Effect of forest management on recreational usefulness of suburban forests

The article is related to recreational use of forests, a dynamically growing sector of forest exploitation complying with the European model of multifunctional forestry. The study examined the relation between selected forestry operations performed in forests and the level of their recreational usefulness (recreational potential), and separately between the type of forest-hold and the dominant function of forest versus its usefulness for recreation. The study was carried out in south-eastern Poland, in suburban forests of Rzeszaw. Recreational potential was determined with the use of method commonly applied in Poland, based on assessment of several features of tree stands i.e. habitat moisture, age of tree stands, inclination of the terrain, stand density, presence of undergrowth and underbrush, soil cover, species composition of the stand. The relationships were examined with chi-squared test and their strength was assessed with Cramer V index. Tree stands with recreational value account for nearly 72% of the relevant forest area. Mean recreational capacity of the forests amounted to 2.19 man-hour/ha/day. The results show statistically significant effect of forest management in recreational usefulness of tree stands. In the case of forestry operations and type of forest-hold, the relationship is weak, but moderate for forest function. The stands with the largest recreational usefulness where those in which lumber is acquired from small felling sites (92% of these were useful for recreation), or those located in protection forests and fulfilling water protection functions (not to be confused with protection of water intakes, i.e. special forests). Protection forests were found with twice as many recre-ationally useful stands (60%) than commercial forests (32%). Similarly, water-protecting forests were twice as useful for recreation (78%) as forests protecting urban areas (35%) and forests damaged by industry (37%). The main factors reducing recreational usefulness of forests include dense undergrowth and underbrush (>= 40% of land cover). The study identifies the elements of commercial forestry resulting in greater recreational usefulness of forests; hence it is possible to designate tree stands, which can be additionally developed for tourism related purposes without a need to modify the existing principles of forest management. On the other hand, in forests accessible for leisure, foresters can enhance the increase in recreational potential of forests by conducting planned commercial operations.