Management and Social Problems Linked to the Human Use of European Urban and Suburban Forests

Abstract

This review regards the management and social problems in European urban and suburban forests linked to their maintenance and human use. They can be divided into major categories: forest management problems (e.g., the low priority of urban forestry, various or diffused urban forest management, lack of management plans or lack of sufficient funds); the social reception of forest works and forests (e.g., emotional reactions to total clear-cutting, negative evaluation of logging traces, negative evaluation of poor tourist infrastructure, specific expectations concerning a model forest: e.g., tall, of low density, mixed, old); and relations between forest users (problems related to e.g., crowding, fast-moving people, the presence of dogs, littering, thefts or noisy behaviour). Here, special attention is paid to problems and negative interactions, as they are challenges to forest management, as well as to the development of plans, strategies, and policies, both in relation to existent forests and those planned in various parts of Europe. Taking into account the feelings and expectations of forest users concerning forests, forest works/management, and infrastructure, as well as their attitude to other forest users, may reduce conflicts concerning various kinds of forest perception and use, and (with the support of societal education) may help to increase the sense of social responsibility for the “shared” forests. The presented findings are expected to be practical and useful for the management of urban and suburban forests, regardless of the location, as a type of checklist of possible problems, that may prove to be important and up-to-date in a particular location.