Thesis Oscar Andersson

My Forest is My Garden
Management of Urban and Peri-Urban

Forests in Denmark and attitudes of.
forest owners - through a health perspective.
Management of Urban and Peri-Urban

Forests in Denmark and attitudes of.
forest owners - through a health perspective.
Masters Thesis in Landscape Architecture 2016
UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN
FA C U LT Y O F S C I E N C E
Author: Oscar Alexander Andersson (vsm164)
30 ECTS Master Thesis in Landscape Architecture
Supervisor: Ulrika K. Stigsdotter
Department of Geosciences and Natural Resources Management
August 8. 2016
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Oscar Alexander Andersson
Preface
Never follow anyone elses path, unless youre in the woods and
youre lost and you see a path. Then by all means follow that path.
Ellen DeGeneres
My name is Oscar Andersson and this thesis is my final work as a
Landscape Architect student at University of Copenhagen.
I would like to thank some people that have helped me through this
period of writing my thesis:
My supervisor Ulrika Stigsdotter: Thank you for your great guidance
and support during this period!
Jrgen Bo Larsen: Thank you for your input that kept me focused on
what is relevant and not everything else.
Vivian Kvist: You have embraced and shared my enthusiasm and shared
valuable knowledge. Thank you!
Frank Sndergaard Jensen: You are just so knowledgeable when it
comes to recreational use of natural areas in Denmark, thank you for
your input and support!
Victoria Linn Lygum: You have been a very helpful guiding hand when I
have felt a bit lost and in need of direction.
Klaus Harnvig: You are the ground which I stand on. You are my most
important mental support and it goes so far beyond this thesis.
Hulda Davisdttir: We have supported each other in our respective
theses and just having you by my side made it all a bit more joyful.
All my interviewees: You have given me all the juice of this thesis.
Thanks to you I have learned things about Danish forests that I could
never have read in a book.
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Contents

Abstract.......................................................................................... ........ 8
Box
Oscars thesis Definition of what a peri-urban woodland is................... 9
1 Introduction..............................................................................................
1.1
An important remark...........................................................................................
1.2 Topics.....................................................................................................................

1.2.1 The interdisciplinary approach..............................................................

1.2.2 The health perspective...........................................................................

1.2.3 The ownerships......................................................................................

1.2.4 The problem...........................................................................................

1.2.5 The theory..............................................................................................

1.2.6 The study................................................................................................

1.2.7 The importance of the study..................................................................
1.3
Narrowing down subject..................................................................................
1.4
Narrowing down case.......................................................................................
11
11
11
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11
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12
12
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12
13
2
Thesis statement and Aim........................................................................ 14
2.1
Thesis statement................................................................................................. 14
2.2 Aim..................................................................................................................... 14
3 Methods.....................................................................................................
3.1
Literature study (general)..................................................................................
3.2
Case study (specific)..........................................................................................

3.2.1 Site analyses............................................................................................

3.2.2 Interviews...............................................................................................

4
Forest management...................................................................................
4.1
Definition of a forest..........................................................................................
4.2
Forests in Denmark...........................................................................................
4.3
A brief history of Danish forests.......................................................................
4.4
Nature-based forest management, what is it?.................................................

4.4.1 Nature-based forest management in Danish forests.............................

4.4.2 What is it good for?................................................................................

4.4.3 Is something missing?.............................................................................
4.5
Forest Development Types................................................................................

4.5.1 Climatological and soil aspects..............................................................

4.5.2 Social aspect...........................................................................................
4.6
Ecosystem services.............................................................................................
4.7
Urban Forestry and the social value of nature-based forest
management........................................................................................................

4.7.1 Forests close to people; why would people benefit from that....................
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16
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5
Mental Health............................................................................................
5.1
What is mental fatigue/stress? .........................................................................
5.2
How is it a problem for the society?..................................................................
5.3
What is mental restoration?..............................................................................
5.4
How can the natural environments aid mental restoration?..........................
5.5
What is it with forested environments that have a

particularly restorative effect on people?.........................................................

5.5.1 Forests in general....................................................................................

5.5.2 Spatial characteristics of forests that support mental restoration........

5.5.3 Variations between enclosed and more open

forested rooms / spaces...........................................................................

5.5.4 Water in forests.......................................................................................
5.6
Psychology of restorative environments..........................................................

5.6.1 Being Away.............................................................................................

5.6.2 Soft Fascination......................................................................................

5.6.3 Feeling of safety.......................................................................................

5.4.4 Experiencing nature through all senses.................................................

5.4.5 Unlocking the mind --> getting into a reflective mode.........................
27
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6
6.1
6.2
6.3
Physical health...........................................................................................
Sedentary lifestyle..............................................................................................
How are forests linked to physical health?.......................................................
Which qualities of a forested area can stimulate physical activity?................
33
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7 Stakeholders...............................................................................................
7.1
Who are the stakeholders?................................................................................
7.2
Economic interests.............................................................................................
7.3
Public involvement............................................................................................
7.5 Collaboration......................................................................................................
7.6
Potential conflicts / disagreements...................................................................
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8
Case study..................................................................................................
8.1 Introduction........................................................................................................
8.2 Analyses..............................................................................................................
8.3
Data collection...................................................................................................
8.4
Overview of Danish towns................................................................................
8.5
Choosing a representative town.......................................................................
8.6
Kolding and its landscape.................................................................................
8.7
A brief history of forests in and around Kolding ...........................................
8.8
UPUFs forests in Kolding.................................................................................
8.9
Who owns the forests?.......................................................................................
8.10 How much UPUFs are there?.............................................................................
8.11 Choosing a few representative forests..............................................................
8.12 Description of the chosen forests.....................................................................

8.12.1 Marielund / Bramdrup skov..................................................................

8.12.2 Harte skov..............................................................................................

8.12.3 Seest skov / Kolding kirkeskov................................................................

8.12.4 Skov ved Rebk strand..........................................................................

8.12.5 Vonsild skov.........................................................................................
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9 Results........................................................................................................ 64
9.1
The presentation of the results.......................................................................... 64
10
10.1

10.2
The field work ...........................................................................................

How are the forests experienced.......................................................................
10.1.1 Marielund / Bramdrup skov.................................................................
10.1.2 Harte skov..............................................................................................
10.1.3 Seest skov / Kolding kirkeskov................................................................
10.1.4 Skov ved Rebk strand..........................................................................
10.1.5 Vonsild skov...........................................................................................
Sum up...............................................................................................................
65
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11 Interviews...................................................................................................
11.1 Interviewing forest owners of forests surrounding Kolding

using a questionnaire.........................................................................................
11.2 Results of the interviews....................................................................................

11.2.1 Background data...................................................................................

11.2.2 Management...........................................................................................

11.2.3 Forest guests............................................................................................

11.2.4 Paths.......................................................................................................

11.2.5 Visions.....................................................................................................

11.2.6 Recreation / Health promotion..............................................................
76
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12
12.1

12.2

12.3

12.4

12.5

Answering the questions from the thesis statement................................

How do we obtain health promoting nature qualities in UPUFs
through forest management?..............................................................................
Are some UPUFs not seen as a place of public service for
the citizens of the town by the forest managers, but merely as
a wood production area?.....................................................................................
Are some forest owners even reluctant of having visitors
in their forests? (With potential problems such as
littering, vandalism and loose dogs)..................................................................
Do forest owners think that they wont gain anything economically
from improving restorative qualities in their forests? (Too expensive)........
Do forest owners/managers lack the tools and/or
the knowledge to manage their forests in a direction that support
the development of health promoting forested environments?.....................
80
13 Discussion..................................................................................................
13.1 Small size of study..............................................................................................
13.2 Obstacles 1 No common strategy...................................................................
13.3 Obstacles 2 A handbook?................................................................................
13.4 Obstacles 3 Reluctant owners.........................................................................
13.5 Obstacles 4 The behaviour of forest visitors.................................................
13.6 Obstacles 5 The My Forest is My Garden-attitude.......................................
13.7 How can the existing urban and peri-urban forests be

improved in terms of potential public health benefits?...................................
13.8 What have I learned...........................................................................................
13.9 What would I have done differently ...............................................................
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14 Conclusions................................................................................................
14.1 Strengths and weaknesses.................................................................................

15 Perspectives................................................................................................
15.1 Implications for practise....................................................................................
15.2 Implications for further research......................................................................
85
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16.1
16.2
16.3
16.4
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References..................................................................................................
Literature references..........................................................................................
Figure and picture references............................................................................
Web references...................................................................................................
List of figures.........................................................................................................
80
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X Appendixes................................................................................................. 96
X1
Questionnaire (In Danish).................................................................................. 96
X2
Some photographs................................................................................................ 106
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Abstract
Very strong evidence supports the theory that
urban and peri-urban forests play an important
role for the promotion of peoples health and
well-being, as they are natural areas close to where
people live. It is important, though, that the forests
are designed and managed properly to function as
a health supportive environment and that the
forests are accessible enough to be visited.
Urban and peri-urban forests, hereafter abbreviated as UPUFs, are wooded areas in, or at the fringe
of, urban areas.
In this thesis I have, through literature research, investigated what the characteristics of urban and
peri-urban forests are that make them restorative.
I have also made site analyses of five chosen forests
in and at the fringe (within 3 km) of one Danish
town, Kolding, to map and investigate current
spatial and informational qualities in relation to
mental restoration as well as physical activity.
Finally I have, through interviews, investigated
Danish forest owners perspective of UPUFs: their
primary goals with their forests, their awareness
regarding health benefits from nature experiences,
current management strategies of their forests in
relation to human recreation of health promotion,
their attitudes towards forest visitors and whether
they as owners of UPUFs, see themselves as
providers of health supportive environments.
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I have found that there is a great potential for developing health promoting qualities in many of the
UPUFs of Kolding with some minor adjustments in
the management. I have also found that, among
forest owners, there is a great difference in attitudes
towards forest visitors, especially between owners
of public and private forests, where owners of
private forests are generally much more reluctant
in their attitudes towards visitors. To achieve
success in improving health promotion in UPUFs,
the greatest challenge is, in one way or another, to
improve the willingness of private forest owners for
their forests to be a place for health promotion of
the citizens of the adjacent town.
Oscars thesis
Definition of what a peri-urban forest is
This thesis is about urban and peri-urban forests. Some explanation of how the term is defined
might be in place for the reader to be on the same page as the writer. Generally one can claim
that urban forests lay within or at the border of an urban area and peri-urban forests lays within
the fringe of it. But how far out does the fringe go? To my knowledge, there arent an international standardized set of criteria for this. One of the main aspects of UPUFs is the possibility for
everyday use of it. That is determined by whether or not the forest is readily accessible by foot;
The key factor for active use is easy access to the areas, preferably within walking distance
from home. (Tyrvinen et al. 2005). In Danish studies, intervals have been used to describe
distance-related issues on forest visits. On the following graphs (fig. 1), (fig. 2) and (fig. 3) these
intervals clearly show the influence distance have on visits.
Figure 1
Percentage of respondents, who had more than X kms travel to the forest.
Respondents distribution in 1977, 1994 and 2008 (Kvist Johansen et al. 2013).
Translated to English by author.
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Figure 2
The influence of travelling distance on the choice of transport in 2008
(Kvist Johansen et al. 2013). Translated to English by author.
Figure 3
Graph combining distance and means of transportation (De konomiske Rd 2014).
According to these graphs, more than half of all visits to forests (fig. 1 and fig. 2) and nature
areas (fig. 3) are made within a distance of 3km. 3km also seem to be the limit where, below
that, most visits are by foot or bicycle and above that, most visits are by motorized vehicles.
It thus seems like forests farther away than 3km wouldnt be used regularly as part of an individuals daily life. Forests being situated beyond 3km away from an urbanized area are therefore
too remote to be regarded as urban or peri-urban.
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Introduction
1. Introduction
1.1
An important remark
In this thesis the expression forests are used continuously on the expense of the expression
woodlands, except for in citations where the expression woodlands is used. The chosen expression refers to areas larger than 0.5 hectares with at
least 10% canopy cover. (See more thorough definition in the chapter Forest Management).
1.2
Topics
The following sub-sections presents different topics
within this thesis and why they are chosen.
1.2.1
The interdisciplinary approach
This study has its foundation in both forestry and in
environmental psychology (and health) and is thus
interdisciplinaty. It can be argued that the interdisciplinary approach is necessary when working with
UPUFs, as they have the possibility to provide
important services to many different sectors. If
ones concentration is directed only within one
sector, the other sectors will be ignored and the
potential for the forest to have multiple benefits
will not be fully realized.
1.2.2
The health perspective
Numerous studies have been done on how nature
experiences benefits human health. How it can aid
mental restoration (Sonntag-strm et al. 2014,
Ulrich et al. 1991), how it can decrease stress (Annerstedt et al. 2010, Skrbck 2007) and anger and
aggressiveness (Hartig et al. 2003). One study has
found that human health is affected positively with
decreasing distance from the private home to
nearest green space (Stigsdotter et al. 2010). Other
studies clearly show that green areas close to
where one live are used to a much greater extent
than green areas farther away, hence green areas
with the highest health promoting value are the
urban green areas. (Hansmann et al. 2007, Rydberg
& Falck 2000).
1.2.3
The ownerships
We have gained great knowledge about the importance of experiencing nature, but knowledge about
the role of the providers of nature is still much
more limited. In Denmark most city parks are
owned by the associated municipality, but UPUFs
can, apart from the municipality, be owned by: The
State, Churches, NGOs, Private companies and
Private persons. The Municipality, The State and
Churches count as public forests, whereas Private
companies, Private persons and NGOs count as
private forests. Out of these six main sectors,
private persons own the largest area, both considering all forests in Denmark and the urban forests
of one chosen Danish town, Kolding.
1.2.4
The problem
Considering the proportionally large area of private
owned forests, one would assume that these are
the most important recreational forests in Denmark.
This is, however, not the case. Opposed to public
forests, private forests have limited access.
According to Danish law, access to private forests is
only permitted by foot or bicycles on paths and
between 6 Am and sunset. It can be further limited
under certain circumstances, for example if the
forest is smaller than 5 hectares or during times
when the forest is rented out for hunting. Public
forests are not allowed to limit access in the same
extent. State forests are even obliged to promote
recreation in their forests. This difference may have
resulted in a big difference in forest visits between
private and public forests.
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Introduction
1.2.5
The theory
I believe that there are many UPUFs in Denmark
that do not fulfil a potential of being a health
promoting environment that they have, especially
among private owned forests, and that one of the
reasons for this is that they are not managed in a
way that support accessibility and the development of health promoting forested environments.
Many citizens of Danish towns might not know
about the sheer existence of some UPUFs, only
because there is nothing indicating an invite for a
visit. In this study I will investigate why it is so.
1.2.6
The study
In this thesis I take offset partly in literature study,
partly in interviews of forest owners of a few chosen
forests and partly in making visits to these forests
to analyse the current qualities regarding physical
recreation and mental restoration as well as the
potential for improving these qualities.
1.2.7
The importance of the study
In comparison with other European countries, the
forest cover in Denmark is very small, covering a
mere 14.4% of the total land area (Nord-Larsen et
al. 2015). It can therefore be argued that forests in
Denmark are in need of greater consideration in
terms of recreational and health promoting use
than forests in most other European countries.
1.3
Narrowing down subject
Its always a challenge to narrow down ones subject
to a manageable size and to not include too many
topics. The general topic of this thesis is management of health promoting natural environments.
Ive chosen to work with forests and not with other
natural environments, such as meadows and
coastal areas, since forests have a specific set of
management tools that differs vastly from those of
other natural environments. These nature areas
need, however, not to be neglected when working
with recreation and human health, since they too
have important functions as restorative environments. They will also be briefly analysed in this
thesis. Ive chosen to work with UPUFs and not
rural forests. The reason for this is that:
1. For a forest to function as a health promoting
environment for an individual it needs to be visited
regularly. (Hansmann et al. 2007).
2. For a forest to be visited regularly, it needs to be
situated close to where the individual have his or
her daily life. Distance is crucial.
The science field of health promoting environments
can be divided into two branches. (Fig. 4).
There are currently initiatives in Denmark to
increase the cover of forested land. That is,
however, not a focus of this study. Ive chosen only
to focus on already existing forests, as forests need
to be at a certain age before health promoting
qualities can emerge and develop.
Figure 4
The two branches of health promoting environments. One branch deals with rehabilitation from diseases (improvement of ill
health), the other branch deals with sustaining a state of good health and to prevent diseases to develop (maintenance and
fortification of good health). Ive chosen to focus on the branch that deals with prevention of diseases. (Stigsdotter 2005).
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Introduction
My focus is also on investigating the management

