Variability in Forest Visit Numbers in Different Regions and Population Segments before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Preferences for woodland activities and forest features as predictors of well-being after forest visits: Evidence from a nationally representative survey in Slovakia

The link between subjective well-being (SWB) and forest visits is increasingly driving the development and preservation of restorative forest environments in numerous countries. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the effect of people's preferences for forest patterns and activities on this connection. Here we investigated whether associations exist between the preferences for certain forest features and activities, and the SWB increase and stress reduction in response to forest visits. A nationwide digital survey was administered to a representative sample of the Slovak population. The recollection-based data obtained from one thousand respondents were analysed through agglomerative clustering and ordinal regression. The analyses revealed that improved SWB and stress reduction were associated with preferences for uneven-aged forests, forest smell, as well as recreational, but not provisioning forest activities. The respective interrelationships explained up to 20% of SWB increase and stress reduction after forest visits. The results suggest that recollection-based study findings can be generalized for real-world forests and that forest management can contribute to the well-being of forest visitors by shaping the diversity of woodlands and their sensory experiences.

Slovakia and its environmental transformation: measuring environmental attitudes using the new ecological paradigm

Many scientists have studied the relationship between society and the environment. The New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) has been repeatedly used for the analysis of public environmental attitudes, as the public pays increased attention to the environmental issues, sustainability, or the climate crisis. Our paper deals with the use of the NEP to study and identify public environmental attitudes in the Slovak Republic. We discovered a deviation of our results from the NEP, as we identified altered environmental attitudes, which we find acceptable, as environmental attitudes are a delicate set of values encompassing different, yet interrelated facets. According to our results, we were able to classify our respondents into those with technocentric, ecocentric, and resiliocentric attitudes, while up to 70% of respondents hold the ecocentric attitude. These findings could be influenced by the fact that no significant changes in the population's lifestyle have been required up to now. The NEP has proven to be an important predictive tool in assessing public environmental attitudes to determine readiness for environmental transformation. Nevertheless, we recommend using a combination of analysis that includes evaluating the impact of demographic factors to achieve higher-quality results.

From recreational to income-generating opportunities: assessment of public preferences for non-wood forest products in the Czech Republic

With the alarming increase in dying trees and massive logging in the Czech forests due to bark beetle infestation, the collection of non-wood forest products, a beneficial recreational activity in the Czech Republic, is now being promoted as an alternative to wood provisioning services. This paper aims to present findings on the non-wood forest product preferences in the country as part of a baseline assessment for promoting the usage. This study relied on the 2019 national survey data of public preferences in collecting forest berries, mushrooms, honey, and medicinal herbs. K-means cluster analysis was employed to classify the respondents. A binary logistic regression with a conditional forward approach was employed to identify the potential predictors of the high preference for each non-wood forest product. Data from 1,050 online respondents were included, and two groups of respondents were clustered based on their preferences for the entire non-wood forest, i.e., higher and lower utilization. The regression analysis revealed that frequent forest visitors were the primary predictor of high utilization of all non-wood forest products (between 1.437 to 4.579 odd ratios), in addition to age, gender, and location of the forest property. By clustering the respondents based on the high and low preferences in utilizing non-wood forest products, the promotion of this service, from recreational to potential livelihood activities and economic benefits, can be better targeted, e.g., target customer, infrastructure development in the location with high preferences, scenarios based on the type of owners (municipal or private forest owners), which in accordance to the national forest policy and laws, and, at the same time, maintain the ecological stability.

Spatial, temporal, and motivational changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic in a nature-based leisure activity - A global survey of birders

Birdwatchers contribute an immense amount of data to citizen science databases. Thus, birding is important from the leisure perspective and from nature conservation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we studied birdwatchers on a global scale in over 50 countries by applying the model of behavior change, which focuses on changes in opportunity (spatial, temporal), motivation, and capability (avoidance behavior). The sample consisted of 5051 participants (3437 men, 1575 women, mean age 49 years). Birders changed their spatial behavior to more local birding and to avoidance behavior by choosing different places and different clock times. Concerning motivation, being outdoors showed the highest increase and being with friends the strongest decrease. Higher specialized birders experienced a stronger shift toward regional birding. Birders that focused on new, local, or unrewarding places experienced an increase in motivation. Our study empirically supports the behavior change model and highlights the need to address the heterogeneity of the recreationists.

