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The aim of this paper was to validate factors affecting the in-stand landscape quality and how important each factor was in determining scenic beauty of natural secondary forests. The study was limited to 23 stand-level cases of natural secondary forests in Shen Zhen city in southern China. Typical samples of photographs and public estimations were applied to evaluate scenic beauty inside the natural secondary forests. The major factors were then selected by multiple linear-regression analysis and a model between scenic beauty estimation (SBE) values and in-stand landscape features was established. Rise in crown density, fall in plant litter, glow in color of trunk, fall in arbor richness, and rise in visible distance increased scenic beauty values of in-stand landscape. These five factors significantly explained the differences in scenic beauty, and together accounted for 45% of total variance in SBEs. Personal factors (e.g. gender, age and education) did not significantly affect the ratings of landscape photos, although variations of landscape quality were affected by some personal factors. Results of this study will assist policymakers, silviculturists and planners in landscape design and management of natural secondary forests in Shenzhen city. People can improve the scenic beauty values by pruning branches and clearing plant litter, which subsequently improve the forest health and contribute to forest recreation.

Malaysia has suffered a significant loss of forest cover over the years, mainly due to logging and land clearance for agriculture activities. Although the forest legislation has long been established and continuously enforced, it was not inclusive enough to protect the local natural resources. This study aims to identify public perception and awareness regarding values and essential aspects that affect the preservation of permanent forest reserves (PFR) in Malaysia. In particular, this study investigated the values of visual aesthetics to promote the preservation of Malaysian PFR within the existing legal framework. Results from the survey revealed that the public strongly perceived ecology and research education as the two most important aspects of preserving Malaysian PFR. The study also confirmed that visual aesthetics are considered a crucial aspect of forest classification and preservation beyond people’s health, safety, recreational, and economy. Interm of PFR functions, aesthetic is aslo the third most important factors after protection and research/education.

Urban forests play a crucial role for the wellbeing of city dwellers, and their importance for people has been emphasised during the COVID-19 pandemic. This exploratory study analyses the visit patterns and visitor attitudes and perceptions in a peri-urban forest nearby Bonn, Germany, as well as the impact of the lockdown. Methodically, we combined automated visitor counting with a total of 345 on-site interviews. Respondents were asked a variety of open-ended and closed questions on various aspects of forest management and recreation. The results show that shortly after the inception of the lockdown the number of forest visitors doubled and the visit pattern changed markedly. In contrast, people's associations with the forest remained rather stable. The forest visitors interviewed primarily associated the forest with tranquillity, recreation and fresh air, and they were generally positive about forest management. However, these expectations conflicted with the sense of crowdedness experienced during the lockdown, when novel forest uses and new motivations for visiting the forest arose, with an important focus on the forest as a place for social interaction. These were mainly a result of the lockdown restrictions, rather than COVID-19 itself, which left people with more time and flexibility, and less alternative activities. The results highlight the importance of forest management in catering to people's expectations and ultimately for the role that forests play for people's wellbeing. This was the case before the lockdown but arguably even more so during, in response to a variety of needs resulting from unprecedented circumstances.

Forest conservation as a living environment is essential for human survival. attention is focused on Forest aesthetics created by von h. Salisch at Postel in Poland, who managed economic forests to realize their functional beauty. although an idea of Salisch introduced to Japan by 1895, lectures on Forest Aesthetics did not continue in universities located in lower middle latitudes. the main reason is that Forest aesthetics depends on stand structure, creating sunshine filtering through canopy on the forest floor and the inci-dent light makes the forests look beautiful. action of light quality also plays an important role in forest beauty. Forest aesthetics encompasses the ideas of ecosystems, sustainabil-ity, and family affection. Although Forest Aesthetics was proposed in 1885, there was no scientific term of “ecosystem” and ecological service that time. Now once again, it is about time to reevaluate the Forest aesthetics produced in land of Poland

Background and Objectives: The landscape aesthetic service (LAS) is a crucial ecosystem service in subalpine forests of the mountain and ravine regions of the Tibetan Plateau, especially in autumn; it can provide important ecological and economic value, improving the livelihood of the local people. Canopy gap acts as a key role in the maintenance of species diversity and forest stability and ecosystem services. However, the mechanisms and interactions of forest stability maintained by gap formations and LAS via gap dynamics are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of canopy gaps on autumn color-leaved tree species diversity (ACTSD), color-leaved patch structure attributes (CPSA), LAS, and their interactions during the autumn viewing period, and to provide a fundamental basis for the management and protection of subalpine autumn color-leaved forests (SACF). Materials and Methods: We used very high-resolution images to quantify gap characteristics and examined the effects of canopy gaps on ACTSD, CPSA, and LAS in 21 SACF plots in southwestern China. We then used path analysis to determine the relationships between these factors. Results: The number of gaps and total gap area were the key gap characteristics affecting LAS; particularly, medium canopy gaps (51–100 m2) played a more important role. The path model showed that increasing the total gap area along with the number of medium canopy gaps had direct positive effects on ACTSD, color-leaved patch diversity, and total color-leaved patch area, thus improving the LAS. Conclusions: Canopy gaps indirectly improve LAS in autumn by significantly affecting ACTSD and CPSA. Our results suggest that forest managers may be able to manipulate the numbers and proportion of medium canopy gaps to protect and preserve ACTSD and color-leaved landscapes, promoting the LAS of SACF, and in turn, ensuring the coordinated development of economic, social, and ecological benefits for the underdeveloped rural montane areas of southwestern China.