of the forests and how the management can
support health promoting use of the forests, rather
than the users and their preferences and actual use
of the forests. The reason for this is that much
research has already been conducted about the
users perspective.
1.4
Narrowing down case
When initiating my work on the case study of this
thesis, I planned on working with five Danish towns.
I soon realized that it was much more work than I
have time for within the scope of this thesis, so I
narrowed it down to one town, Kolding. After
finding 34 forests split on more than 160 forest
owners, owning a total of more than 400 cadastres,
I decided on narrowing down my study to five
forests. These five forests are situated all around
the town of Kolding in varied landscape types. They
also have owners from each of the five major owner
groups, making them representative as typical
UPUFs of Kolding. More details about the case will
be explained in the chapter Case study.
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Thesis statement and Aim
2. Thesis statement and Aim

2.1
Thesis statement:
We have through research gained knowledge about
that human beings achieve health benefits from
visiting forests and nature.
We also have some ideas about what type of nature
qualities that provides health effects on humans.
The task now is to implement this knowledge
actively into forest management of UPUFs, so that
restorative qualities of those forests are improved
and so that the public can benefit and experience
restoration of good quality when visiting these
forests.
We must get from theory to practice How do we
develop health promoting nature qualities in UPUFs
through forest management?
The answer is that we need to be in dialogue with
owners of existing forests to make progress.
My hypothesis is that there are many UPUFs in
Denmark that do not fulfil their inherent potential
of being a health promoting environment.
One of the reasons for this can be that they are not
managed in ways that support the development of
health promoting forested environments.
Another reason can be that many citizens of Danish
towns might not know about the sheer existence of
some UPUFs, only because there is nothing indicating an invite for a visit.
Why is it so?
-
Are some UPUFs not seen as a place of

public service for the citizens of the town

by the forest managers, but merely as a

wood production area?
-
Are some forest owners even reluctant of

having visitors in their forests? (With

potential problems such as littering,

vandalism and loose dogs)
-
Do forest owners think that they wont

gain anything economically from improving

restorative qualities in their forests? (Too

expensive)
-
Do forest owners/managers lack the tools

and/or the knowledge to manage their

forests in a direction that support the

development of health promoting forested

environments?
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2.2
Aim:
I want to investigate the current situation in Danish
UPUFs in terms of health promoting and recreational qualities. To do this I will use scientific
evidence in the field of environmental health to, on
a general level, detect which qualities of the forests
that can promote both mental and physical health
and, on a specific level, do spatial analyses from
visits to UPUFs where those potential qualities can
be investigated.
I also want to do research on ownerships of Danish
UPUFs and, through interviews with Danish forest
owners, investigate whether there are differences
between them in relation to attitudes towards
forest visitors. Also through the interviews, I want
to investigate what level of knowledge the forest
owners have regarding the potential health benefits
forest visits may have on visitors.
Finally I want to investigate if there is any interest
by forest owners in a user friendly handbook with
forest management tools that can increase recreational and health promoting qualities for UPUFs in
Denmark.
The prospect I have is that the knowledge gained
from this project can reveal what (some of) the
obstacles are for increasing the health promoting
qualities as well as the availability of Danish UPUFs.
Thesis statement and Aim
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Methods
3. Methods
I have worked both generally and specifically with
the subject of this thesis using three distinct
methods. (fig. 5). On a general level I have studied
literature that deals with restorative environments,
management of urban forests and recreational
values of forests. I have done this to investigate
what makes a forest a restorative environment and
to present evidence that strongly supports the
theory that UPUFs are important for public health.
On a specific level I have chosen a case study and
worked partly with site analyses of some existing
UPUFs and partly with interviewing owners of the
forests visited.
3.1
General
A study of research that deals with the general preconditions of forest management and health
promoting environments is necessary as evidence
based fundament of the thesis.
3.1.1
Literature research
The chosen field of literature research in this thesis
is deliberately large, since I work interdisciplinary,
combining the field of forest management with the
field of environmental psychology and health
design. I have mainly used three research web
portals to find relevant articles; ScienceDirect,
Google Scholar and ResearchGate.
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3.2
Specific
To be able to validate whether or not my thesis
statement holds water, I need to conduct a case
study, moving from a general level to a site specific
level.
3.2.1
Site analyses
The experience based qualities of a forest can only
be assessed through visits. I have therefore made
visits to the chosen forests so that I can get a broad
understanding of the forest structures and the experience of getting around.
3.2.2
Interviews
I want to gain knowledge about forest owners
attitudes and the most straightforward method for
doing this is by finding specific forest owners and to
hear them out.
The method of interviewing forest owners and
forest managers in Denmark, working with the
town of Kolding as a case study, was chosen to
obtain some very specific knowledge regarding
management and attitudes. I have used a questionnaire as a framework for my interviews. (See
appendix 1).
Methods
METHODS
General Specific
1 Literature research 2_Site analysis

3_Interviews
Figure 5
The methods of the study.
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Forest management
4. Forest management
This and the following chapters make out the scientific base of this thesis and are thus heavily based
on literature research and filled with citations.
4.1
Definition of a forest
In Denmark, the definition of a forest is as follows:
The forest area includes all actual forest stands
that are larger than 0.5 hectares, wider than 20
meters, with trees higher than 5 meters and a
crown cover of more than 10 %, or trees that are
potentially able to achieve these values at the
location. Christmas trees and decorative greenery
on agricultural land is also included. Help areas as
forest roads and firebreaks as well as houses in
forests are also included. Orchards and areas with
urban or cottages are not included.
4.2
Forests in Denmark
In a European context, forest cover in Denmark is
sparse. It can therefore be argued that it is more
important to think multi-functionality into Danish
forests, and in particular UPUFs, to a higher degree
than in many other European countries.
Legislation regarding access and what one may or
may not do in Danish forests differs significantly
whether the forest is owned by the public or the
private sector. The figure below (fig. 6) points out
the differences:
(Nord-Larsen et al. 2015).

Figure 6
Legislation regarding access and what one may or may not do in Danish forests.
(Danish forest and nature agency 2005). Translated to English by author.
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Forest management
4.3
A brief history of Danish forests
Climatically, Denmark has close to perfect conditions for forests to develop. These supportive
climatic conditions in combination with the relatively smooth terrain of the Danish landscape have,
however, resulted in turning much of the land use
from forests into more profitable agricultural fields.
This trend can be traced back to the bronze age,
where nearly 100% of the Danish area was covered
in forests, until the early 19th century where the
forest cover had shrunk down to a mere 2-3% of
the total area. At this period it became apparent
that the situation was not sustainable and further
deforestation was prohibited by law. Problems with
sand drift had become more and more severe and
it became harder to find wood. The remaining
forested areas were protected, so that the land use
could not be changed after fellings they needed
to remain as forests.
Throughout the 19th century initiatives were made

to stop sand drift (especially of western Jutland) by
afforestation of sturdy Mountain pines (Pinus
mugo). The method proved successful, but much of
the landscape affected by sand drift had now
become so sandy, so that agriculture of this land
was no longer a sensible option. Instead more afforestation took place, now mostly of conifers, such
as Norway spruce (Picea abies).
Afforestation has since continued and forests do
now cover 14.4% of the total area in Denmark.
(Nord-Larsen et al. 2015).
In recent years more focus on values of forests
other than production values have arisen. Much of
the natural flora and fauna in Denmark has found
to be associated with forests (Petersen et al. 2016)
and preference studies show that forests are the
most popular setting for outdoor recreation.
(Jensen 1998 I, De konomiske Rd 2014)
These discovered values have strengthened the
arguments for further afforestation and slowly
changed the perception of what a good forest is.
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Forest management
A development that has been misfortunate

regarding the possibilities for getting around in the
landscape and thus visit forests, is the decline in
country lanes during the 20th century, which is illustrated in research by Katrine Hjring and Ole H.
Caspersen. In the following figure (fig. 7) showing
an area of 25 square kilometers, the decline in
country lanes clearly shows with a reduction from
97 km to 51 km, equivalent to approximately 50%
between 1950 and 1991.
Not only is the total length of the country lanes

reduced, they are also much more fragmented than
before and thus less accessible and more likely to
lead to dead ends. A repeated study shows that
this development has been continuing also from
1988 to 2010. (Fig. 8).
Figure 7
Decrease of country lanes between 1950 and 1991. (Hjring 2002).
Figure 8
Continued decrease of country lanes between 1988 and 2010. (Caspersen & Nyed 2011).
| 20 |
Forest management
4.4
Nature-based forest management, what is it?
At the section for Landscape and Forestry at the
University of Copenhagen, a modern way of forest
management has been developed; Nature-based
forest management. It is a different approach to
forestry than the conventional mono-culture
forests, where focus is on optimization of crop production.
Nature-based forest management instead has
focus on crop production, ecological functions and
social functions. (Larsen 2012).
Nature-based forestry is based on continuous
forest cover, species mixtures, uneven-aged stand
structures, selective harvest, and intensive use of
natural regeneration.
(Nielsen & Jensen 2007).
Some of the main goals of Nature-based forest
management are to:
-
preserve a continuous forest climate
-
make more use of natural regeneration
-
use native species and species
-
make species selection fit with soil and

climatic conditions at the location
-
support biotopes by leaving deadwood on

the forest floor
-
restore natural hydrology
4.4.1
Nature-based forest management in Danish forests
Since 2005 all state forests in Denmark have agreed
on changing the from their previous forest management methods into the newly developed Nature-based forest management.
4.4.2
What is it good for?
By turning away from the conventional forestry
approach with its thinking of optimization of production, one opens the door for considering other
types of values, which can potentially increase the
cumulative value to a higher level than conventional forestry can. With other words; a small trade-off
in wood production can, with smart management,
result in great gains of other values. These alternative values are not direct first hand monetary
values, which make them easy to overlook. They
are rather secondary values and values for the
society. The figure on the following page (fig. 9)
illustrates these aspects quite clearly, number of
+ represents level of goal fulfilment:
| 21 |
Forest management
Figure 9
Benefits from Nature-based forestry (Larsen 2012).
| 22 |
Forest management
4.4.3
Is something missing?
It can be argued that the potential benefit for
human health and well-being is undervalued within
the concept of Nature-based forest management
and that this value can add significantly to the total
value of the concept, if more actively worked into
it.
4.5
Forest Development Types
A way to implement Nature-based forest management into user friendly tools for foresters is by
using Forest Development Types, abbreviated as
FDTs.
Currently, 19 different FDTs have been developed,
which all are adjusted to be functional in Denmark.
FDTs are the long term goal for a forest dynamics.
They are composed of tree species that has the
potential of growing well together, meaning that
one species wont be too dominant and weaken
the growing conditions of other species. The
dynamics of growth and natural regeneration
should be self-sustainable.
A description of an FDT is an information sheet that
consists of a forest diagram that illustrates the
dynamics and social relationships of the tree
species complemented by descriptions of:
-
the structure of the expected stand,
-
the species composition,
-
the expected dynamics,
-
the expected functions of such a forest
within the three categories; wood production
values, nature values and recreational values,
-
the expected occurrence, showing which
part of Denmark that has suitable conditions.
At the bottom of the sheet, there is another diagram
that shows the range of soil and water conditions
that are suitable for the FDT. (Larsen & Nielsen
2007).
4.5.1
Climatological and soil aspects
Even though Denmark is a small country which lay
completely within the temperate nemoral climate
zone, there is enough difference in conditions to
make some species compositions more suitable in
one region of Denmark than another. The major
factors that determine which species that can grow
where in Denmark are the soil conditions and as a
consequence of that, water availability.
The catalogue of the FDTs has been worked out in a
way so that all the variance of Danish climate and
soil conditions are covered.
4.5.2
Social aspect
All FDTs are evaluated in terms of the social values
they can provide and each of the FDTs has a description of what values it can provide socially.
Emphasis is often put on the variation of age and
species of the stand, making the experience of the
forest stand more interesting and diverse than a
conventional forest stand would.
| 23 |
Forest management
4.6
Ecosystem services
The multiple value of a certain land use can be
analysed by the concept named ecosystem services.
Ecosystem services are defined as the benefits
provided by ecosystems and can be divided into
four distinct categories:
-
Provisional services, which include food,

water, timber, fibre and crops.
-
Regulating services, which include regula

tion of climate, floods, disease, water

quality and waste treatment.
-
Cultural services, which include recreation,

aesthetic enjoyment and spiritual fulfil
ment.
-
Supporting services, which include soil

formation, pollination, and nutrient cycling.