A critical assessment of a protected area conflict analysis based on secondary data in the age of datafication

Recently, a global trend towards a broader use of secondary data in social sciences has been reinforced by the COVID-19 pandemic. This evoked doubts about the validity of the results unless restrictive assessment procedures are implemented. To address this need in the field of protected area (PA) conflict analysis, we propose a three-fold approach (theory-, method-, and cross-scale simulation-driven) to assess the usefulness of the utilized state register dataset and the indicator analysis methodology for the multi-level recognition of PA conflict determinants. With the ultimate aim to inform case study selection, we processed 187 relevant indicators from the official Statistics Poland register for a Lesser Poland region. We distinguished five types of PA conflict determinants in Lesser Poland ('urbanity', 'agriculture', 'tourism', 'small-scale entrepreneurship', and 'sprawl') and respective groups of 15 clusters comprising local-level units. For one cluster, we juxtaposed the obtained results with secondary data from another source (Internet content) and for a specific PA (Tatra National Park). Although the reported conflict issues corresponded to the indicator-derived descriptors of the cluster, in the theory-driven phase of the assessment, the state register failed to address the key prerequisites of PA conflicts. We have demonstrated that, in crisis conditions such as COVID-19, the proposed method can serve as a proxy for a multi-level recognition of PA conflict potentials, provided that it synthesises the results of different methodological approaches, followed by in-person interviews in the selected case studies.

Was it really different? COVID-19-pandemic period in long-term recreation monitoring - A case study from Polish forests

The COVID -19 pandemic posed serious challenge for securing public health worldwide. Public health preparedness and restrictions put in place impacted many aspects of human life, including recreational activities and access to outdoor recreational destinations. Green spaces have become one of the few sources of resilience during the coronavirus crisis due to their restorative effects on psychophysical health and community well-being. The aim of this study is to analyse the impact of the COVID -19 pandemic on forest visitation. The results are based upon long-term visitor data acquired via pyroelectric sensors (Eco-Counter) in three forest districts located in Poland (Browsk, Gdansk & Kozienice Forest Districts). The analysis covers the period between January 01, 2019 and December 31, 2020 and the results confirm changes in recreational use in the studied forest areas during the pandemic compared to the preceding year. However, observed changes in forest visitation vary by pandemic period and study area. The ban on access to forest areas significantly reduced the number of forest visits in all studied areas. The number of visits to sub-urban forests (Gdansk Forest District) and to remote nature-based tourist destinations (Browsk Forest District) increased in the later pandemic periods, especially in the summer months of 2020, while it remained the same in a popular nearby recreation area: Kozienice Forest District. There were only minor temporal shifts in the distribution of weekly and daily visits. The results are important for public health preparedness planning in crisis situations and for provisioning conditions supporting societal health and well-being. Objective data on forest visits are necessary for successful management of forest areas and surrounding amenities. More cross-sector collaboration and public participation would be desirable to create sustainable, resilient, and liveable spaces for the society.

Management Implications

•Long-term visitation monitoring is crucial for successful management of outdoor recreation destinations and their catchment areas.•Objective numbers concerning forest visitation from the pre-pandemic and COVID-19 pandemic period allow observing trends and making fact-based management decisions during period of crisis.•Changes in the investigated three forest study areas in Poland were not homogenous, which implies the necessity of systematic visitor monitoring in multiple destinations, in order to cover different types of forest areas and also local diversity in recreational use.•More intersectoral, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary exchange would be desirable to better integrate existing on-site visitor monitoring data into decision making processes related to forest management, urban planning, transportation, tourism and public health.

Increased appreciation of forests and their restorative effects during the COVID-19 pandemic

Public expectations of forests as high-quality restorative environments that facilitate subjective well-being and stress relief along with numerous health benefits have been rising sharply during recent decades. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying restrictive measures also transformed forests into some of the few places to spend time away from home. The presented study drew on the assumption that the pandemic situation and a rise in the number of forest visits would affect the experience, recognition, and appreciation of the well-being aspects related to spending time in forests. The study goal was to elucidate the potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the relationships between forest visits, well-being and stress relief, emotions, perception of nature and forest value and importance, pro-environmental behavior, and societal expectations of the role of forests and forest ecosystem services. A survey using a digital questionnaire was conducted several months after the pandemic outbreak on a representative sample of the Slovak population. The Wilcoxon test and ordinal regression analysis were used to identify significant relationships, e.g., between the recency of anger episodes and the number of forest visits. The results showed that the pandemic strengthened the perception of forests as a high-quality restorative environment and that emotions associated with forest visits played an important role in the perceived importance of forests and their possible overexploitation. The results underscore the urgent need to put demands for forest recreation on par with the forest bioeconomy and to sensitize forest visitors to management and conservation requirements.

