od urbanih šuma.Urban forests provide multiple benefits whereas wood production is less important in comparison to benefits such as mitigating air pollution and heath island effect, providing fresh water or recreational opportunities to growing urban population (Konijnendijk 2000). However these benefits are usually non-marketable. There are several typologies of forest benefits (services), while Tyrväinen et al. (2005) brings typology of benefits and uses of urban forests and trees (Table 1). Putting value on urban forest benefits helps decision makers to make informed decisions about urban forests, ideally based on cost- benefit analysis. This is in line with concept of usable science, whereas scientific results can serve as valuable information to political actors in the process of deliberation (Stevanov et al. 2011). The purpose of this paper was to give a literature analysis related to valuation of non-marketable urban forest benefits. Search engine Science Direct gave 38 results covering the period 1997-2012, with 24 papers published in the last five years (Table 2). Qualitative analysis showed that the most common valuation methods were hedonic pricing method (HPC) and contingent valuation method (CVM), while meta-analysis, as one of benefit transfer methods, was rare (Table 2). These methods use urban residents’ stated or revealed wiliness to pay (WTP) for urban forest benefits. Selected papers addressed different types of urban forests (street trees, trees in the park, forests or recreation areas) or trees as element of open spaces. Majority of studies are published by authors from USA (13) and China (8). Urban forest located within range of up to 500 m significantly affected valuation, as well as type, size, free access or level of crime in the neighbourhood. Recreational benefits were most commonly valuated. Results of valuation studies have to be interpreted in context of limitations of each method applied. Valuation studies of urban forest benefits in Croatia are still rare. Growing urban population and other pressures negatively influence urban forests. Putting monetary values on them could help in their conservation. This paper may be helpful to researchers, urban planners, landscape architects, and other consumers of urban forest benefits. There is almost no such research in Croatia, which indicates need to put more emphasis on this type of research in future

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

Forest Park Grmoščica is an important part of urban green infrastructure for the citizens of the western part of the city of Zagreb. To enhance the quality of management of the forest park to the satisfaction of its daily users, it is important to know their socio-demographic characteristics, visiting behaviour, recreational activities, as well as their perception of the forest park. The survey for users of the Forest Park Grmoščica was developed within the INTERREG DANUBE’s URBforDAN project. It was filled out by visitors of the forest park using on-site face-to-face method and was also available online. The results of the survey provided information about the users of the Forest Park Grmoščica, their socio-demographic data, visiting habits and perception. Also, the typology of users was given depending on the activities they undertake in the forest park (cyclists, joggers, visitors who spend time in Forest Park Grmoščica with their families, and pet walkers) and their main characteristics. The obtained data can improve the management of the Forest Park Grmoščica in such a way that it fulfils its social and ecological function and is adapted to the needs of its users

Training Programmes in Sustainable Forest Management in Austria, Croatia and Slovenia

Background and Purpose: During the Erasmus+ project “Cooperation for Innovative Approach in Sustainable Forest Management Training (CIA2SFM)” a study of the existing vocational education and training (VET) and lifelong learning (LLL) programmes in the field of sustainable forest management (SFM) was conducted in Austria, Croatia and Slovenia. The aim of this paper is to get an overview of and analyse SFM-related VET and LLL programmes in the study area, with an emphasis on the identification of good practice examples and providing recommendations for improvement. Materials and Methods: A combined approach of literature review, Internet search and consultations with training providers was applied in order to collect data on training programmes conducted in the period 2006-2015 in Austria, Croatia and Slovenia. The programmes were analysed based on topics, types of methods used, existence of specified learning outcomes, programme evaluation by participants and how the programme was advertised. The analysis employed basic descriptive statistics. Topics were grouped into broader themes. Only training programmes targeting private forest owners, forestry professionals, and forestry entrepreneurs were analysed. Three examples of good practice in each country were selected based on collaboratively developed criteria. Results: In Austria, Croatia and Slovenia numerous training courses related to SFM were conducted in the analysed period, predominantly addressing target groups in forestry sector and covering a variety of topics. The relative importance of themes varied among countries. In order to facilitate the knowledge uptake by participants various methods were applied. Although indoor ex-cathedra approaches prevailed, it could be recognized that there is a growth in interest for foster demonstrations in the field, organizing field trips, emphasize on practical work and combining methods and approaches in most countries. Conclusions: Even if national providers of training programmes may relate to individual needs within national forestry sectors, SFM-related training programmes should be regularly screened and updated according to international agendas and emerging issues. In order to cope with increasing uncertainty and expanding risks forest ecosystems are facing, it is an important task to open up the recent training offer to innovative forms of learning, combinations of topics and learning environments