(Reid et al. 2005).
The focus of this study is mainly within cultural

services, whereas the focus of a conventional
forester would typically be almost solely on provisional services.
The following figure (fig. 10) show the relation
between the ecosystem services and their potential
positive outcomes:
Figure 10
The relation between the ecosystem services and their potential positive outcomes. (Reid et al. 2005).
| 24 |
Forest management
4.7
Urban Forestry and the social value of nature-based forest management
As distance from an urban area decreases, the
social value of a forest increases. It is hence also
increasingly relevant to put greater emphasis on
such values within the forest management. This
distinct characteristic of forests close to urban
areas has made it reasonable to formulate the
concept of urban forestry.
Within science, urban forestry is a rather new
concept that is still under development.
One early definition of urban forestry is:
The art, science and technology of managing
trees and forest resources in and around urban
community ecosystems for the physiological,
sociological, economic and aesthetic benefits trees
provide
(Helms 1998).
The first comprehensive, European reference book
on urban forestry was published as late as in 2005.
(Konijnendijk et al. 2005).
In that book it is stated that;
Good urban forests do not occur by accident;
some form of planning and design is needed to
ensure that woodlands, parks and street trees
enhance the cityscape and provide settings that
encourage people to use them as part of their
everyday life. They must be welcoming, safe,
attractive and conducive to a wide range of uses.
(Bell et al. 2005).
The social value of nature-based forest management rhymes well with the concept of urban
forestry, since both put emphasis on the recreational use of forests. One study on nature-based
forest management found that there are indications for;
...considerable recreational benefits associated
with the visually more diverse structures likely to
develop in nature-based forest management.
(Nielsen, Olsen & Lundhede 2007).
According to the (rather limited) experience I have,

the strength of the concept of nature-based forest
management approach is that the methodology
speaks clearly to people within forestry, whereas
the concept of urban forestry targets a wider
audience, including scientists, politicians and
laymen.
4.7.1
Forests close to people; why would people benefit
from that?
Numerous studies have shown that amenity values
as well as property values of residence areas
increases as distance to nature areas decreases.
(Prstholm et al. 2002, Tyrvinen 1999).
Other studies have found associations between
distance to a green space and health and health-related quality of life. (Stigsdotter et al. 2010, Grahn
& Stigsdotter 2003).
Urban green spaces can also act as a buffer, increasing the coping capacity of stressful events among
citizens (van den Berg et al. 2010). There seem to
be a strong association between proximity to
forests and self-reported improvement of quality
of life (Prstholm et al. 2002). Another study put
further emphasis on the benefits from nature; not
only do nature experiences have beneficial effects
on people. Prolonged duration and repeated experiences are shown to have cumulative beneficial
effects. (Hansmann et al. 2007). As all these
mentioned studies show, there is a wide array of
positive outcomes for people from UPUFs. The
evidence for this is so overwhelming that there are
explicit cry-outs from researchers on the importance of urban nature;
We have to restore forests and develop nature
where people live.
(Larsen & Nielsen 2012).
| 25 |
Forest management
To further cement what researchers have found

out, the following figures (fig. 11) and (fig. 12)
indicates that people in Denmark generally wants
more forests and trees close to where they live:
Figure 11
The figure tells, in Danish, that more forests are one of the most preferred possible directions for development of the neighbouring area, only second to more bicycle paths.
(Kaae & Madsen 2003).
Figure 12
Level of perceived importance of different ladscape features in nearest urban green space
according to respondendts, in %. (Schipperijn et al, 2013).
The next few chapters will go into detail with how

forests and nature is important for human health
and well-being.
| 26 |
Mental Health
5. Mental health
To be able to make forest management interventions that help to improve the health promoting
qualities, one needs to have some background
knowledge on the diseases one wants to prevent
and what characteristics of a forested environment
that can have a preventive effect.
In this chapter the focus is on mental health and in
the following chapter the focus is on physical
health. I have chosen to put more emphasis on the
chapter about mental health than about physical
health, since my interest and expertise are more
pronounced regarding mental health aspects.
5.1
What is mental fatigue/stress?
Stress is an autonomous reaction to something
that is perceived as threatening. This reaction;
triggers, among other things, the circulatory
system and causes the release of a number of
hormones, such as cortisol and catecholamines,
and simultaneously shuts down kidney and
digestive functions. The entire organism is
mobilized for an emergency.
(Ottosson & Grahn 2008).
Stress is thus an effective way of preparing the
body to solve an immediate problem. The problem
emerges when the cause for the stress reaction
cannot be solved quickly and/or if new stress
catalysts are continuously added. The lack of relief
can then empty the resources for coping and the
stress response can evolve into mental fatigue and
exhaustion syndrome. When the resources have
been emptied, the stress response starts working
in the opposite direction and problem solving
becomes increasingly difficult;
When these problems start to emerge, its a signal

that one needs mental restoration. However, a
common response is to feel bad about not living up
to ones own standards and thus not allowing
oneself the much needed rest. This response leads
to a negative spiral regarding mental health.
Apart from mental fatigue and exhaustion
syndrome, also other diseases can develop;
Prolonged period without the possibility of
recovery makes these reactions become dysfunctional and harmful (for instance, the lack of
recovery is injurious for the cardiovascular system
and the neurohormonal systems of the body).
(Corazon et. al 2010).
5.2
How is it a problem for the society?
When the stress reaction has developed long
enough, the capability of functioning at a work
place diminishes and one has to go on a sick leave.
Rehabilitation from stress related diseases is often
a time consuming process and full working capacity
is extremely difficult to regain.
A population that is increasingly affected by stress
related diseases is thus extremely costly for the
society.
For 2001, the costs for the Swedish public sector
have been calculated to be at least ten billion Euro,
and for burnout-depression syndromes alone, the
total costs have been estimated to about 8 billion
Euro per year
(Grahn & Stigsdotter 2003).
The most prominent symptoms of stress-triggered fatigue reactions are a general feeling of
being chased, harassed and stressed, fatigue,
irritability, lack of ability to concentrate, insomnia,
muscular tension, body ache, stomach trouble,
hypersensitivity to sound and light, itches,
dizziness, chest pains, impaired short-term
memory and general anxiety and depression.
| 27 |
Mental Health
5.3
What is mental restoration?
Restoration is the process of renewing physical,
psychological and social capabilities diminished in
ongoing efforts to meet adaptive demands.
(Hansmann et al. 2007).
Mental restoration can thus be described as
regaining the capacity to concentrate and to hold
focus on demanding tasks. Physically, mental restoration means that the sympathetic response
system, which increases alertness, is replaced with
the parasympathetic ditto, which increases relaxation.
5.4
How can the natural environments aid mental
restoration?
The idea that nature is good for the human mind
has been around since ancient times;
In the almost five-thousand-year-old work The
Epic of Gilgamesh from Mesopotamia, the historical king sings his song of praise to a magnificent
garden of paradise. In the garden, King Gilgamesh
finds comfort and strength after the sorrow he
experienced at the death of his friend.
(Stigsdotter 2005).
150 years ago the famous landscape architect
Frederick Law Olmsted stated that for individuals
experiencing stress, viewing nature;
...employs the mind without fatigue and yet
exercises it; tranquilizes it and yet enlivens it; and
thus, through the influence of the mind over the
body, gives the effect of refreshing rest and reinvigoration to the whole system
(Olmsted, 1865).
In more recent times more and more evidence
strongly supports that statement by Olmsted. There
have been numerous studies on the effect different
surroundings have on the state of mind of people.
Results of those studies strongly points in the
direction that natural surroundings have greater
stress reducing qualities than non-natural, urban
surroundings, with faster recuperation (Ulrich et al.
1991) and decreased anger and aggressiveness
(Hartig et al. 2003).
| 28 |
Stephen Kaplan (1992) argues that one can have

restorative expreiences in different environments,
but that natural environmens seem to be particularly restorative.
Ulrich (1991) further states that some qualities of
nature;
might elicit a parasympathetically dominated
response similar to a mild, eyes-open form of
relaxation response or wakeful, meditation-like
state.
This statement suggests that the parasympathetic
response system can be triggered by being in a
natural environment, which thus supports mental
restoration.
5.5
What is it with forested environments that have a
particularly restorative effect on people?
Forests do undoubtedly affect people in a special
way, but what is it with forests that do affect people
in a way other environments cannot? The following
sub-sections discusses specific nature qualities of
forests that might promote mental health.
Mental Health
5.5.1
Forests in general
When talking about recreational values, one
important recreational value of forests is the experience of intimacy there is under the canopy of a
forest is not present in other landscape elements.
Larsen & Nielsen (2012) argue that;
the forest is unique as it is the only landscape
element with an understorey environment
They also argue that the human experience
depends on the vegetation structure as a whole, indicating that the more well-structured the forest is,
the greater recreational values it can provide.
When talking about well-being, Simon Bell argues
that forests are particularly important;
...because of the way that trees enclose the
observer, screen or focus views and contribute to a
multi-sensory engagement with the environment, create specific aesthetic conditions.
(Bell & Ward Thompson 2014).
Bell also argues that forests provide separation
from the urban environment through blocking out
visual connection, replacing a stressful urban
setting with a harmonious exposure to nature.
It also seems like people generally prefer those
types of natural environments that have a restorative value over other types;
Purcell et al. (2001) showed that restoration and
preference are well correlated and theorise that
restorative value of a scene may be used as a basis
for preference judgment a view supported by
other research.
(Vassiljev et al. 2015).
Linking this with the high level of preference for
forests among Danish citizens, one can argue that
forests in general could be labelled as restorative
environments.
5.5.2
Spatial characteristics of forests that support
mental restoration
Not all types of forested environments have restorative effects though. Naturalness is seemingly
preferred among visitors (Nassauer 1995).
One study that takes offset in how different characteristics in parks and green spaces affects peoples
level of stress. According to that study, a setting
labelled as Nature which;
has a wild and untouched qualityhas a significant and positive connection [with decreasing
levels of stress]
If this characteristic is reflected upon a forested
setting it suggests that if silvicultural management
interventions are visually apparent, the restorative
quality of the setting would be reduced. That same
study found that;
...a combination of Refuge, Nature and Rich in
Species, and a low or no presence of Social, is the
most preferred urban green space, and could be
interpreted as the most restorative environment
for stressed individuals.
Interpreting these results into a check list for forest
qualities that can reduce stress and thus support
mental restoration, the forest should be perceived
as rather wild, lush and safe.
A quality it should not have in regard to mental restoration is gathering places. Other things that can
reduce or hamper the restorative quality of a
forested environment is for example traffic noise
(Skrbck 2007) and limited or blocked view (Kaplan
et al. 1998, Vassiljev et al. 2015).
Serenity and good orientation is thus also
important factors for mental restoration in a forest.
(ibid.)
| 29 |
Mental Health
5.5.3
Variations between enclosed and more open
forested rooms/spaces
Things that can help improving orientation in a
forest are variations between enclosed and more
open forested rooms/spaces;
5.5.4
Water in forests
Another feature that naturally helps improving orientation through creating more open forested
spaces is lakes. Lakes are also highly preferred
among forest visitors;
For users of urban forests the variation between

enclosed, semi-open and open areas is important
for orientating in the landscape and for the experience of unity and coherence.
As mentioned earlier, there is a great correlation
between preference and restoration and semi-open
forest landscapes is therefore arguably restorative;
Recent and earlier studies have also shown

highest preferences for scenes with water but
there is also research documenting the importance
of openness, light and variation in topography.
(Sonntag-strm et al. 2014).
Many preference studies have shown that the

semi-open forest landscape is among those most
appreciated by leisure seekers. The scattered trees
and open canopy offer exploring potential in the
landscape and feelings of safety while walking
between trees rather than under a closed canopy
or in an open area.
(ibid.)
Variations in forest stands should also be present in
a smaller, interior level;
users of any urban woodland are varied and so
are their preferences for stand interiors. to fully
develop the recreational and ecological potential
of urban forests these should include a wider
range of forest interiors
| 30 |
They preferred the bright, open forest settings

and settings with a view over the surroundings,
and preferably a view over a lake.
(Nordstrm et al. 2015).
However, such a distinct feature as a lake is not
necessary for a forest to be restorative;
being close to a lake is nice, but not necessary
to give the forest a high rehabilitation value
(ibid.)
5.6
Psychology of restorative environments
As mentioned earlier, stress is an autonomous
reaction that activates the sympathetic response
system. The natural way to turn back to a relaxed
state is by getting an autonomous reaction that
activates the parasympathetic response system.
Being autonomous, activation of the parasympathetic response system is not easily controlled by
thought. Instead one has to be in a setting and get
the sensory impressions necessary to activate the
parasympathetic response system; a restorative
environment. But how can forests trigger mental
restoration?
To get rid of stress, one has to put oneself in another
state of mind. The following sections describe characteristics of the state of mind needed to achieve
restoration.
Mental Health
5.6.1
Being Away (in forests)
Being Away can be described as a state of mind, but
also as physically moving oneself to another place
than the usual. Being Away physically can certainly
lay the foundation for Being Away mentally. To get
rid of stress, first one has to get away from the
setting that is causing stress and to a setting that is
different enough for not reminding about worries
and stress;
There are reasons to believe that stress caused by
high noise preferably can be reduced by recreation
in silent areas such as forests close to dwellings.
(Skrbck 2007).
Daily hassles or rather irritating worries about
money and work (indicating the need for restoration) were significantly positively related to restoration. The more worries there were, the more
intensive the restorative experiences were.
(Korpela et al. 2008).
When the need for getting away from noise and
demands has grown large, arriving to a setting that
supports that state of mind can be extremely
relieving. It can be like a release of pressures that
have been building up in the everyday environment.
Forests have good base characteristics for providing
a sense of Being Away;
because of the way that trees enclose the
observer, screen or focus views and contribute to a
multi-sensory engagement with the environment, create specific aesthetic conditions
(Bell & Ward Thompson 2014).
The term Being Away is coined by Stephen and
Rachel Kaplan as one of four parameters of their
definition of restorative environments. The other
three are Extent, Fascination and Compatibility.
5.6.2
Soft Fascination (in forests)
Soft Fascination is to experience objects/stimuli
that can capture and hold attention in ones environment that can distract from negative feelings
connected to stress, although not so intense that
one cannot put oneself in a reflective state of mind.
This state of mind, where one is effortlessly holding
ones attention at something fascinating, while simultaneously in a reflective mode is thought to be
very restorative. (Kaplan & Kaplan 1989, p. 197).
Forests that are rich in species are naturally rich in
such objects/stimuli.
5.6.3
Feeling of safety (in forests)
Feeling of safety is perhaps the most important
state of mind for having a restorative experience;
very little is known about how to design and
maintain urban green spaces in such a way as to
optimize their health benefits One precondition,
however, is quite generally thought to be
important for restorative effects: safety
(Tyrvinen et al. 2005).
The feeling of being unsafe is close to the feeling of
stress. The body becomes more tense and the mind
more alert. Therefore a prerequisite for an environment to be restorative is that it must feel safe to be
in. There are some specific things that can be done
to increase safety in forests, such as: well-lit routes
with good views to the surroundings (Korpela et al.
2008) and visibility through active management of
the understorey and an impression that the area is
controlled (Tyrvinen et al. 2005).
The dilemma is that excessive focus on safety issues
of forests undermines the nature quality of it. One
needs to balance delicately between raw but still
unfrightening nature qualities. This two-sided characteristic of the forest experience is clearly
expressed in that some forested environments can
even;
evoke a mixture of positive and negative
feelings and thoughts.
(van den Berg & Konijnendijk 2012).
| 31 |
Mental Health
Bell (2005) also argue about the importance of

