The role and significance of Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) based on a survey of forest users in the Warsaw metropolitan area

Forests provide a variety of ecosystem services that play different roles for people depending on their lifestyles, views or places of residence. The purpose of this study was to determine the preferences of residents of the Warsaw metropolitan area for ecosystem services provided by forests, particularly cultural ecosystem services related to recreation and leisure in forested areas. The study area was forests around the city of Warsaw, the capital of Poland, located in the central part of the country. The study used an online based survey (CAWI) which was con- ducted in November 2021 on a representative sample of 1,000 adult residents of the Warsaw metropolitan area. The survey consisted of five demographic questions and 12 closed-ended questions with different category choices and one open-ended question on preferences for accessibility to forest areas, recreation in the forest, and evaluation of activities carried out by the State Forests. The results of the survey indicate that, regardless of the season, most respon- dents enjoy forest areas around Warsaw. The fewest amount of respondents show a preference for recreation in forests in winter. Respondents most often visit forest areas between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. For respondents, it is important to have contact with nature in forest areas near or not far from where they live where they can relax and contemplate nature. Most of the indicated ecosystem services were highly rated by respondents. The results of the study shows that in highly urbanized areas regulating and cultural services are more important for the inhabitants than provisioning. This suggests that the ability to provide these services must be taken into account when planning forest management.