Relaxation and safety oases
Urban forests are important places for leisure activities, but they also represent oases of biodiversity for forest species. Securing sufficiently large urban forest areas is the best way of ensuring both leisure opportunities and the ecological significance of the forests. This is because people who spend time in forests also wear out the forest floor and may trample growing plants.
This doctoral thesis surveyed different methods for generating natural obstacles in urban forests that would prevent damage to the environment. Densely growing saplings and dead tree trunks were found to be good obstacles to protect certain parts of the forest from excessive recreational use. Questionnaire responses indicated that people consider the forest to have greater value as a leisure site if the urban environment is not visible. Trees of varying age, including decaying trees, increase biodiversity and improve the recreational value of the forest.
Link to doctoral thesis: