Exploring visual preferences for structural attributes of urban forest stands for restoration and heat relief

Abstract

Impacts of heat periods and stressful life increasingly impact urban population. Green infrastructure such as urban forests can reduce heat-related stress and provide a restorative experience. The study explored preferences of 160 urban woodland visitors in Vienna for, and their trade-offs between, structural components of forest stands using a discrete choice experiment with digitally calibrated images. Three different visitor intentions for choosing a forest stand were explored: preference, heat relief and restorative experience. Results showed that respondents preferred forest stands with a closed canopy and ground vegetation, but without high amounts of dead wood. The structural components were weighed differently by respondents with ground vegetation being the most important component relative to the other forest stand components investigated. While components providing shade became more important for heat relief, results for visitor preferences and restoration were very similar. Results indicate that different recreational intentions lead to different visual preferences for forest stands. Respondents would tolerate a less aesthetically appealing forest stand for a visit to a forest during hot days. Urban foresters may develop a specific type of forest stands to encounter the increasing impacts of urban heat.