finding the right balance;
Woods should enclose the visitor and screen the
visual reminders of the city from view whilst at the
same time avoiding creating an impression that
frightens people.
(Bell et al. 2005).
Urban foresters suggest that, for finding that
balance, forest should have distinct areas that have
a safer atmosphere with for example simple vegetation structures with great visual permeability and
signposting, whereas other areas should have
wilder atmospheres with more complex vegetation
and enclosed forest rooms. As a forest visitor,
through repeated visits, gets more accustomed to
the forest, he or she might eventually learn to appreciate the wilder, and possibly more restorative,
side of the forest. (Bell et al. 2005, Rydberg & Falck
2000, Konijendijk 2008).
5.6.4
Experiencing nature through all senses (in forests)
One important factor in activating the parasympathetic response system is by experiencing sensory
impressions that supports restoration. It is through
the senses one can get in the previously mentioned
states of mind; Being Away, Soft Fascination and
feeling of safety. One of the most supportive environments for evoking these emotions and state of
mind is the forest;
It is, however, woodland that provides the
strongest sense of separation. This is because the
mass of trees and the effect of their height can
create an inward looking landscape, a separate
world, where the visible and audible reminders of
the external landscape can be blocked out and the
constant, inescapable stimulation to the senses,
which can be one of the negative aspects of an
urban setting, replaced by the calming and harmonious exposure to nature.
(Bell et al. 2005).
5.6.5
Unlocking the mind --> getting into a reflective
mode
One of the characteristics about mental fatigue is
that the mind is locked up in a destructive pattern;
...severe stress causes our entire informational
apparatus - comprising senses, emotions and
cognitionto function badly, which makes us feel
insecure, which in turn causes us to become even
more stressed.
(Ottosson & Grahn 2008).
When one, through being in a restorative environment can change ones state of mind, one can also
break the negative pattern and get to a deeper
stage of restoration that;
...involves reflections on ones life, on ones
priorities and possibilities, on ones actions and
ones goals (Kaplan & Kaplan 1989, p. 197).
(Hartig et al. 2011).
The experience of being in a forest can thus create
new pathways for thoughts and make the forest
visitor get new perspectives that can help to process
things that have been unsolved for a long time and
thus relieving the mind.
| 32 |
Physical health
6. Physical health
6.1
Sedentary lifestyle
Physical activity is crucial to human health and
well-being;
In the United Kingdom, physical inactivity was
found to be directly responsible for 3% of
morbidity and mortality, resulting in an estimated
cost to the National Health Service over 1.5 billion
EUR annually.
(Allender et al., 2007).
Not being enough physically active is thus a direct
cause for getting ill and it is an increasing problem
in western societies. (OBrien et al. 2011). It can
cause different physical illnesses, but it can also
cause mental illnesses;
In contemporary western societies, many physical
illnesses, including coronary disease and cancer,
are strongly related to sedentary, physically
inactive lifestyles, and chronic stress.
(Hansmann et al. 2007).
The study further cements the link between
physical activities and mental health;
Positive effects increased with length of visit, and
individuals practising sports (e.g., jogging, biking,
playing ball) showed significantly higher improvements than those engaged in less strenuous
activities (e.g., taking a walk or relaxing). These
findings support previous research on how exercise
in green spaces promotes well-being and recovery
from stress.
(ibid.)
The last sentence also tells that the outdoor
physical activity is also related to mental health, a
statement that rhymes well with the described
findings of the previous chapter.
6.2
How are forests linked to physical health?
Physical activity is under most circumstances
something that is health promoting for both body
and mind, but recent epidemiological studies have
found that being physically active in a natural
environment have health outcomes that are
particularly good. (Mitchell 2012) and (Bell & Ward
Thompson 2014).
There are other studies indicating that merely
being in a forest motivates people to move around
and be physically active. (Rydberg & Falck 2000)
and (Sugiyama and Ward Thompson 2007).
6.3
Which qualities of a forested area can stimulate
physical activity?
Not much is known about forests in particular, but
a study made on urban green spaces point out that;
Presence of a larger Urban Green Spaces (>5 ha)
with a wooded area, a water feature, a walking
and/or cycling route, lights along (some) trails, a
pleasant view to the outside of the Urban Green
Spaces, a bike rack, or a parking lot might
stimulate Physical Activity.
(Schipperijn et al. 2013).
The results of that study indicates that a certain
degree of naturalness with high levels of variation
combined with proper facilities promotes visitors
to be more physically active.
Other studies suggest that walking is among the
most important health promoting activities and
this activity should thus be supported in a health
promoting environment. (Stigsdotter & Grahn
2011, Rydberg & Falck 2000).
| 33 |
Stakeholders
7. Stakeholders
One thing that is important to consider when
working with UPUFs is the needs and inclinations of
the different stakeholders that have interest in such
forests. There are some trade-offs for a forest
owner in relation to having an increased public
access in his/her forest. Increasing accessibility and
differentiating the forest structures will have a
negative influence on productions. The potential
societal benefits from UPUFs are believed to be
higher than the economic losses from the forest
owners, so there are good reasons for increasing
accessibility for citizens to those forests.
| 34 |
7.1
Who are the stakeholders?
The owners and the users of the forests are the
most important stakeholders. In a Danish context,
the owners can be divided into owners of public
forests and owners of private forests. The three
main owners of public forests are:
The State (The Nature Agency)
The Municipalities
The Church
The three main owners of private forests are:
Private persons
Private companies
NGO:s
The forest users most often include the forest
owners, but apart from them other stakeholders
also count as users. Among them are:
The public
Hunters
Other than that there are also organizations
involved in the management, nature qualities as
well as in the use of forests.
In Denmark there are several organizations involved
in management (and counselling thereof) of forests.
To name a few:
Skovdyrkerforeningen
Dansk Skovforening
HedeDanmark
SkovByKon
There are also some organizations that work
primarily with restoring and improving nature
qualities. Among them are:
Danmarks Naturfredningsforening
Verdens skove
Finally there are some organizations that work
primarily with sustaining and improving recreational and, in recent years, also health promoting
qualities in forests (and other outdoor environments). Among them are:
Hjerteforeningen
Friluftstdet (which is an umbrella organization
with 91 member organizations)
Stakeholders
7.2
Economic interests
The willingness to do something is most often a
result of what one might gain from it. For private
forest owners there hasnt been a wide range of
economic goods from forests historically. It is in
more recent years that more and more forest
products has been marketed, apart from wood
(from mature trees), they can now sell products
with a much shorter rotation period, such as:
Christmas trees, decorative greenery and energy
wood. Apart from production, the main income has
been from hunting rentals. (Boon 2003).
For public forests, the main income sources have
been approximately the same, but more and more
focus has been on additional uses of those forests
for societal benefits.
Recreational use of Danish forests is not easily
evaluated, since the access to forests in Denmark is
free. However, some studies use travel cost measurements and willingness to pay to get an idea of
an economic value for forest recreation. One study
found that;
on average, the Danish population value access
to forested sites at approximately 3.76 /visit.
(Termansen et al. 2013).
There is also an increased public interest in using
forests for different sports and adventure activities,
where there is potential for user payments and
thus also an income for the forest owner.
The potential public health benefits from visiting
UPUFs can be a very large societal economic
benefit, so it makes sense for governmental owners,
such as the state and the municipalities, to work
with increasing recreational and health promoting
qualities of their forests (since a healthier population cost less for the society). Private forest owners
dont get such gains.
7.3
Public involvement
There are possibilities for the public to get involved
and help out with the management of forests in
their proximity, however;
Denmark has a long tradition of volunteering in
the social sector and amateur sports, but people
seem more reluctant when local greenspaces are
concerned.
(Konijnendijk 2013).
Instead, the majority of the interest the public have
in UPUFs has to do with their own needs and inclinations, where there is no or little gain for the
forest owner. The exception is the hunters, whose
interest is still on their own needs and inclination,
but where the forest owner is paid for their use of
the forest. (Boon 2003).
If the public is involved with management issues of
UPUFs, there are possibilities for;
enhancing ownership, legitimacy, and
improving the quality of decision-making
| 35 |
Stakeholders
7.5
Collaboration
Collaboration in the decision process as well as in
management and maintenance issues can be of
great importance and be beneficial for both owners
and users if done properly. But there can be difficult
to make it work;
it has also been made clear that meaningful
public involvement is not always easy to achieve
and often will require a step-wise process of
moving from governance by government to
sharing power and responsibility.
In a study by Braunstein et al. (2011) regarding governmental decision to lay out paths on privately
owned land, they found out that the owners appreciated being involved in the decision process and
found it irritating when promises were not held.
| 36 |
7.6
Potential conflicts / disagreements
There are many pitfalls to avoid when working with
issues regarding owners and users of UPUFs. Forest
visitors who do things that are not permitted by
law are a big source of conflicts. According to Olsen
(2001), 47% of forest owners in Denmark experience this as problematic and that there are (at
least) 17 of those non-law abiding behaviours. The
six most problematic behaviours are:
-
Loose dogs
-
Trekking outside of roads and paths
-
Driving of motorized vehicles
-
Riding without permission
-
Littering
-
Mountain biking outside of roads and paths
The reasons for these behaviours being problematic is not just because they are not permitted by law,
but also because of it actually harming the forest
environment and disturbing the wildlife. (Olsen
2001).
Conflicts can also emerge between hunters and
other users (ibid.) as well as in between users.
(Bakhtiari et al. 2014).
There has, however, been made an experimental
study where recreational paths were laid out in
private owned nature areas. In that study, it was
concluded that owners pre-perception of visitors
with improper behaviour were true to some degree,
but they were generally a bit exaggerated and the
actual behaviour pattern of visitors werent as bad
as they had feared. (Braunstein et al. 2011).
Stakeholders
Figure 13
Collaboration in the decision process is important.
| 37 |
Case study
8. Case study
8.1
Introduction
The use of a case study enables me to do two things
that are crucial for fulfilling the aims of this study:
-
Site visits enables me to experience actual

forests and make site analyses of their rec
reational and health promoting potential.
-
Interviewing actual forest owners enables

me to gain first-hand information about

forest management and attitudes regarding

public access in existing forests.
8.3
Data collection
The data needed for the analyses used for narrowing
down the subject was mainly collected through
ArcGIS. With ArcGIS I had the tools to determine:
-
the urban areas
-
the 3km distances from the urban areas
-
the forest cover
-
the soil composition
-
the landscape topography
-
the size and number of cadastres
Before doing these things, the forests must first be

chosen. To do that, a selection process must be
conducted. The selection process helped me to
narrow down my case to five forests and seven
forest owners.
The name of individual cadastres was found

through Denmarks environment portal:
http://arealinformation.miljoeportal.dk/distribution/
The owner of each cadastre was found through
the public information server:
https://ois.dk/
A historical analysis was conducted to learn about
the historical distribution of forests and maps were
found through a website with historical maps of
Denmark by the department for geographical data:
http://hkpn.gst.dk/
8.2
Analyses
Several types of analyses need to be conducted to
get an overview of the case. The methodology of
narrowing down the case involved many analyses
which will be further explained in the following
sections.
Spatial analyses were made based on site visits to
determine recreational and health promoting
qualities of chosen forests.
Finally the interviews were analysed and held up
against the thesis statement.
| 38 |
Case study
8.4
Overview of Danish towns (GIS)
The first map on following two pages (fig. 14) is a
topographic map of Denmark (not including the
island of Bornholm).
The map also includes a layer that shows the forest
cover and red outlines of the 25 biggest towns in
Denmark. The outlines represent the 3km distance
from the urban area, within which UPUFs may be
situated.
The chosen town, Kolding, is marked with a slightly
thicker blue outline.
8.5
Choosing a representative town (GIS)
Choosing a representative town was a tricky task.
First I needed to be clear on what I wanted to investigate with the case study and how detailed the
study were to be.
Doing a thorough detailed research on ownerships
of all 25 towns was not a realistic option for this
project, so I focused on state forests as a parameter
for choosing among Danish towns. I wanted state
forests to be part of the UPUFs of the town I were
about to choose, but not too dominantly represented. The reason for choosing state forests as a
parameter is that a map of all state owned land in
Denmark is readily accessible at the website of
Naturstyrelsen a governmental organization that
manages all state owned land:
http://naturstyrelsen.dk/media/nst/67930/NST_
arealer%20og%20NFEr.pdf
The second of the two maps on the following two
pages (fig. 15) show areas owned by the state. It
can be seen that within some urban areas, especially on Zealand, none of the forests are owned by
the state, whereas some other urban areas has
solely forests owned by the state. At first I wanted
to sort out 5 representative Danish towns and for
this I developed a set of inclusion criteria:
-
Both state forests and other forests.
-
Not too dominated by state forests, both by

number and by area.
-
Not too dominated by forests other than

state forests also area wise.
-
Several different forest zones (Denmark

has four).
-
Manageable size of town

(Below 150 000inh.).
The chosen five towns were:
Esbjerg, Kolding, Horsens, Herning and Viborg.
Soon I realized that five towns were four too many
and one single town were chosen.
From these alternative towns, Kolding was chosen
strictly by convenience.
| 39 |
Case study
Figure 14
The 25 biggest urban and peri-urban areas in Denmark, marked with red outlines, except the chosen town Kolding, which is
marked with a blue outline. The map also show forested areas of Denmark. (GIS).
| 40 |
Case study
Figure 15
Areas owned by the state (Danish Nature Agency) are here shown in purple. Naturforvaltningsenheder og arealer (Danish
Nature Agency)+(GIS).
| 41 |
Case study
8.6
Kolding and its landscape
Kolding is the 7th biggest town in Denmark with
almost 60000inh. (Danmarks Statistik: Statistikbanken).
It is part of the triangle-area which consists
mainly of three big towns situated close to each
other, Kolding, Vejle and Fredericia, which are all
among the 25 biggest towns in Denmark. The
proximity between these urban centres means that
there are great potential for further growth in the
area.
Kolding is situated at the base of a fjord. The
landscape in and around Kolding is a river valley,
created during the last ice age, where the glacier
shoved great amounts of soil, mainly from the
Baltic sea bed, to the west. When melting, great
rivers were created underneath the ice. These
rivers dug numerous distinct, what were to become,
valleys in the moraine landscape. The deepest part
of the valley around Kolding is currently under sea
level and makes out the fjord.
The whole area where Kolding is now situated is a
very typical example of a glacier created river valley
and this quite dramatic landscape is clearly visible
on a height model map made through ArcGIS. (Fig.
16).
Some forests can be quite clearly visible on this
map, as the canopies reach quite high above the
ground.
The slopes of the valley are somewhat steep and
thus not suitable as agricultural land. They have to
some extent remained as forested land, but many
of these areas have been turned into pastures.
The bottoms of the valleys are dominated by wet
meadows and small lakes, often with a stream
running through.
| 42 |
The plateau in which the river has dug its way

