Increasing Britain’s tree cover is a current policy for each of the devolved administrations of England, Wales and Scotland which is intended to deliver multiple benefits. British public opinion surveys of forestry show high levels of support for increasing woodland cover. However, public perceptions of multifunctional landscapes in Scotland are complex (Nijnik and Mather, 2008); therefore understanding people’s perceptions of landscape and their preferences for woodland cover can help to inform environmental planning and policy making.
A research project conducted by Forest Research and the University of Edinburgh is looking at public preferences for the type and extent of woodland cover in the landscape using a landscape visualisation tool. The project uses a simple interface to capture the complexity of multiple benefits and the trade-offs and synergies that result from prioritising and managing for particular benefits. Previously this method has been used to identify management preference clusters for an upland landscape close to Edinburgh. In their survey, Schmidt et al. (2016) found a strong pattern of preference for nature-oriented management. This talk will describe the tool and present results for woodland expansion and land use preferences for the Lochaber region in the western Highlands.
References
Nijnik, M., Mather, A., 2008. Analyzing public preferences concerning woodland development in rural landscapes in Scotland. Landsc. Urban Plan. 86, 267–275.
Schmidt, K., et al 2016. The Sociocultural Value of Upland Regions in the Vicinity of Cities in Comparison With Urban Green Spaces. Mt. Res. Dev. 36, 465–474.