The paper presents a methodology to quantify the suitability of forest stands for the potential delivery of cultural ecosystem services (CES). The quantification of CES represents a complicated task in the framework of ecosystem service valuation. Compared to traditional investigations, focusing on the study of the aesthetic appreciation of a particular territory, the use of geotagged photographs seems to be a promising alternative to appraise CES. Thus, in order to analyse CES with a particular focus on the aesthetic appreciation of forest stands, this study exploits big data through the analysis of photos shared on the Flickr social network. Crowdsourced datasets are used to depict the geographic location and density of pictures - expressed as the number of photos per unit of surface - as well as their relationship to forest variables and logistic characteristics. The implemented geostatistical model is used to spatialise the results at the regional level (Tuscany forests, Italy). Among the outputs, high values of CES are stressed for high forest and protected areas. From a forest species viewpoint, silver fir, coastal Mediterranean pine, beech and mixed forests seem to be more appreciated compared to other stand typologies such as oaks (e.g., pubescent or Turkey oak) and thermophilic broad-leaved species. Additional quantitative parameters (e.g., elevation, biomass stock and distance to main roads) were significant to the CES assessment. The potential applications of the technique to support forest planning and management are discussed.

This study explored changes in forest preferences among three different groups—foresters, environmentalists, and the general public (n = 410)—over a 7-year period for five different forest treatment types. Preferences were assessed for near views of clearcut, two-age cut, patch cut, group selection, and commercial thin. Results show that time since harvest significantly affected preference, with preferences generally increasing over time, but that the rate and pattern of preference change varied considerably according to the forest treatment type and the population group. The pattern of the initial harvest—specifically, the size of the openings and the uniformity of the harvest pattern across the landscape—appeared particularly important in influencing preference change. In addition, results show that although preferences among the groups tended to converge over time for less-intensive treatments, foresters' preferences remained higher than those of the other groups for more-intensive treatments (i.e., patch cut, two age, and clearcut). These results caution against overreliance on static preference studies when incorporating aesthetic considerations into forest planning decisions. Results also caution the forestry community against overestimating the positive effects of green-up on nonforester preferences, particularly for areas of intensive harvesting.

This study examines preferences and differences in preference among forest professionals and other forest stakeholders. Specifically, the study explores the underlying dimensions of preference and the stated rationale behind those preferences. Preferences were assessed for six different silvicultural treatments, including clearcutting, two-age cut, patch cut, group selection, commercial thin, and an unmodified control stand. Study participants were selected from six stakeholder groups: forest professionals, urban public, rural public, recreationists, environmentalists, and educators (n=210). Results show that people's preferences tend to follow the same general trend across all groups, with higher preference for less intense harvests. Foresters tended to show significantly greater preference than most other groups for treatments where tree removal left moderate to large openings; this difference was most striking with respect to clearcuts. Analysis of people's stated rationale behind the preference ratings suggests that differences in preference are a function of differences in how people interpret the scene. Foresters were more likely to see the management depicted in a scene and to interpret these signs of management in a favorable light; other groups were more likely to respond to the aesthetics of the scene or to processes perceived to be damaging to the landscape. Implications for these differences in preference and perception are discussed.

Only a few empirical studies on forest aesthetics have adopted a water-based perspective for observers and have investigated the perceived visual quality of forested shorelines. In forested environments with many lakes, such as the boreal forest in the Canadian Shield, individuals have greater exposure to forests from water-based rather than in-stand vantage points. This study employed the psychophysical research direction to explore the relationships between scenic beauty and biophysical characteristics of the forested shorelines in the boreal forests. Two model forms were tested. One model related the variation of shoreline forest aesthetic evaluations of near-vista views (140 m offshore) to a set of forest mensuration data. Tree size, tree mortality, conifer shrubs, tree density, amount of hardwood, and slope explained 60.2% of the variance in scenic beauty between the study sites. A second model was calibrated to test the relationship between an already existing ecosystem vegetation classification system and the aesthetic evaluations of the same forested shorelines. When the ecosystem classification was simplified to eight groups, the model explained 48.5% of variance. These models suggest that the psychophysical approach to studying aesthetics can be applied successfully to near-vista evaluations of scenic beauty. The finding that a forest ecosystem classification system is highly related to scenic beauty suggests that, at least in the boreal forest, managers can reasonably estimate the scenic beauty of forested shoreline environments from an ecosystem classification, with little need for intensive data on these sites.

Salvage logging, the removal for profit of standing trees that have been damaged by extensive wildfires, has been quite controversial and subject to lawsuits that can delay the logging past the time in which the lumber is still useful. It has not been clear, however, whether the public that has been most affected by wildfires--those that live near burned areas--support or oppose postfire logging. In this research we use focus groups and stakeholder interviews in urban interface communities that have experienced significant wildfires to examine in some detail the perspectives these members of the public have regarding salvage logging. Public support for salvage logging in communities that have recently experienced wildfires was much stronger than hypothesized at the beginning of this study from our review of the number of unsuccessful salvage logging proposals or even popular press reports. Key reasons for supporting salvage logging were that letting useful timber rot was wasteful, that it improves the postfire aesthetics and safety of the forest, and that it can provide some income for local postfire restoration activities. Caveats include assuring that any environmental impacts, such as new roads, are mitigated postlogging, and assuring that appropriate snags are left to provide wildlife habitat.