Mogućnosti primjene GPS-a u istraživanju društvenih aspekata urbanoga šumarstva

Urbane su šume vrijedan prirodni resurs koji pruža višestruke koristi (ekološke, ekonomske i dru štvene) i svojevrsna su »priroda na kućnom pragu« za gradsko stanovništvo. Više od polovice svjetskoga stanovništva živi u urbanim sredinama, što zasigurno utječe na kakvoću života gra đana. Stoga koncept urbanoga šumarstva stavlja naglasak na društvene aspekte, kao što su pru žanje mjesta za odmor i rekreaciju, utjecaj na zdravstveno stanje ljudi te edukativna uloga urbanih šuma za građane. Šumarska istraživanja u Hrvatskoj o urbanim šumama uglavnom ne uključuju društvene aspekte. Živimo u svijetu u kojem tehnologija igra važnu ulogu. Mobiteli, »pametni« telefoni ili navigacija u automobilima dio su svakodnevnice, a zajedničko im je da se svi koriste globalnim pozicijskim sustavom (GPS), koji se primjenjuje za određivanje položaja objekta u prostoru. U ovom se radu prikazuju mogućnosti primjene GPS-a u istraživanjima društvenih aspekata urbanoga šumarstva s obzirom na rekreaciju, zdravlje ljudi, ali i informiranje i edukaciju građana o urbanim šumama. Za te su potrebe korištene baze SCOPUS, Science Direct i Google Scholar. Navedeni primjeri pokazuju velike mogućnosti primjene GPS-a, osobito u kombinaciji s geografskim informacijskim sustavom (GIS) za istraživanje društvenih aspekata urbanoga šumarstva

Mogućnosti primjene GPS-a u istraživanju društvenih aspekata urbanoga šumarstva

Urbane su šume vrijedan prirodni resurs koji pruža višestruke koristi (ekološke, ekonomske i dru štvene) i svojevrsna su »priroda na kućnom pragu« za gradsko stanovništvo. Više od polovice svjetskoga stanovništva živi u urbanim sredinama, što zasigurno utječe na kakvoću života gra đana. Stoga koncept urbanoga šumarstva stavlja naglasak na društvene aspekte, kao što su pru žanje mjesta za odmor i rekreaciju, utjecaj na zdravstveno stanje ljudi te edukativna uloga urbanih šuma za građane. Šumarska istraživanja u Hrvatskoj o urbanim šumama uglavnom ne uključuju društvene aspekte. Živimo u svijetu u kojem tehnologija igra važnu ulogu. Mobiteli, »pametni« telefoni ili navigacija u automobilima dio su svakodnevnice, a zajedničko im je da se svi koriste globalnim pozicijskim sustavom (GPS), koji se primjenjuje za određivanje položaja objekta u prostoru. U ovom se radu prikazuju mogućnosti primjene GPS-a u istraživanjima društvenih aspekata urbanoga šumarstva s obzirom na rekreaciju, zdravlje ljudi, ali i informiranje i edukaciju građana o urbanim šumama. Za te su potrebe korištene baze SCOPUS, Science Direct i Google Scholar. Navedeni primjeri pokazuju velike mogućnosti primjene GPS-a, osobito u kombinaciji s geografskim informacijskim sustavom (GIS) za istraživanje društvenih aspekata urbanoga šumarstva

Three decades of urban forest and green space research and practice in Croatia and Slovenia

Background and Objectives: Urban forests and green space contribute to human wellbeing. Green infrastructure is recognized by the European Union as a planning tool that contributes to the implementation of many public policies, with urban forests and green space as its main building blocks. Croatia and Slovenia are young democracies and recent members of the European Union. Hence, they also need to contribute to the implementation of those policies. Previous review studies on urban forests and green space rarely addressed scientific or professional publications in those countries. Furthermore, the body of knowledge about urban forest and green space research and practice in post-socialist countries is still rather weak. The goal of the paper is (a) to show that urban forest and green space research and practice is much stronger in these countries than it is possible to assume based only on previous review papers or only by searching Scopus andWeb of Science, and (b) to describe publications written by scientists and professionals in the past 30 years. Materials and Methods: We used a trilingual systematic literature review to identify scientific and grey literature in various databases, as well as a snowballing technique, and yielded 211 publications in Croatia and 84 in Slovenia. Results: We identified many more publications on urban forests and green space science and practice in Croatia and Slovenia than it was possible to assume based only on previous review papers and when searching solely publications in English. Croatian authors showed continuity over time in terms of number of publications, while Slovenian publications have been on the rise in the past decade. In both countries, scientific papers were most frequent, and the vast majority of studies addressed capital cities. Croatian publications mainly focused on parks and park-forests, while Slovenian publications focused on urban forests. Interestingly, Croatian authors were a%liated with over 60 organizations, and in comparison to Slovenian authors, have stronger preference towards publishing in their local language. Green space planning and design followed by resource inventory were the most frequent themes. The least addressed themes in both countries were resource management, economic aspects, policy, legislation or governance. Conclusions: Important discussion in the future, especially in Croatia, would be regulation of urban forestry as a profession. Cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary studies, as well as focusing on cities other than capitals in future, can help in addressing issues such as climate change or application of participatory approaches