through consists of rich moraine soil which is very
suitable for plant growth of any kind. (Fig. 17)
shows a soil map collected from ArcGIS. If the vegetation were to develop naturally it would end up
as forested land in the whole area, which it probably
was long ago. Instead, the area has now mostly
been turned into agricultural fields with forested
islands spread out in between. This mosaic
looking land use is clearly visible on an ortophoto
over Kolding. (Fig 18).
The population of Kolding is concentrated in the
centre of the town and in some suburbs; Bramdrupdam, Seest, Tved, Vonsild and Nrre Bjert.
(Fig 19).
Kolding is also a transport node in Denmark for
motorized traffic to all parts of Denmark as well as
to Germany in the south.
Case study
Figure 16
Height model of the landscape around Kolding. (GIS).
| 43 |
Case study
Figure 17
Soil map of the landscape around Kolding. (GIS).
| 44 |
Case study
Figure 18
Ortophoto of the landscape around Kolding. (GIS).
| 45 |
Case study
Bramdrupdam
Nrre Bjert
Tved
Seest
Vonsild
Figure 19
Analysis map of the population and infrastructure around Kolding. (GIS).
| 46 |
Case study
8.7
A brief history of forests in and around Kolding
As seen on these three historical maps (fig. 20, fig.
21 and fig. 22), deforestation that contributed in
fragmenting some of the forests occurred between
1780 and circa 1880, but since then no further deforestation has taken place. On the contrary, some
new forests have been planted. Most notably is
Harte skov, which was planted between 1991 and
1994. Another interesting fact is that many of the
other forested areas of today were also forested
back in 1780, making the land use, and thus the
forest climate continuous over many centuries with
a potential for specialized forest habitats to develop
over time.
Maps earlier than from 1780 are not particularly
precise and thus not very reliable, so investigating
the forest cover around Kolding from older maps
wouldnt contribute further to the understanding.
The map from circa 1880 is made between 1842
and 1899. Historical maps are found through the
Danish department for geographical data: http://
hkpn.gst.dk/
| 47 |
Case study
Figure 20
Historical map of the landscape around Kolding in 1780 (collected from the Danish department for geographical data).
| 48 |
Case study
Figure 21
Historical map of the landscape around Kolding circa 1880 (collected from the Danish department for geographical data).
| 49 |
Case study
Figure 22
Current topographical map of the landscape around Kolding. (collected from the Danish environmental portal).
| 50 |
Case study
8.8
UPUFs in Kolding (GIS)
When working with the forests in and around
Kolding it was decided to have an inclusion criteria
and the limit was chosen to be 3 km from the urban
area of Kolding. The potential recreational use of
the forests are, as earlier mentioned, increased
with decreased distance to the urban area and with
this fact in mind, a 1 km limit for forests of special
interest was also introduced. The following map
(fig. 23) shows the forested areas in and around
Kolding with two buffer lines which represent 1 km
distance and 3 km distance from the urban area.
Forested areas marked as green lays partly or completely within 1 km and forested areas marked with
yellow lays between 1 and 3 km from the urban
area. Bright green areas represent forests which
just barely lay on the 1 km limit.
ArcGIS was used as the major method for finding
the forests. A GIS layer based on a semi-automatic
system that has tracked forests in Denmark through
remote sensing was used for mapping the majority
of the UPUFs around Kolding (Huber & Tttrup
2012). The forest tracking system is, however, not
entirely flawless and there are a few mismatches,
both for forests that do exist that werent tracked
and for forests that do not exist that were tracked.
These mismatches were controlled for and
corrected through studying of the most recent
available orthophoto of the area from 2014. There
are still some minor mismatches and disputable
areas regarding forests in and around Kolding, but
it was decided not to spend more time on correcting these.
In total, 34 forests were found, quite evenly distributed, within 3 km around Kolding.
8.9
Who owns the forests? (OIS data and GIS)
The first step in conducting interviews of forest
owners is simply to find out who owns the forests.
All Danish properties are measured out into
cadastres and information about ownerships of
each cadastre is readily available. It is however a
time consuming work to map the ownerships of
forests around the town of Kolding, as it probably is
around most Danish towns, since almost every
forest is made up by numerous cadastres. The two
maps on pages (53 and 54) (fig. 24 and fig. 25) are
both cadastral maps showing forests in and around
Kolding.
The first map shows the relevant cadastres in red
and yellow colours. The red marked cadastres
indicate that the whole cadastre is covered with
forested vegetation, whereas the yellow marked
cadastres are only partly covered with forested
vegetation.
The second map only take ownerships into consideration and the colours here indicate by which of
the six major owner groups each cadastre is owned
by.
| 51 |
Case study
Figure 23
Topographical map showing all found UPUFs in and around Kolding. (GIS).
| 52 |
Case study
Figure 24
Cadastral map showing cadastres with UPUFs in and around Kolding. Colours are showing partly or completely forested cadastres. (GIS).
| 53 |
Case study
Figure 25
Cadastral map showing cadastres with UPUFs in and around Kolding. Colours are showing ownerships of those cadastres.
(GIS).
| 54 |
Case study
8.10
How much UPUFs are there? (GIS)
34 individual forests were found through mapping
of forests in and around Kolding within (or partly
within) the chosen distance limit of 3 km. Approximately 1 670 hectares of forested land was found
within those 3 km, counting for 8.9% of the total
land cover of 18 820 hectares.
In a Danish context, this percentage is a bit low, as
the forest cover is about 14.4% of the total area in
Denmark. (Nord-Larsen et al. 2015).
The following graph (fig. 26) shows the percentage
of the 1 670 hectares of forest in and around
Kolding divided into the different owner groups.
The composition of ownerships of forests in Kolding

corresponds remarkably well with those on a
national scale, collected from the national nature
agency, which is in charge of all state forests.
(Fig. 27).
The only big difference between the two is that the
municipality owns comparably more forest in and
around Kolding than in Denmark as a whole,
which can be expected as municipalities in Denmark
in general focuses more on urban areas than on
rural areas.
The method for mapping ownerships of the forests
is presented later in this thesis.
Figure 26
Percentage of UPUFs in and around Kolding by ownerships.
Figure 27
Percentage of forests in Denmark as a whole by ownerships. (Nord-Larsen et al. 2015).
| 55 |
Case study
8.11
Choosing a few representative forests (GIS)
The need for further reduction of the case quickly
became apparent when investigating the ownerships of forests in and around Kolding, so a decision
was made to limit the number of forests to five.
I wanted to interview forest owners from as many
different owner categories as possible, so that
I would gain knowledge about similarities and differences between different types of forest owners.
For the forests to be as relevant as possible in terms
of recreational use and health promotion, distance
was an important factor in choosing forests.
Since my method of defining the distance measures
the direct line, and not the actual travel distance,
I didnt want to choose forests that risked being
more than 3km away following existing routes. One
prerequisite was therefore that part of the forest
should be within 1km from Kolding by a direct line.
The very most central forest of Kolding, Marielund/
Bramdrup skov, was chosen as it is the biggest
forest owned by the municipality and because it is
one of the only true urban forest of Kolding, as it
is situated right in the centre of the town.
As this forest is very well used recreationally and
most likely the preferred forest to visit for people
living in that part of the town, I did not want to
include other forests right close by, but rather
forests in other ends of Kolding. Marielund/
Bramdrup skov stretches from the centre of Kolding
towards northeast. Therefore the other forests
I chose for my case are situated in the south and
western part of Kolding.
| 56 |
The next forest chosen for the case is the most

urban of the state forests, Harte skov, which is
situated straight to the west of Kolding.
The remaining three forests are completely or
partly private forests, and where both a church and
a private company are represented. They are
chosen to represent different landscape types and
to be the potentially most preferred forest for
visiting for different parts of the citizens of Kolding,
situated at the south-west, to the south and to the
east of Kolding.
The chosen forests are:
-
Marielund / Bramdrup skov

(Municipal forest)
-
Harte skov (State forest)
-
Seest skov / Kolding kirkeskov

(Partly private, partly church and partly

municipal forest)
-
Skov ved Rebk strand

(forest by the Rebk shore)

(Partly municipal and partly private forest)
-
Vonsild skov (Private forest)
A map of the chosen forests is shown on the next
page. The map also shows the urban area, the 1
and 3 kilometre limits around it, larger roads and
lakes and waterbodies. (Fig. 28).
On the page after, cadastral maps are showing the
ownerships of the chosen forests individually. (Fig
29 through fig. 33) cf. (fig. 25).
A thorough description of the chosen forests comes
in the following section.
Case study
Figure 28
The chosen forests and where they are situated in relation to the urban area of Kolding. (GIS).
| 57 |
Case study
Figure 29
Cadastral map of Marielund/Bramdrup skov (Municipal
forest) (GIS).
Figure 30
Cadastral map of Harte skov (State forest) (GIS).
Figure 31
Cadastral map of Seest skov/Kolding kirkeskov (Partly
private, partly church and partly municipal forest) (GIS).
Figure 33
Cadastral map of Vonsild skov (Private forest). (GIS).
| 58 |
Figure 32
Cadastral map of Skov ved Rebk strand (Partly municipal and partly private forest) (GIS). Note that the biggest
cadastre is mostly agricultural land.
Figure 34
Colour sheme for cadastres.
Case study
8.12
Description of the chosen forests
On the following pages the five chosen forests will
be described more thoroughly.
8.12.1
Marielund / Bramdrup skov (Municipal forest)
Marielund skov and Bramdrup skov are municipal
forests situated on both sides of one of the most
prominent branch of the Kolding river valley
landscape, making the landscape of the forests quite
dramatic with steep valley sides. This gives the area
a mountainous atmosphere, even though there are
no hard rock cliffs to be seen. The bottom of the
valley is held as an open pasture that separates the
two forests from each other. The southernmost
part of Marielund skov does also cover the bottom
of the valley, enclosing the Marielund lake.
The area has a long history of recreational use and
has been admired for its landscape beauty through
time.
Today, the location at the very centre of Kolding
makes the forest the most preferred nature area to
visit amongst citizens of Kolding. The popularity of
the forest has in recent years put increased pressure
onto the use of the forest and more and more user
groups are interested in using the area for their
respective uses. The uses range between recreational walking, jogging, dog walking as well as bird
watching and riding mountain bikes. The municipality of Kolding, who owns the forest has the intent
that the forest should be used recreationally, but
has also through an interview, expressed increased
concern about potential conflicts between different
user groups as more uses are pressed into the same
forest.
Out of the five forests, Marielund / Bramdrup skov
is the second largest with its 98 hectares of forested
area.
Figure 35
Soil types at Marielund/Bramdrup skov
(GIS). Cf. fig. 17
Figure 36
Elevation at Marielund/Bramdrup skov
(GIS). Cf. fig. 16
Figure 37
Ortophoto at Marielund/Bramdrup skov
(GIS).
| 59 |
Case study
8.12.2
Harte skov (State forest)
Harte skov is a young forest, planted between 1991
and 1994 by the state. It is planted on previous
agricultural land in between two of the major
branches of the Kolding river valley. Along the
edges of the forest that faces the valleys, the
landscape is just as dramatic as in Marielund skov,
but most of the forest is situated on a rather flat
plateau. The greater part of the forest is situated
more than one kilometre from the urban area but
all of the forest lay within three kilometres.
At the time of planting, wood production values
were still the main interest, but over the 25 years
that have passed since, other values have gained
more and more attention. Harte skov is nowadays
regarded as mainly a recreational forest with some
wood production values added to it.
The forest is still a very young forest and its spatial
qualities are still developing.
A small part of the forest is, as yet the only urban
or peri-urban forest in Kolding, laid out as a dog
forest. A dog forest is an area where dogs are
allowed to run without a leach. There are currently
more than 390 such forests in Denmark:
http://www.hundeskovene.dk/ (In Danish)
Most often dog forests are fenced, as is the case
with the area in Harte skov.
Out of the five forests, Harte skov is the largest with
its 174 hectares of forested area.
The maps are therefore in a larger scale than those
of the other forests.
Figure 38
Soil types at Harte skov (GIS). Cf. fig. 17
Figure 39
Elevation at Harte skov (GIS). Cf. fig. 16
Figure 40
Ortophoto at Harte skov (GIS).
| 60 |
Case study
8.12.3
Seest skov / Kolding kirkeskov (Partly private,
partly church and partly municipal forest)
As seen on the map from 1780, the area where
the forest is situated today was back then part of a
much larger contiguous forested area, which was to
be fragmented sometime during the following 100
years. Since then (circa 1880), the forested area has
stayed almost exactly the same.
The ground is gently sloping to the east, except
for the easternmost part, where the slope is much
steeper. This eastern edge is part of the river valley
in and around Kolding.
The soil in and around Seest skov is rich, which can
explain the deforestation in many neighbouring
areas between 1780 and circa 1880.
In 1856 part of the forest was given to the Sct.
Nicolai church of Kolding, to which it still belongs.
The rest of the forest is private, except the
north-eastern corner. This part of the forest is
situated on the opposite side of the river valley and
is owned by the municipality.
The forest is not used very heavily for recreation,
since it lacks recreational facilities. Its mostly used
for forestry and hunting.
Out of the five forests, Seest skov / Kolding kirkeskov
is the third largest with its 56 hectares of forested
area.
Figure 41
Soil types at Seest skov/Kolding kirkeskov
(GIS). Cf. fig. 17
Figure 42
Elevation at Seest skov/Kolding kirkeskov
(GIS). Cf. fig. 16
Figure 43
Ortophoto at Seest skov/Kolding kirkeskov (GIS).
| 61 |
Case study
8.12.4
Skov ved Rebk strand (Partly municipal and
partly private forest)
As with Seest skov / Kolding kirkeskov, skov ved
Rebk strand was part of a larger contiguous
forested area by 1780, which was later to become
fragmented. Since the end of the 19th century the
forest area has increased to the east.
As with the three previous forests, skov ved
Rebk Strand is situated along the river valley. The
difference is that skov ved Rebk strand is situated
where the valley goes deeper than the sea level
and is thus part of the Kolding fjord.
The westernmost part of the forest, which is about
750 meters long and just between 40 and 50 meters
wide lays right on the steep slope down to the fjord
and is owned by the municipality. The rest of the
forest is privately owned.
Parts of the forest is accessible through one of
Denmarks national cycle routes: http://trafikkort.
vejdirektoratet.dk/index.html?usertype=3
There is, however, limited access to the private
owned parts of the forest outside of this route.
Path systems within the private part of the forest
other than the cycle route are almost non-existing
and there is thus no recreational use of the forest
for people other than the owners.
Out of the five forests, skov ved Rebk strand is the
smallest with its 31 hectares of forested area.
Figure 44
Soil types at Skov ved Rebk strand
(GIS). Cf. fig. 17
Figure 45
Elevation at Skov ved Rebk strand (GIS).
Cf. fig. 16
| 62 |
Figure 46
Ortophoto at Skov ved Rebk strand
(GIS).
Case study
8.12.5
Vonsild skov (Private forest)
Vonsild skov was, just as the previous two forests,
part of a larger contiguous forested area back
in 1780 that in the following century became
fragmented. Since circa 1880, the area of the
forest has remained exactly the same. Today the
100% private owned forest appears as an island in
a dominantly agricultural landscape. Vonsild skov
is the only out of the five chosen forests that is
not situated along one of the river valleys around
Kolding. Instead it lays on a plateau just south of
the river valley.
The only access to the forest is from a road without
a bicycle path, although there is a bicycle path less
than 100 meters away, so there is potential for
improving recreational accessibility greatly with
just small means.
Out of the five forests, Vonsild skov is the second
smallest with its 51 hectares of forested area.
Figure 47
Soil types at Vonsild skov (GIS). Cf. fig. 17
Figure 48
Elevation at Vonsild skov (GIS). Cf. fig. 16
Figure 49
Ortophoto at Vonsild skov (GIS).
| 63 |
Results
9. Results
9.1
The presentation of the results
The results of this thesis consist mainly of the
outcomes of my case study, which builds upon
the literature research. The results of this study is
thus divided into three chapters; one chapter each
for the two main methods of the case study and
a chapter where these methods and the literature
study are held up against the questions asked in my
thesis statement. (Fig. 50).
10
The field work
11
The interviews
12
Answering the questions from the thesis
statement
Literature research
Case study
RESULTS
1 Field work 3 Answering the