Recreational Visit to Suburban Forests during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Taiwan

COVID-19 global pandemic has caused massive disruption of travel behaviors along with other aspects of human life, such as social distancing, staying at home, and avoiding crowds. People substituted outdoor activities for indoor activities, and the forest environment has become a popular alternative. Taiwan has a high population density, but it had few COVID-19 confirmed cases in 2020 during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. No forest areas have been closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In light of this generally increased demand for suburban forests for recreational uses, the current COVID-19 pandemic situation poses specific challenges regarding forest use, management, and policy. This study integrates visitation numbers of the popular forest recreation area and selects the unblocking index and social distancing index as the COVID-19 index to capture the impacts of forest recreation area on the COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan. The results show both COVID-19 indices have high explanatory power for suburban forest visitation and both have a significant impact on the number of visitors. Although the number of visitors to suburban forests decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic alert, it bounced when the COVID-19 outbreak was under control. This study provides a brief overview of management implications for recreational visits during COVID-19. We posed an early warning to forest managers for greater revenge traveling post-COVID-19.

Outdoor Recreation Habits of People in Latvia: General Trends, and Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Outdoor recreation opportunities are crucial for sustaining people’s physical and mental health, and forests are important recreational venues in Europe, especially in its northern part. Our study sought to characterise outdoor recreation patterns and their changes in Latvia due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a representative population survey with public participatory GIS elements that allowed the respondents to map their favoured recreation destinations. Our results revealed increased visitor numbers to nature areas during COVID-19. The main stated psychosocial factors behind the increased frequency of nature visits are health benefits and lower perceived risks in the context of the pandemic. Forests as areas simultaneously providing multiple ecosystem services have significant importance in providing space for outdoor recreation. Outdoor recreation hotspots concentrate around major urban areas and in some of the largest and most popular nature areas.

Forest Area, CO2 Emission, and COVID-19 Case-Fatality Rate: A Worldwide Ecological Study Using Spatial Regression Analysis

Spatial analysis is essential to understand the spreading of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to numerous factors of multi-disciplines involved, the current pandemic is yet fully known. Hence, the current study aimed to expand the knowledge on the pandemic by exploring the roles of forests and CO2 emission in the COVID-19 case-fatality rate (CFR) at the global level. Data were captured on the forest coverage rate and CO2 emission per capita from 237 countries. Meanwhile, extra demographic and socioeconomic variables were also included to adjust for potential confounding. Associations between the forest coverage rate and CO2 emission per capita and the COVID-19 CFR were assessed using spatial regression analysis, and the results were further stratified by country income levels. Although no distinct association between the COVID-19 CFR and forest coverage rate or CO2 emission per capita was found worldwide, we found that a 10% increase in forest coverage rates was associated with a 2.37‰ (95%CI: 3.12, 1.62) decrease in COVID-19 CFRs in low-income countries; and a 10% increase in CO2 emission per capita was associated with a 0.94‰ (95%CI: 1.46, 0.42) decrease in COVID-19 CFRs in low-middle-income countries. Since a strong correlation was observed between the CO2 emission per capita and GDP per capita (r = 0.89), we replaced CO2 emission with GDP and obtained similar results. Our findings suggest a higher forest coverage may be a protective factor in low-income countries, which may be related to their low urbanization levels and high forest accessibilities. On the other hand, CO2 can be a surrogate of GDP, which may be a critical factor likely to decrease the COVID-19 CFR in lower-middle-income countries.

