Relating spatial pattern of forest cover to accessibility

Abstract

Urban planning for optimal provision of recreational forests is not only concerned with how much space is needed, but equally with how this could be arranged in the landscape in order to make these forests accessible to many potential visitors. The present study sought to establish relationships between the spatial pattern of forest cover and these forests’ accessibility – either on foot or by bike – for short walks. This question was approached in an experimental way using landscape structure metrics. A factor analysis identified the common axes of spatial pattern. The first five factors explained 82.2% of the variation of the original data set. The first factor is related to forested area and number of forest patches, the second is related to shape complexity. The third factor quantifies contiguity, and the fourth measures the clumpiness of forests. The fifth refers to variability in forest shape. Only the factors related to forested area, forest shape complexity and clumpiness, show a significant correlation with recreational provision. A higher forest coverage and more forests should thus lead to a higher provision for short walking trips. However, when a small afforestation budget is available, high shape complexity, low forest contiguity and a high landscape shape index (LSI) should take priority. Shape indices make the most important contribution to single out patterns that offer recreation possibilities to a high number of people. The findings show the potential of using landscape structure metrics for the modelling of forest recreational provision.