+ questions from the
2Interviews thesis statement
Figure 50
The results of the study.
| 64 |
The field work
10. The field work

10.1
How the forests are experienced
The field work is one of the three main methods of
this thesis.
After the five forests were chosen and before
I conducted the interviews, I visited the forests to
experience them on myself. I did this to gain greater
understanding of;
-
The forest structure (age and planting

structure)
-
The perception of the landscape and

atmosphere of the forest (landscape types)
-
The perceived distance to the town

(perceived remoteness of the forest)
-
The actual and perceived accessibility of the

forests (paths leading to and into the forest)
-
The peacefulness of the forest (perceived

level of noise from urban environment)
-
The wildness of the forest (perceived

naturalness of vegetation, the experience

of being away)
Learning and experiencing these things helped

me analysing the forests and prepared me for
conducting the interviews of the forest owners.
It also gave me clear indications of how well suited
the forests are in terms of mental restoration and
for physical activity.
As described earlier, perceived peacefulness
and wildness of a forest increases the potential
for mental restoration and that high levels of
accessibility increases the potential for physical
activity.
Visits to all five forests were conducted during the
spring and summer of 2016, mostly on days with
sunny weather. All forests were only visited one
or two times, so all parts of the forests werent
visited and, as a result the analyses of the forests
are rather shallow.
| 65 |
The field work

10.1.1
Marielund/Bramdrup skov
Marielund/Bramdrup skov was visited on 14th of
April 2016 and the first impression I got of the forest
is that its a well-developed recreational forest with
a wide array of uses.
The forest structure:
Most forested areas consist of well-aged deciduous
forest stands (mainly beech) with high visual
permeability.
The perception of the landscape and atmosphere
of the forest:
Paths in the forest takes one up and down the river
valley, making the perception of the landscape
intense and interesting. There is also great variation
between open and enclosed landscape types.
The perceived distance to the town:
The forest is situated right in the middle of the
town, so it doesnt feel remote at all.
The actual and perceived accessibility of the forests:
The forest is accessible from all directions so the
accessibility is generally very good. There are
however few concerns regarding accessibility
for handicapped people for whom only a limited
amount of entry points are accessible. The main
path system in the forest is both wide and flat
enough even for wheelchairs to get around.
| 66 |
The peacefulness of the forest:

The down-part of this forest is that it is so popular
and filled with activities that peaceful places might
be hard to find. One should not expect complete
solitude in any part of the forest, but the experience
I had was that the farther from the lake you got, the
fewer people you met.
The wildness of the forest:
Due to the age of the forest, planting structures
have become diffuse enough for the forest to
appear as natural. It is however apparent that the
main focuses in the management of the forest are
accessibility and activities. The experience of being
away is thus not very apparent.
Biggest asset: The accessibility/proximity.
Biggest disadvantage: That its too crowded
(lack of peacefulness).
The field work
Figure 52
Wide and accessible paths with clear and
informational signage.
Figure 51
The open area between Marielund and Bramdrup.
Figure 53
Differentiated path systems.
Figure 55
Benches could be found throughout the forest.
Figure 54
Specialized mountain bike routes.
| 67 |
The field work

10.1.2
Harte skov
Harte skov was visited on the 18th of May and again
on the 30th of May 2016 and the first impression I
got from the forest is that its a young forest with
an astonishing surrounding landscape. As it is the
biggest of the five chosen forests, it is also the
forest which I have the least complete coverage of.
My fieldwork of Harte skov is therefore limited to
the southern part of the forest, which is completely
separated from the northern part as there are
agricultural fields in between the two parts.
The young forest is planted in rows which are
still clearly visible, hampering the experience of
naturalness in the forest. But to compensate for
this, as I experienced it, a great diversity of species
has been planted. The forest, despite of its young
age, is planted before the forest development
types were created. Instead the forest consists of
rather small monoculture areas with meadows in
between. This type of structure creates an artificial,
although very varied course through the forest.
of the forest:
Changes between open and more enclosed
landscape types are worked into the forest
plantation. This created a spatially diverse course
through the forest even though the landscape in
the forest isnt very hilly. On the other hand, the
north-western edge of the forest, which is at the
edge of a slope to one of the river valleys, has
several great landscape vistas over the surrounding
landscape, providing that part of the forest with a
grand atmosphere.

According to the buffer lines, Harte skov is just
about one kilometre away from the part of Kolding
which is situated closest to the forest. This part is
however a quite small suburb, so for people living
in a more densely populated part of Kolding, Harte
skov would appear as a remote area.
The actual and perceived accessibility of the
forests: As it is a state forest, one is allowed to
walk where one wants to within the forest. There
is also a well-established path system in the forest.
However, how one gets to the forest is as simple.
Either one can go by one road that passes over one
highway and under another, or one can go on a
path along a railway which is no longer in use called
Troldhedebanestien. Either way, the distance one
has to travel exceeds 3 kilometres, unless one lives
in the earlier mentioned suburb.
As with other state forests, recreational functions
in Harte skov are taken into consideration. The
state forests have arranged recreational functions
into three categories which can be interpreted
as different levels of expected need for visitor
facilities. The areas with most need for facilities
is called facility zone, whereas the area with the
least need is called the quiet zone. However, in
Harte skov no area is laid out to be a quiet zone.
Even though that is the case, opportunities for
experiencing peacefulness in Harte skov is great.
There is potential for a wildness character to
develop in Harte skov, but for now, the plantation
structures are still much too visible for the forest to
appear as natural or wild.
Biggest asset: The size and surroundings.
Biggest disadvantage: That its too far away.
| 68 |
The field work
Figure 56
Magnificent views.
Figure 58
Some forest atmosphere have begun to develop.
Figure 57
Small monoculture areas planted in straight lines.
Figure 59
Possibility for camping in the forest.
Figure 60
The path system makes the best out of the forest edges.
| 69 |
The field work

10.1.3
Seest skov/Kolding kirkeskov
Seest skov/Kolding kirkeskov was visited on the
13th of April and again on the 14th of June 2016
and the first impression I got from the forest is that
it feels more distant from the town than it really is
and that its rich in nature.
The forest structure in Seest skov is quite diverse
as there are several individual forest owners who
apparently have different ways of managing their
forests. The most structurally diverse part of the
forest is that owned by the church. The forest
management of this part of the forest seem to be
close to nature, but lacking any aspirations of being
a recreational forest with extremely diffuse paths
which are completely overgrown with tall grasses.
Other parts of the forest have a stricter structural
appearance, especially in areas with conifers where
even-aged monocultures are planted in rows. These
areas are quite small, so the overall appearance of
the forest structure is still diverse.
of the forest:
Just as the forest structure is diverse, the perception
of the landscape also differs in different part of the
forest. The path systems in the forest are often
leading to diffuse dead ends, which hampers the
feeling of safety when walking in the forest. It also
adds insecurity on whether one is even allowed
to walk further, as parts of the forest are privately
owned. The greatest experience of the forest
atmosphere is at the eastern edge of the forest,
where one can walk along the base of one of the
river valleys looking up on the steep forested slope.

The forest is situated close to both Seest and
Vonsild, both of which are quite densely populated
areas of Kolding. Despite of this, Seest skov doesnt
appear to be close to the town and I didnt see a
single forest visitor on neither of my visits to the
forest.
The forest has five entry points, although two are
through private properties, so only three of the
entry points are publically accessible. At neither
of these entry points there are any signs indicating
that a visit to the forest is welcome. There are
however some signage on the opposite side of the
river valley, in the area owned by the municipality.
All those signs lead the visitor along the valley
and not into the forest. Overall it is as if the forest
tries to hide from potential visitors, indicating that
the forest owners have little interest in improving
public access to their forest.
The feeling of remoteness also induces a feeling
of peacefulness. Even though the forest is situated
closer to the town centre than Harte skov, it feels
more like a hideaway or a hidden gem. The diffuse
and sometimes confusing path system can hamper
the feeling of peacefulness as it can contribute to a
fear of getting lost.
The level of perceived wildness varies through
the forest. Areas in the part of the forest owned
by the church appear wild and at some places
even abandoned. In other parts of the forests,
silvicultural practises are much more apparent and
the forest is thus more tamed.
Biggest asset: The peacefulness.
Biggest disadvantage: The confusing and vague
path system.
| 70 |
The field work
Figure 61
Roads for forest machines. Hunting facilities can also be seen on
this picture.
Figure 63
Young oak plantation provides a light atmosphere.
Figure 62
One of the many different atmospheres within the
forest.
Figure 64
Accessibility is hampered as path system is not well maintained in
parts of the forest. (In the church owned part of the forest).
Figure 65
Forest edge at the bottom of the valley.
| 71 |
The field work

10.1.4
Skov ved Rebk strand
Skov ved Rebk strand was visited on the 31st of
May 2016 and the first impression I got from the
forest is the dramatic forested slope right down
to the fjord. The second impression was the big
contrast of structure between the municipality
owned part of the forest and the privately owned
part.
As already mentioned, the structure of the forest
differed a lot, despite of the fact that its the smallest
of the five forests. The municipality owned part of
the forest consists mainly of old beech trees, but
also other mature climax deciduous species. As one
walks into the privately owned part of the forest the
structure first turns into a grove of flowering trees
in a pasture landscape and then into a monoculture
spruce stand and then again into a deciduous
dominated stand, although not as mature as in the
municipality owned part of the forest.
of the forest:
The atmosphere is dominated by the proximity to
the fjord and the steep slope down to it. Other than
that, the great variation of landscape types along
the path is an outstanding landscape feature. The
forest lacks explorative qualities, as there are only
few accessible paths. Within the privately owned
parts of the forest, there is only one gravel path
which leads from one end of the forest to the other.
As the forest is situated right next to the most
central beach area in Kolding, it is certainly known
by many citizens of the town. For citizens not living
in the quarter of Rebk one does have to cross
a moderately trafficked road to get to the forest.
There are, however, two easily accessible passages.
All in all the forest is perceived as close to the town.
| 72 |

The accessibility to and through the forest is good.
The accessibility within the forest is good in the
municipality owned part of the forest and not
good at all in the private owned part of the forest.
There are even fences with barbed wire along the
forest edge at some places. There are currently
no possibilities to walk a circular path within the
forest. The shortest circular route goes far beyond
the forest and out on the country side, a distance
of 9.4 kilometres.
As the gravel path through the forest is part of one
of Denmarks national cycle routes many people
use it for jogging and bicycling, thus decreasing the
levels of peacefulness. In the municipality owned
part of the forest one can find access paths to
the shore of the fjord and experience a peaceful
atmosphere. Although still close to the main path,
sounds from the waves would diminish disturbance
from users of the path.
As the forest structure is very varied, so is the
wildness experience. In the municipality owned
part of the forest there is some wildness, just
because of the old forest atmosphere and the
dramatic landscape. Some other parts of the forest
have also got a wildness quality, but those parts
are not physically accessible and thus only vaguely
perceived from a distance from the path.
Biggest asset: The variation along the path and the
landscape.
Biggest disadvantage: Lack of circular paths and
unfriendliness of private parts of the forest
towards forest visitors.
The field work
Figure 66
Barbed wire creates an unwelcoming atmosphere
in parts of the forest.
Figure 67
Variations between open pastures and dense forest rooms enriches the experience of walking in the forest.
Figure 68
Benches could be found in the municipality owned part of the
forest.
Figure 69
Blind end of a side path in private owned part of
the forest. Wild but inaccessible.
Figure 70
Where the shore of the fjord meets the forest, one can experience a peaceful and secluded atmosphere.
| 73 |
The field work

10.1.5
Vonsild skov
Vonsild skov was visited on the 31st of May 2016
and the first impression I got from the forest is that
for a private forest, the path system was remarkably
well maintained and that walking in the forest felt
both peaceful and safe.
The forest consists of several patches of monoculture
stands, both of deciduous and coniferous species.
The individual patches of coniferous trees are felled
through clear cutting, but as the patches are small
and of different age, the forest atmosphere is only
slightly harmed. The difference in age and species
make the experience of walking through the forest
diverse in spite of the dominantly monoculture
stands.
of the forest:
Although there arent particularly old trees in the
forest, it is perceived as an old forest as the flora
and fauna of the forest is well developed. The
perception that the forest supports a rich wildlife
makes the atmosphere of the forest interesting
despite the comparably dull and flat landscape in
which the forest is situated.
The entrance to the forest is situated approximately
two kilometres south east of the quarter of Vonsild.
For citizens living in the southern and eastern parts
of Vonsild, Vonsild skov is the closest forest and
thus possibly the most preferred forest to visit.
There is, however, no signs showing the way to the
forest, so people might not know about it. Being at
the forest, the town seem distant as its not visible
from the forest.
| 74 |

