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Forests
Special Issues
Forest Utilization—Recreation and Leisure Development
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Forest Utilization—Recreation and Leisure Development

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Forestry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (21 January 2025) | Viewed by 2134

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Beata Fornal-Pieniak

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Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Protection and Dendrology, Institute of Horticulture Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Interests: landscape protection; urban areas; ecosystem services
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Dagmara Stangierska-Mazurkiewicz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pomology and Horticulture Economics, Institute of Horticulture Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Interests: green urban areas; life quality; urban forest recreation
Dr. Agnieszka Mandziuk

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Forest Management Planning, Dendrometry and Forest Economics, Institute of Forest Science, Warsaw University of Live Sciences-SGGW, Nowoursynowska St., 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Interests: forest
Dr. Pedro Miguel Ramos Arsénio

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food, School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, 1649-004 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: landscape visual quality; ecological quality in Mediterranean ecosystems; flora and vegetation mapping; landscape management; bioclimate and biogeography
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Green areas, including forests and urban forests, play a crucial role in the well-being of residents, serving as spaces for diverse activities that foster social cohesion. Interdisciplinary research highlights the link between physical activity, quality of life, and forests. Forests, especially those in cities, reduce physical inactivity, which is a significant factor supporting mental well-being and reducing stress. Designing sustainable urban areas with accessible forests is crucial for the health and development of cities. Shaping urban forests stimulates the senses, positively impacting health. Research focuses on identifying forest infrastructure elements that support physical activity and spending time outdoors, which is crucial for preventive public health measures. This Special Issue aims to present the latest advancements in research on people's interaction with forests and their impact on well-being. It also focuses on providing selected contributions regarding forest management and forest economy planning, taking into account the expectations of external stakeholders.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Forest utilization;
  • Recreation and leisure development;
  • Urban forests;
  • Forests and well-being;
  • Forest recreation preferences;
  • Urban forest utilization;

Dr. Beata Fornal-Pieniak
Dr. Dagmara Stangierska-Mazurkiewicz
Dr. Agnieszka Mandziuk
Dr. Pedro Miguel Ramos Arsénio
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • forests
  • stress
  • well-being
  • urban forests
  • biodiversity
  • sustainability
  • non-market value of forests

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  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
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  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 3060 KiB  
Article
Attitudes Toward Paying for Recreation in Urban Forests: A Comparison Between Warsaw and Lisbon’s Young Populations
by Agnieszka Mandziuk, Beata Fornal-Pieniak, Dagmara Stangierska-Mazurkiewicz, Katarzyna Widera, Maria Bihunova, Pedro Miguel Ramos Arsenio, Emila Janeczko, Barbara Żarska and Stanisław Parzych
Forests 2025, 16(1), 188; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16010188 - 20 Jan 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 838
Abstract
Urban forests are essential recreational spaces that enhance cultural heritage, foster social integration, and provide economic benefits through local tourism. Their significance for recreation has grown due to increased leisure time, better access to information, and heightened concerns about mental and physical well-being. [...] Read more.
Urban forests are essential recreational spaces that enhance cultural heritage, foster social integration, and provide economic benefits through local tourism. Their significance for recreation has grown due to increased leisure time, better access to information, and heightened concerns about mental and physical well-being. This study seeks to evaluate social preferences for funding recreational activities in urban forests in Warsaw and Lisbon, focusing on their appearance and societal significance. Utilizing the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), the research assessed individuals’ willingness to pay (WTP) for recreational access. Advanced techniques such as logistic regression and discriminant analysis were employed to identify the factors influencing WTP in Poland and Portugal. In Poland, WTP is primarily affected by preferences related to the appearance of forests, particularly the distinction between natural forests and those equipped with more infrastructure. In contrast, in Portugal, WTP tends to decrease with a greater appreciation for natural forests and a belief in the necessity of investing in urban forestry. The findings indicate that various social factors, such as the appearance of forests and perceived maintenance requirements, influence people’s willingness to fund urban forests. However, conducting research with only younger respondents limits the ability to generalize these findings to older populations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Utilization—Recreation and Leisure Development)
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34 pages, 5901 KiB  
Article
From Nose to Heart: Introducing Large Language Models to Explore How Olfactory Experiences Influence Forest Visitors’ Emotional Resilience
by Yu Wei and Yueyuan Hou
Forests 2025, 16(1), 85; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16010085 - 7 Jan 2025
Viewed by 809
Abstract
Forest environments have been demonstrated to promote human health and well-being through rich sensory experiences. However, the mechanisms by which olfactory experience affects visitors’ mental health remain to be thoroughly researched, and discussions on emotional resilience, a key competency affecting an individual’s mental [...] Read more.
Forest environments have been demonstrated to promote human health and well-being through rich sensory experiences. However, the mechanisms by which olfactory experience affects visitors’ mental health remain to be thoroughly researched, and discussions on emotional resilience, a key competency affecting an individual’s mental health, are particularly rare. To address the challenges of high subjectivity, difficulty in quantifying, and high context-dependency of olfactory experience and emotional resilience in such studies, large language models were introduced to study the National Forest Parks in China and analyse massive user-generated data. This provided new possibilities for constructing a more comprehensive theoretical paradigm of olfactory experience–emotional resilience. The findings indicate that olfactory experiences in National Forest Parks exert a substantial influence on tourists’ emotional resilience, with diverse olfactory experiences demonstrating a more pronounced impact on emotional resilience compared to a single type of olfactory experience. However, this impact exhibits an inverted U-shaped relationship. Natural environment olfactory experiences were found to be more conducive to attention restoration, while artificial environment olfactory experiences were more likely to induce nostalgic feelings. This study found that nostalgic feelings significantly mediated the relationship between artificial environment olfactory experience and emotional resilience, while attention restoration did not significantly mediate the relationship between natural environment olfactory experience and emotional resilience. This provides a novel perspective on the examination of the complex relationship between forest environments, olfactory experience, and emotional resilience. Semantic analyses revealed the complexity and network characteristics of olfactory experiences in National Forest Parks, and at the same time identified four main types of olfactory experiences and scenarios. This research offers valuable insights for forest recreation and leisure management, as well as public health policy development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Utilization—Recreation and Leisure Development)
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