EXPERIENCE TO APPLY THE METHOD OF ASSESSING THE RECREATIONAL POTENTIAL OF SUBURBAN FORESTS IN URBANIZED AREAS
EXPERIENCE TO APPLY THE METHOD OF ASSESSING THE RECREATIONAL POTENTIAL OF SUBURBAN FORESTS IN URBANIZED AREAS

Author(s): Natálie Levandovská
Subject(s): Methodology and research technology, Rural and urban sociology
Published by: Masarykova univerzita nakladatelství
Keywords: recreation; recreational potential; visitors; attraction; comfort; stability; urban forest;
Summary/Abstract: The purpose of the study was to determine the recreational potential a part of the suburban forests Sochi, Russia. The area of research contained 33 hectares and located inside the city quarters. In the study were used the taxation materials of the Sochi National Park. The research method included assessment of the forest in three groups of categories - attraction, comfort and stability. The method examines recreational forest from its attraction and comfort for visitors and tolerance (stability) to anthropogenic influence. The outcome of the evaluation is the Class of Recreational Value (CRV). The lowest results were registered among indices of attraction and comfort categories. This is mainly due to the large amount of debris – index “Sanitary conditions”, the absence of the recreational reservoir – Index “Distance to recreational reservoir”, and the proximity of large motor roads. At the same time, the indices of the Stability category are high. The method used previous researches of scientific works in area of urban recreational forests. However, some indices require verification, such as a moisture index. Perhaps it relevance is not significant. Present societies have a big demand of green areas and nature (Gadow 2002, Grahn&Stigsdotter 2003). The ongoing urbanization process in many countries and upspeeded by the modern lifestyle with the stress and stress-related illnesses (Ode & Fly 2002). In that case, outdoor recreation is concerned with the densely populated areas (Rydberg 1998 in Ode & Fly 2002) due to it “free nature” (Sandell 1993), opportunities for ameliorate injurious factors, restorative environments free from stress are provided (Bolshakov 2000, Grahn&Stigsdotter 2003). However, as a result of active use of forests for recreational purposes, their quality and ability to perform recreational functions are reduced. That is why important to estimate the ability of the forest, to resist influence of urban environment.

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