The Importance of Forest Management in Psychological Restoration: Exploring the Effects of Landscape Change in a Suburban Forest

Emilia Janeczko, Krzysztof Czyżyk, Małgorzata Woźnicka, Tomasz Dudek, Jitka Fialova () and Natalia Korcz
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Emilia Janeczko: Department of Forest Utilization, Institute of Forest Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Krzysztof Czyżyk: Department of Geomatics and Land Management, Institute of Forest Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, 159 Nowoursynowska St., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Małgorzata Woźnicka: Department of Forest Utilization, Institute of Forest Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Tomasz Dudek: Department of Agroecology and Forest Utilization, University of Rzeszow, Cwiklinskiej 1a, 35-601 Rzeszow, Poland
Jitka Fialova: Department of Landscape Management, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic
Natalia Korcz: Forest Research Institute, Department of Geomatics, 05-090 Sekocin Stary, Poland

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 9, 1-13

Abstract: Currently, there is a marked increase in the importance of the environmental and cultural ecosystem services of the forest. Among the social benefits, protection of human health and improvement of human well-being come to the fore. Forests, both reserve and commercial, benefit human health. However, people often have negative attitudes toward forest management activities, especially near urban areas, and prefer forest management that results in a forest that is close to natural. Second-growth forest and clear-cutting are the most visible manifestations of ongoing forest management in forests. The purpose of this study was to compare the benefits derived from exposure to second-growth forest, clear-cutting and mature forest stands. Fifty-five students of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW (WULS-SGGW) participated in the study. The study was conducted in October 2023 in a forest within the city of Otwock, within the range of the Warsaw metropolitan area. Participants were exposed for 15 min to selected plots: second- growth forest, clear-cutting area and mature forest stand. Before the experiment (PRE-Test control trial) and after each of the exposures four psychological questionnaires were administered: the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), the Restorative Outcome Scale (ROS), the Subjective Vitality Scale (SVS) and Profile of Mood States (POMS). The results indicate that not all analyzed features of the forest landscape have a regenerative effect on people. Exposure to a commercial forest, only in the case of a mature stand, yielded the most benefits in terms of mood improvement. In contrast, exposure to clear-cutting area resulted in a decrease in positive feelings and an increase in negative feelings, leading to a complete disturbance of mood, an increase in tension, depression and a decrease in feelings of vigor. Clear-cutting area has significantly worse restorative properties compared to mature forest stands and second-growth forest. This observation is relevant to forest management within city limits and in the suburban zone of large cities. Not only is clear-cutting area not accepted by people visiting forests for recreational purposes, but it leads to a detraction from the health benefits provided by forests.

Keywords: forest therapy; forest bathing; nature-based therapy; urban forest; mood state profil; mental health; shirin-yoku (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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