Who Uses Forest Roads? Has the COVID-19 Pandemics Affected Their Recreational Usage? Case Study from Central Slovakia

Forest roads are necessary to provide access to forests and are also used by users other than forest owners and the timber industry. Their usage for recreation and hiking has been increasing in the last years. From 1/2020 to 12/2020, we performed research on traffic loads and the use of forest roads at an area of the University Forest Enterprise of Technical University in Zvolen. For this purpose, we selected two localities, namely Včelien = A locality and Štagiar = B locality. We monitored transport intensity at selected localities with images obtained from two identical Trail Spromise S308 cameras. We examined the impact of lockdown periods during the COVID-19 pandemics on forest recreation in the year 2020 with the Kruskal–Wallis ANOVA. Multiple comparisons of p values showed there were no differences in the recreational usage of forest roads between the lockdown periods and periods without restrictions. We found that recreation activities peaked in summer and spring. Recreation and transport at selected localities did not have a negative impact on animal occurrence, as the regression and correlation analysis revealed only a low negative relationship with r = 0.029. When considering the number of passages, roads were used for recreation and other non-forestry purposes at approximately 36%. From the perspective of the weight load, recreation accounted for about 10%.

Forest Attendance in the Times of COVID-19-A Case Study on the Example of the Czech Republic

The COVID-19 pandemic affected people all over the world, including the Czech Republic (CZ). In the CZ, a number of measures were applied in 2020 to reduce the contact between people and their mobility. This article dealt with the importance of forests during the pandemic. Data from 2019 and 2020 were compared. The qualitative data were obtained from two nationwide surveys, the first focused on forest attendance and forest fruit collection (about 1000 respondents per year), the second on the motivation to visit the forests (about 3700 respondents per year). The quantitative data were obtained on the regional level by analysing data from mobility counters. The impact of government restrictions was assessed. Findings: (1) there was a significant increase in the number of people who frequently visited the forest in 2020; (2) in 2020, the amount of households that collected forest fruits increased and was the highest for the monitored period; (3) the increased forest attendance significantly corresponded to the government restrictions. The analysis confirmed the great importance of forests for the citizens and, at the same time, the increased pressure on the forests’ use—forest attendance and forest crops picking—(especially suburban ones) in times of COVID-19 restrictions.

Forest Recreational Services in the Face of COVID-19 Pandemic Stress

Forest ecosystems provide numerous services and benefits to both humans and biodiversity. Similarly, urban forests services play a vital role by providing urban dwellers with recreational and leisure space, mental health relief, and meditation. In the wake of the COVID-19 epidemic, many people living in the urban areas could benefit from the forest and park recreational services to relieve psychological stress due to lockdown rules. The study examined existing literature simultaneously; however, very few studies have presented the relationships between forest services’ role on COVID-19 stress relief. Furthermore, we examined forest visitors’ frequency at the Training Forest Enterprise (TFE) Masaryk Forest Křtiny in the outskirts of Brno City in the Czech Republic. The study collected data using a TRAFx infrared trail counter before the pandemic (2015–2018) and during the COVID-19 period (2021). As in other studies of the subject, we observed an increasing trend in forest visits during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021, compared to the same months before the pandemic in 2016 and 2017. We recommend further research to focus on scientific analysis of the relationship between forest ecosystem services and COVID-19 stress and mental health. Moreover, given the spike in visitors during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021 in March and April, our data provide evidence regarding the role of nature for relieving stress and supporting mental and physical health. Policy, decision-makers and medical advisors could use such data and study to guide future lockdowns and pandemic situations regarding nature and forest recreational use and importance.

Analysis of Hazard Rate of Municipalities in Slovakia in Terms of COVID-19

The coronavirus became a phenomenon in 2020, which is making an unwanted but wide space for the study of various scientific disciplines. The COVID-19 pandemic situation which has reached almost the whole civilized world by its consequences thus offers a unique possibility to analyze the graphic space and the human activities inside it. The aim of this study is to predict and identify the potential rate of threat on the example of COVID-19 in Slovakia through an established model. This model consisted of an assessment of the partial phenomena of exposure, vulnerability, and overall risk. The statistical data used to evaluate these phenomena concerned individual cities in Slovakia. These represent the smallest administrative unit. Indirect methods based on the point method were applied in the paper. The spreading and transfer of the disease was influenced much more by the exposure presented by traffic availability, especially, but also the concentration of inhabitants in the selected locations (shops, cemeteries, and others). In the results, our modeling confirmed the regions with the highest intensity, especially in the districts (Bratislava, Košice, Prešov, and Nitra). The selection of the data and method used in this study together with the results reached and presented may serve as an appropriate tool for the support of decision-making of other measures for the future.