In a crowded planet, the feeling of wildness is becoming more important for human recreation. A new study shows that two-thirds of the potential forest visitors in Poland (68%) and Norway (66%) preferred old natural forests inhabited by large carnivores.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Large carnivores, such as wolves, lynx or brown bears, can evoke fascination and interest, but also fear. Similarly, natural forests, relatively free from human control, can be perceived as a \u201cparadise\u201d or as \u201chell\u201d. \u00a0A new study investigates how attractive are wild forests for forest visitors, i.e. forests with several tree species of different age, containing dead trees and inhabited by large carnivores vs typical forest plantations or monocultures empty of large carnivores. Results show that preferences towards wild nature were highly polarized. \u201cThere were no neutral people towards forest characteristics and large carnivores. We found a strong link between both preferences: people who chose to visit a natural forest preferred to feel the possibility to encounter a large carnivore or its tracks. However, people who preferred to visit a managed forest tend to avoid visiting forests with large carnivores\u201d, explains Nuria Selva, co-leader of the study from the Institute of Nature Conservation Polish Academy of Sciences in Krakow.<\/p>\n
The authors investigated forest preferences of visitors by an online survey to over 1000 potential forest visitors each in Poland and Norway. Respondents were given several alternatives of forest types to visit, varying in forest age (old-growth or young forest), number of tree species, amount of dead wood, presence or absence of large carnivores, and -more importantly- how far each forest was. The preferences were estimated as \u2018willingness-to-travel\u2019, i.e., the distance people would be willing to travel to visit a forest with a given set of characteristics and whether or not it was inhabited by large carnivores. Results showed that two thirds of the respondents in both Poland (68%) and Norway (66%) preferred natural and relatively unmanaged forests with large carnivores. These potential forest visitors were termed \u2018wildness positive\u2019. However, the rest of respondents showed negative preferences towards wildness, which were stronger. \u201cIn Poland, wildness-positive visitors will travel an extra 38 km to visit a 100-year old forest in relation to a young forest, and extra 15 km to visit a forest inhabited by wolves. In the wildness-negative class of respondents, the figures are only 2 km when it comes to visiting a 100-year-old forest, and 29 km to avoid visiting a forest with wolves and 33 km to avoid a forest with bears. Our study showed that for Norway the metrics are even more extreme. Norwegian opponents of wildness were ready to travel an extra 37 km to avoid meeting a wolf and 66 km to avoid visiting a forest with bears\u201d, explains Marek Giergiczny, co-leader of the study from the University of Warsaw.<\/p>\n
These opposing views reflect the dualism of human-nature relationships that has been described as biophilia (love of nature) and biophobia (fear of nature). \u201cOur study clearly shows that large carnivores are important components of forest ecosystems also from a social perspective and that large carnivores play a role in forest recreational value\u201d, says Giergiczny. \u201cLarge carnivores can make that visitors will perceive even a degraded landscape as wild or authentic. Nature and wildness experiences contribute to human health and well-being of most of the society, and people will need them in an increasingly crowded and transformed world\u201d, Selva adds. The authors remarked the need to consider the value of forests and large carnivores to human recreation and adapt the way we manage forest ecosystems.<\/p>\n
The study has just been published in Scientific Reports<\/em> and is product of the cooperation among researchers from the University of Warsaw, the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, the University of South-Eastern Norway and the Institute of Nature Conservation Polish Academy of Sciences. Funding was secured by the Polish-Norwegian Research Program operated by National Centre for Research and Development in Poland under the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009\u20132014 (Project GLOBE, POLNOR\/ 198352\/85\/2013).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n