From the quarter of Vonsild, there is a bicycle path
leading almost all the way to the only entrance
point of the forest and there are well maintained
paths within the forest. The actual accessibility is
sufficient, but it might be a bit too far away from
Kolding to be perceived as an urban forest and
thus a site for everyday use. As with Seest skov, the
forest seems almost hidden from visitors as there
are nothing but a sign telling that motorized traffic
is forbidden at the entrance and no signs showing
the way to the forest from the town.
The forest is situated far away from heavily trafficked
roads, so disturbing anthropogenic noise is kept at
a minimum. There are some hunting facilities in
the forest which are clearly visible from the path,
which for a forest visitor seeking peacefulness
might be perceived as a slightly disturbing feature,
but overall there is a high level of peacefulness
throughout the forest. The paths are also clearly
visible and feel safe to walk on. The risk of getting
lost is also close to non-existing as the all paths lead
back to the entrance.
The forest doesnt feel particularly wild as it seems
very well maintained. The older deciduous stands
have a slight wildness to them, but the overall
impression of the forest is that it has a great wildlife,
but that its tamed.
Biggest asset: The peacefulness / the feeling of
safety.
Biggest disadvantage: The lack of perceived
accessibility / the lack of a welcoming entrance.
10.2
Sum up
What stands out when comparing the forests is that
all five forests do have some good qualities in terms
of both mental restoration and physical activity.
However, none of the forests have high levels at all
parameters.
When visiting the forests, the general impression
was that you are welcome to visit the public forest,
but not so much in the private forests.
The field work
Figure 71
Some old trees are kept in newly replanted areas of the forest.
Figure 72
A framed view to the neighbouring forest to the north.
Figure 74
A semi-open and serene forest room.
Figure 73
Hunting facilities is visible throughout the forest.
Figure 76
Wooden sculptures creates a creative entrance to the forest.
Figure 75
Clear and well maintained paths.
| 75 |
Interviews
11. Interviews
11.1
Interviewing forest owners of forests surrounding
Kolding using a questionnaire
Making interviews is one of the three main study
methods of this thesis.
Making the interviews gave me first-hand information about the management of the forests and laid
the foundation for answering the main questions of
the thesis statement.
A questionnaire was made to structure the
questions asked at the interviews and it has been
developed by me with help from my supervisor,
Ulrika Stigsdotter, Jrgen Bo Larsen and Frank
Sndergaard Jensen.
It has also been revised further with the help from
my first interviewee, Claus Simonsen.
The questionnaire is in Danish and is included in
the thesis as appendix (1).
It consists of six chapters, each with a specific

theme.
The first chapter presents the background data of
the chosen forested cadastre/cadastres.
The second chapter deals with details regarding the
silvicultural management of the forest.
The third chapter deals with existing and planned
interventions regarding experience and accessibility for forest visitors.
The fourth chapter deals specifically with paths and
accessibility.
The fifth chapter deals with the forest owners own
visions for the future of his/her forest.
The sixth and final chapter deals with the perspective of the forest as a health promoting environment and the attitudes regarding the idea of developing such qualities in their forest. The chapter
also deals with the owners feeling of responsibility
towards the bigger community and if the attitudes
and willingness could be improved by strengthening the community of forest owners or with a hand
book.
11.2
Results of the interviews
In total six persons were interviewed, representing
seven forest owners of four different owner sectors;
State forests, Municipal forests, Church forests and
Private forests. All five chosen forests are represented among the interviewees.
Figure 77
Interviewing using a questionnaire.
11.2.1
Background data
The questions regarding background data were not
asked during interviews, but were answered by the
author on beforehand, using data sources regarding
the cadastres.
The size of the forest cadastres ranged between
35 400m (one of the private forests) and 1 287
600m (Harte skov). The distance (from the majority
of the forest) to the urban area was between 0-1km
for four of the forests and 1-2km for two of the
forests. The actual travel distance is a bit longer in
most cases though.
| 76 |
Interviews
11.2.2
Management
The questions in this chapter were about management issues such as forest types, management
regimes, rotation age, close to nature principles,
focus areas and collaborations in the management.
All forests were dominantly or solely deciduous
forests.
The management regimes differed a bit between
the forests, but none of the forests had large clear
cut regimes.
There were some uncertainties regarding the
rotation age of some of the owners, as some didnt
have age or target diameter as the base for deciding
when to do fellings. Generally rotation ages were
long (>50 years for conifers and >70 years for
deciduous trees).
Regarding principles there were some variations,
but all owners used some kind of close to nature
management, whether or not they had any
knowledge about the concept itself.
The focus areas differed between forests.
Out of the six persons, only the state forest had a
Christmas tree production and seed production. All
private forests, as well as the church and the state
forests had focus on hunting.
All but one had focus on nature qualities.
Regarding outdoor recreation, the state and the
municipal forests had focus on public recreation
and one of the private forest owners had focus on
commercialized recreation. One other of the
private forest owners had focus on recreation for
himself and his family.
All forest owners had focus on wood production,
although for two owners, it was just a minor focus
area.
Most forest owners, both private and public, got
management assistance and guidance from Skovdyrkerforeningen, which is an organization that
deals with exactly those issues.
11.2.3
Forest guests:
The questions in this chapter are about facilities
that can improve feeling of safety and be welcoming
and includes following parameters: arrival areas,
signage, other facilities, variations of forested
rooms and view-points.
Interestingly, none of the owners that didnt have
outdoor recreation as a focus area in the management of their forests had any plans on developing
any facilities for forest guests, whereas all that had
outdoor recreation as a focus area did work with at
least some of the parameters. Some of the owners
that didnt focus on outdoor recreation did work
with variation in forested rooms, but not for the
sake of visitors, but for nature and hunting qualities.
11.2.4
Paths:
The questions in this chapter are related to accessibility and quality of the experience of getting
around in the forest.
None of the private forest owners did work with
paths in their forests, apart from forest roads for
machines connected to forestry. Two of the private
owners expressed that they basically didnt want to
invite visitors to their forests and the third private
owner had a similar opinion, although excursions
that were arranged and planned on beforehand
with the owner were welcome. The representative
from the church forest told me that the paths in the
forest had been a bit neglected lately, but that the
existing paths otherwise were mainly maintained
for machines. Both the state and the municipal
forest owners expressed that they had great focus
on the path system, making it both varied experience-wise and greatly differentiated to fit different
users, such as mountain bike riders, people who
have handicap and people who wants serene
nature experiences.
| 77 |
Interviews
11.2.5
Visions:
The only question in this chapter is as follows: How
would your forest look like in 20 years if it fulfilled
all your visions? The reason for asking such an
open question was to involve the owners in a more
discussion-like conversation, rather than just
answering questions and to let them tell about the
forest in their own words.
The visions differed a bit between different owners.
One of the private forest owners expressed that
more needs to be done to tackle the problem with
loose dogs and people riding mountain bikes
outside of paths. Another of the private forest
owners wanted to make the forest rooms more
open in places to support hunting better. The third
forest owner planned on planting some coniferous
trees to improve conditions for pheasants.
The representative for the church expressed that
there werent really any visions for their forest, as
nobody within the church counsel were interested
enough in the forest to think visionary regarding
the forest.
However, during our interview, the representative
came up with many ideas. One was to establish excursions for children to play in the forest, something
that could be arranged as the forest is today.
Another idea was to arrange service of worship in
the forest, which would require that the accessibility in the forest were improved. The representative
also said that the church needs volunteers for
realizing any of these ideas.
The representative of the municipal forest wanted
to create more zones within the forest to avoid
conflicts between users, but that it would be hard
to accomplish since there are so many user groups
combined with the limited size of the forest.
The representative of the state forest said that it is
the political visions that are being followed and
that those can change quite rapidly. The current
plans aims for a more diverse forest.
| 78 |
11.2.6
Recreation / Health promotion:
The questions in this chapter focus on the health
aspects of forests.
The first questions are about the interest and
feeling of responsibility of the forest owner to
develop health promoting qualities for visitors in
their forest.
The last couple of questions present suggestions of
methods to help develop such qualities and the
forest owners are asked if any of those methods
would be of any help for them.
At the end of the interview, the forest owners are
free to tell about reasons and arguments for the
attitudes that they have regarding public use of
both their forest and UPUFs of Kolding in general.
They also got the opportunity to say what they
think is the best way to move forward with recreation and health in forests for the public.
The answers I got from this chapter most clearly
showed the difference in attitudes between private
and public forests. All private owners expressed reluctance towards doing anything for forest visitors
as none of them had any interest in an increased
number of visitors. One of the owners said:
It is not included in the management aim to raise
the issue [of improving recreational and health
promoting qualities].
Both the municipal and the state forest have a wide
range of facilities for recreation and to promote
physical health. The municipal forest has several
routes for walking or running as well as special
mountain bike tracks. There is also collaboration
with the nearby hospital on using parts of the forest
for some physical rehabilitation and training for
patients.
The state forest has facilities for more rural outdoor
recreation, such as shelter camping and horse
riding as well as a variety of walking routes.
Interviews
One of the private owners expressed that the only

way for him to establish anything to promote
physical health would be to have forest fitness
where the users had to pay to use it. He further
explained that the fact that public forests establish
forest fitness and mountain bike tracks as a free of
charge public service undermines the foundation
for private owners to establish those things, since
the users would not expect to pay for it. He also
rhetorically said:
Why should it be for free to do fitness in a forest
when it isnt for free in a fitness centre?
Regarding mental health, none of the private
owners had any interest in developing such
qualities, whereas the representatives for the state
and the municipal forests claimed that they had
the intention that their forests should indeed have
such qualities. In the municipal forest the focus had
been mainly on physical recreation, so that there
werent really much space left that is serene enough
to support mental restoration.
The representative for the church forest explained
that nothing had been done in their forest to
develop health promoting qualities and that the
reason for that is that the church doesnt have the
responsibility to do it, in combination with the
reason that there isnt enough interest and motivation in the forest from the counsel for anything to
be done.
The first of the suggestions for helping to develop
health promoting qualities was to have increased
collaboration between different forest owners.
None of the forest owners were especially enthusiastic about that idea and didnt believe that it could
lead to any improvements. The representative for
the church forest said that the idea is interesting
but that it would be difficult to agree on regulations
and expectations.
One of the private owners had the opinion that the

public forests could do more with their own areas
regarding recreation and health promotion before
involving the private forests and another of the
private forest owners said:
Somebody else must create a willingness in me
and I must get something off of it myself.
The second and last suggestion was to get a
handbook on forest management that improves
health promoting qualities. The only forest owner
that showed any interest was that of the church
forest. She said that a handbook could be a source
of inspiration and that it could motivate the church
to make more out of its forest.
All the other owners showed no interest in a
handbook. The representative for the state forests
didnt think that a handbook would help but that
some sort of subsidies could work. One of the
private forest owners also expressed that subsidies
could maybe work for his forest.
The other two private forest owners expressed that
because the small size of their forests, they would
not be interested in it, even with subsidies. The
cadastres they own are, in their opinion, too small
to carry pressure from public use. One of them
suggested that owners of larger forests could
maybe be interested in a subsidy system for
promotion of recreation and health.
All the private forest owners wanted to protect the
hunting quality of their forest, a quality which they
felt would be hampered if public pressure increased.
Two of them also criticized the disrespectful
behaviour of some forest visitors that do not follow
laws and gets aggressive when confronted with it.
None of the forest owners were particularly
visionary regarding the best way to move forward
with recreation and health in forests for the public,
although they did all agree with me that it is
important to work with on some level.
Answers from interviewees are translated to English
by author.
| 79 |
Answering the questions from the thesis statement
12. Answering the questions from

the thesis statement
To wrap up the results of this study, the literature,
the field work and the interviews are used together
to answer the questions I asked myself in the thesis
statement:
12.1
How do we obtain health promoting nature
qualities in UPUFs through forest management?
From my literature research I found out that health
promoting qualities are a little bit different when
promoting mental health from when promoting
physical health.
For promoting mental health, the forest should be
perceived as rather wild, lush and safe. It should
also provide good orientation and serenity.
All these characteristics might be difficult to achieve
simultaneously, as some of them are slightly contradictory. Through management a forest that
should promote mental health should therefore
have areas focusing more on feeling of safety and
orientation and other areas, where the more wild,
untouched, lush and serene qualities are more
prominent. One should avoid having gathering
places in parts of the forest designed for promoting
mental health.
It should, however, also be said that its very difficult
to claim something with absolute certainty, since it
is a complex question, considering that landscapes are dynamic and perceived individually.
(Annerstedt et al. 2010).
For promoting physical health, the forest should be
perceived as natural and welcoming, it should have
trails, waterbodies, nice views and great variation.
| 80 |
12.2
Are some UPUFs not seen as a place of public
service for the citizens of the town by the forest
managers, but merely as a wood production area?
This question paints up the issue like its either one
way or the other. In reality, I have experienced,
forest owners, especially private ones, do not see
their forest as a public service, but they see it rather
as a private service. They do enjoy spending time in
their own forest and they do appreciate the nature
qualities and the wildlife of their forests. They do
not think that the public should necessarily enjoy
spending time in their forest, but rather in a public
forest.
12.3
Are some forest owners even reluctant of having
visitors in their forests? (With potential problems
such as littering, vandalism and loose dogs)
Yes, this is indeed an issue worth taking seriously.
My findings strongly support those of Olsen (2001)
that forest owners experience forest some visitors
as problematic. Good intentions on improving
public health will not get you anywhere as long as
the forest owners perceive visitors as being a
problem. Nuisance caused by visitors seems to be
more severe for private forest owners than for
public forest owners. This difference is probably
only a difference in attitudes by the forest owners
and not among the visitors. The difference in legislation of public access might be the reason for this,
as visitors presumably tend to behave in a similar
manner in public and in private forests and thus
violate legislations to a greater degree in private
forests, causing reluctant attitudes towards visitors
from privately owned forests.
Answering the questions from the thesis statement

12.4
Do forest owners think that they wont gain
anything economically from improving restorative qualities in their forests? (Too expensive)
Yes, for private owners not gaining anything personally is a major argument for not improving restorative qualities in their forests. However, from
the interviews I made, it seemed like the opinions
they had wouldnt change significantly by getting
paid. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly,
visitors were generally not behaving respectful
enough when visiting their property. Secondly, they
thought that the public forests had enough capacity
for providing the public with these services and
that the public sector could do more to improve
qualities in their forests. This opinion does actually
seem to have some validity to it, as a Danish
research project found that the low provision of
recreational facilities combined with the general
lack of management plans suggests that the recreational potential of small woodland units is underestimated by Danish municipalities and in need of
greater consideration. (Nielsen et al. 2013).
12.5
Do forest owners/managers lack the tools and/or
the knowledge to manage their forests in a
direction that support the development of health
promoting forested environments?
Through my interviews, I got the impression that
forest owners either think that they already have
sufficient knowledge about managing forests to
promote health or that they have no interest in
doing anything to improve the experience for forest
visitors. The exception was the church, for which it
seemed like lack of knowledge as well as motivation were the biggest limitation for developing their
forest in a health promoting direction. The idea of a
handbook on forest management that improves
health promoting qualities is thus not sufficient as
a stand-alone tool to make forest owners more
willing to do that.
| 81 |
Discussion
13. Discussion
13.1
Small size of study
To make it clear right away: none of the results
from the interviews or the site analyses can be
properly generalized to Denmark as a whole
because of the small size of the study. This thesis
should rather be read as a pilot study, where all
statements regarding the case study should be
interpreted as assumptions rather than generalizations. Like many people before me doing research
projects, the preliminary aims are by far in excess
of what one can actually manage in due time.
I started off wanting to investigate five towns;
I ended up choosing only one.
I then aimed for investigating all forests of that
town;
I ended up choosing five (out of approximately 35).
I then aimed for interviewing all forest owners of
the chosen forests;
I ended up interviewing six (out of 27).
13.2
Obstacles 1 No common strategy
The UPUFs in Denmark are owned by many different
people and there isnt a common strategy for the
use of the forests by the citizens of the urban areas.
It seems like each sector focuses almost exclusively
on their own forested areas, so that, as a citizen,
one need to search at several places to get an
overview over the potential for nature restoration
in his/her neighbourhood and that the quality of
the restorative experience may vary a lot from
forest to forest and even within forests as borders
between ownerships often lay in the middle of
forests. This characteristic of many Danish forests
can make the experience of walking in a forest very
heterogeneous; suddenly one might find oneself in
a part of the forest where one does not feel
welcome, which can be distressing.
| 82 |
13.3
Obstacles 2 A handbook?
One of the obstacles is the lack of tools for forest
owners on managing urban forests, as for example
a handbook on how to do. Through my research, I
have found out that a handbook would not be the
solution for many of the forest owners, as there are
other, more important issues that they value higher
than the lack of tools. According to the forest
owners, there are only in a limited amount of cases
where a handbook would possibly have an influence
on the way the forests are managed.
13.4
Obstacles 3 Reluctant owners
One of the main obstacles, especially considering
private forests, is the lack of willingness from forest
owners to invite visitors to their forests. One reason
for this is fear of visitors behaving improperly.
(See also Obstacles 4). This behaviour includes:
littering, vandalism, loose dogs, and mountain bike
riders outside paths. A second other reason, which
can be complementary to the first reason, is that
the forest owner wants to have ones forest for
oneself only. (See also Obstacles 5). A third reason
is that private forest owners generally think that it
is the public sector that has all the responsibility to
provide those services.
Discussion
13.5
Obstacles 4 The behaviour of forest visitors
Although the fear from forest owners that forest
visitors may behave improperly in many cases is a
bit exaggerated (Braunstein et al. 2011), there
really is an issue that needs to be taken seriously. Is
there a way of making forest visitors, who do not
adhere to the legislation, to change their behaviour?
Maybe more information campaigns are needed to
increase the awareness of the public on what one
may or may not do in Danish forests. Research by
Frank Sndergaard Jensen clearly shows that there
is a lack of knowledge among the Danish population
on these issues as shown in the following figure.
(Fig. 78):
This lack of knowledge in combination with the

ongoing reduction of country lanes (Hjring &
Caspersen 1999) increases the risk of a bad
experience of getting around in the landscape by
the public, which can result in frustrations and
conflicts between the public and the forest owners.
Figure 78
What Danish people beleieve they know regarding what one may or may not do in Danish forests. (Jensen 1998 II).
13.6
Obstacles 5 The My Forest is My Gardenattitude
The majority of the private forest owners
I interviewed clearly expressed the opinion that
their forests were their property and made the
analogy of a private garden. Through my interviews,
one of the interviewees told me;
You wouldnt just walk into someones garden, so
why should you walk around in someones forest?
Given that the distribution of UPUFs in Denmark is
generally low, these kinds of statements can be
problematic, as some of the private owned forests
are potentially very valuable as health promoting
environments.
| 83 |
Discussion
13.7
How can the existing UPUFs be improved in terms
of potential public health benefits?
There is great room for improvement. In many
cases not much needs to be done to achieve a great
outcome. However, from what Ive learned writing
this thesis, the challenge is not so much how to
improve qualities in terms of physical and mental
health, but much more how to improve forest
owners willingness to open up their forests to be a
public service destination. This is a problem that is
almost exclusively related to the private forests
(which are the majority of Danish forests). Managers
of municipal and state forests are, from what Ive
learned in this thesis, both aware and willing to
make efforts to develop and maintain health
promoting qualities of their forests. However, the
focus by the municipality and the state seems to be
mostly on promoting physical health and not as
much on mental health. The church seems to have
low priority of their forests so for them; the lack of
interest is the main problem, maybe also lack of
finance.
The way to make the municipality and the state
increase their efforts to develop health promoting
qualities of their forests could be to convince them
about the societal economic benefits of an
improved health for the towns citizens. Promising
budgets could maybe do the trick.
The way to make the church increase their efforts
to develop health promoting qualities of their
forests could be to inform them about how it can
help people to cope with stress and improve their
quality of life. A handbook and some manpower
could maybe do the trick.
The way to make the private person increase their
efforts to develop health promoting qualities of
their forests could be to really involve them in the
importance of their forests. To convince them that
public urban forests are not sufficient enough to
maintain good health for all the citizens of the
town.
In general it is important to meet the forest owner
at eye level to avoid conflicts. One should treat the
forest owner with respect, discuss and suggest
improvements and be open for compromises.
Otherwise they might feel like they are being
treated with paternalism and unfair demands and
thus become more reluctant than before.
| 84 |
13.8
What have I learned
There isnt a good and comprehensive index over
all UPUFs in Denmark currently, which could be a
used as a guideline on the needs and potentials
regarding UPUFs in different towns across the
country.
The ownership of forests in Denmark differs a lot
between individual forests as well as between
whole towns. This makes it hard to get an overview
of UPUFs in Denmark and to map the potential for
developing more recreational and health promoting
qualities in those forests.
I have also learned that many private forest owners
view on their forests is similar to that of their own
gardens and that they basically dont really want
uninvited people to be on their property. Its merely
something they accept in cases where they are
obliged to by law, such as with pedestrians on
paths.
The vegetation structure of the UPUFs that I have
investigated was diverse, both regarding age and
species composition, more so than I had expected.
The diversity lays a good foundation for the forest
to be a health promoting environment.
13.9
What would I have done differently
I would have involved more stakeholders and
interviewed representatives from a wider range of
organisations.
One of my original plans was to make a handbook
for forest owners on how to develop health
promoting forest environments. This plan was not
realized as I didnt manage to set aside ebnough
time to write it.
I was a also bit discouraged by the general lack of
interest from my interviewees. This doesnt mean
that there isnt a base for existance for such a book,
but more background research needs to be done to
figure out how this type of information is provided
in the most optimal way.
Conclusions
14. Conclusions
Almost all of the results from my case study support
my hypothesis that many UPUFs, especially private
owned forests, do not entirely fulfil their inherent
potential of being a health promoting environment,
mainly due to lack of accessibility to, and within,
forests.
As shown in this study, there is a range of factors
preventing this potential for being fulfilled.
However, the interviews clearly show that none of
these factors are considered as completely blocking
the development towards a higher degree of
utilization by the public of the forests; yet the
private owners impose a larger challenge than the
publicly owned forests.
Through the field study it can be concluded that all
five chosen forests are rich in spatial and structural
variety, which I, through my literature study, have
found to be an important factor for a forest to be
health promoting.
These findings cant be extrapolated to be valid for
all Danish UPUFs, but it clearly indicates that there
is a potential for UPUFs in some forests around
Kolding to provide more health promoting qualities
than they do today.
14.1
Strengths and weaknesses
Using three distinctively different methods in this
study is a strength as they highlight the topic from
different angles and thus strengthening the
legitimacy of the study.
The small number of forest owners is a weakness,
but the broad range of forest owners is a strength.
| 85 |
Perspectives
15. Perspectives
This project have taught me that there is a lot more
to be done in Denmark, both regarding management
of UPUFs to improve health promoting qualities
and regarding accessibility to some of the forests as
well as within some of the forests.
These mapping tools could also be used as a

platform for further research and to focus the effort
on improving the accessibility of urban and
peri-urban forest in Denmark to where its most
needed.
15.1
Implications for practise
The results of this study imply that dealing with the
private forest owners is one of the biggest
challenges for the future regarding fulfilling the
potential of the forests of being health promoting
environments. It is therefore important to find
creative methods to soften the attitudes of the
owners.
One way to do this could be through an interactive
internet-based platform.
First step is to improve the tools for mapping of
urban and peri-urban forest in Denmark, which
could possibly also be extended as a world-wide
tool. This tool should detect actual travel distances
(using routes available by foot or bicycle) to forests
from the nearest dwelling rather than, as I have
done, measure the straight line from the urban
area (which contains both dwellings and industrial
areas). The tool could be further improved by being
able to count residents within a certain distance
from the forests.
Second step is mapping the ownerships of all UPUFs
in Denmark, which can create a greater overview of
public and private forests on a national level.
Together, these two mapping tools could be
transformed into an interactive platform, so that all
Danish citizens should be able to get user friendly
information about how to get to all forests within
walking distance from their dwelling and, just as
important, get information on who owns the
forests. Research have shown that if the forest
owner is asked on beforehand, he/she is more
willing to accept a specific type of activity in his/her
forest. (Olsen 2001). Such an interactive tool can
therefore make it much easier for forest visitors to
contact the owner and thus improve the relationship
between forest owners and forest visitors.
15.2
Implications for further research
As this study has characteristics of being a pilot
study and no universal conclusions can be drawn,
so further research can be made with similar
problem formulation to produce further evidence
regarding potential for health promotion in Danish
UPUFs and/or regarding attitudes of forest owners.
A topic that also needs to be investigated further is
the access roads to forests and the quality of those.
| 86 |
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Page 143-144, Page 9-10 in Thesis
Larsen, J.B. (2012). Close-to-Nature Forest Management: The Danish Approach to Sustainable Forestry,

Sustainable Forest Management - Current Research, Dr. Julio J. Diez (Ed.), ISBN: 978-953-51
0621-0, InTech, Available from: http://www.intechopen.com/books/sustainable-forest
management-currentresearch/sustainable-forestry-through-close-to-nature-management

Nord-Larsen, T., Kvist Johannsen, V., Riis-Nielsen, T. M., Thomsen, I., Schou, E., Suadicani, K. & Bilde

Jrgensen, B. (2015). Skove og plantager 2014, Skov & Landskab, Frederiksberg.

Reid, W.V., Mooney, H.A., Cropper, A., Capistrano, D., Carpenter, S.R., Chopra, K., Dasgupta, P., Dietz,

T., Duraiappah, A.K., Hassan, R. and Kasperson, R., (2005). Ecosystems and human well-being

Synthesis: A Report of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.

Page VI, Page 24 in Thesis
Schipperijn J., Bentsen P., Troelsen J., Toftager M., Stigsdotter U.K. (2013). Associations between

physical activity and characteristics of urban green space. Urban For Urban Gree 12:109116

Stigsdotter, U. K., (2005). Landscape architecture and health. Evidence-based health promoting design

and planning. Published Dissertation. Department of Landscape Planning, Swedish University of

Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp.


| 91 |
References
16.3
Web references
Danmarks Statistik Statistikbanken Tabel BY1 http://www.statistikbanken.dk.

(data collected 22. of June 2016).
Den Offentlige Informationsserver The public information server https://ois.dk/

(data collected from April through July 2016).
Geodatastyrelsen The department for geographical data http://hkpn.gst.dk/

(data collected 11.of july 2016).
Hundeskovene: Dog forests http://www.hundeskovene.dk/ (In Danish)

(data collected 4. of August 2016).
Kortforsyningen http://download.kortforsyningen.dk/content/dtkh%C3%B8je-m%C3%A5lebordsblade

(data collected 10. of July 2016).
Miljportalen Denmarks environment portal http://arealinformation.miljoeportal.dk/distribution/

(data collected from April through July 2016).
Naturstyrelsen The nature agency http://naturstyrelsen.dk/media/nst/67930/NST_arealer%20og%20

NFEr.pdf

(data collected 22. of June 2016).
Vejdirektoratet Denmarks national cycle routes http://trafikkort.vejdirektoratet.dk/index.

html?usertype=3

(data collected 10. of July 2016).
| 92 |
References
16.4
List of figures
Figure 1:
Figure 2:
Figure 3:
Figure 4:
Figure 5:
Figure 6:

Figure 7:
Figure 8:

Figure 9:
Figure 10:

Figure 11:

Figure 12:
Figure 13:
Figure 14:
Figure 15:

Figure 16:
Figure 17:
Figure 18:
Figure 19:
Figure 20:

Figure 21:

Figure 22:

Figure 23:

Figure 24:

Figure 25:

Figure 26:
Figure 27:
Figure 28:

Figure 29:
Figure 30:
Figure 31:
Figure 32:
Figure 33:
Distance-related issues on forest visits (Kvist Johansen et al. 2013).

Distance-related issues on forest visits (Kvist Johansen et al. 2013).
Distance-related issues on nature visits (De konomiske Rd 2014).
The two branches of health promoting environments. (Stigsdotter 2005).
The methods of the study (By author).
Legislation regarding access and what one may or may not do in Danish forests
(Danish forest and nature agency 2005).
Decrease of country lanes between 1950 and 1991. (Hjring 2002).
Continued decrease of country lanes between 1988 and 2010. (Caspersen & Nyed
2011).
Benefits from Nature-based forestry (Larsen 2012).
The relation between the ecosystem services and their potential positive outcomes.
(Reid et al. 2005).
The most preferred possible directions for development of the neighbouring area.
(Kaae & Madsen 2003).
(Schipperijn et al, 2013).
Collaboration in the decision process is important. (By author).
The 25 biggest urban and peri-urban areas in Denmark. (GIS). (By author).
Areas owned by the state (Danish Nature Agency).(GIS). (By author and Naturforvaltningsenheder og arealer by Danish nature agency. http://naturstyrelsen.dk/
media/nst/67930/NST_arealer%20og%20NFEr.pdf)
Height model of the landscape around Kolding. (GIS). Existing GIS-layer
Soil map of the landscape around Kolding. (GIS). Existing GIS-layer
Ortophoto of the landscape around Kolding. (GIS). Existing GIS-layer
Analysis map of the population and infrastructure around Kolding. (GIS). (By author).
Historical map of the landscape around Kolding in 1780. (collected from the Danish
department for geographical data: http://hkpn.gst.dk/).
Historical map of the landscape around Kolding circa 1880. (collected from the Danish
department for geographical data: http://hkpn.gst.dk/).
Current topographical map of the landscape around Kolding. (collected from the Danish
environmental portal: http://arealinformation.miljoeportal.dk/distribution/).
Topographical map showing all found UPUFs in and around Kolding. (GIS). (Existing
GIS-layer + author).
Cadastral map showing cadastres with UPUFs in and around Kolding. (GIS). (Existing
Cadastral map showing cadastres with UPUFs in and around Kolding. (GIS). (Existing
Percentage of UPUFs in and around Kolding by ownerships. (By author).
Percentage of forests in Denmark as a whole by ownerships. (Nord-Larsen et al. 2015).
The chosen forests and where they are situated in relation to the urban area of Kolding.
(GIS).(By author).
Cadastral map of one of the chosen forests. (GIS). (By author).
| 93 |
References
Figure 34:
Figure 35:
Figure 36:
Figure 37:
Figure 38:
Figure 39:
Figure 40:
Figure 41:
Figure 42:
Figure 43:
Figure 44:
Figure 45:
Figure 46:
Figure 47:
Figure 48:
Figure 49:
Figure 50:
Figure 51:
Figure 52:
Figure 53:
Figure 54:
Figure 55:
Figure 56:
Figure 57:
Figure 58:
Figure 59:
Figure 60:
Figure 61:
Figure 62:
Figure 63:
Figure 64:
Figure 65:
Figure 66:
Figure 67:
Figure 68:
Figure 69:
Figure 70:
Figure 71:
Figure 72:
Figure 73:
Figure 74:
Figure 75:
Figure 76:
| 94 |
Colour sheme for cadastres. (By author).

Soil types at one of the chosen forests. (GIS).(By author).
Elevation at one of the chosen forests. (GIS).(By author).
Ortophoto at one of the chosen forests. (GIS). (By author).
Soil types at one of the chosen forests. (GIS). (By author).
Ortophoto at one of the chosen forests. (GIS).(By author).
The results of the study. (By author).
Photo taken at Marielund/Bramdrup skov (By author) on 14th of April 2016.
Photo taken at Harte skov (By author) on the 30th of May.
Photo taken at Seest skov/Kolding kirkeskov (By author) 13th of April.
Photo taken at Seest skov/Kolding kirkeskov (By author) 14th of June.
Photo taken at skov ved Rebk strand (By author) on the 31st of May 2016.
Photo taken at Vonsild skov (By author) on the 31st of May 2016.
References
Figure 77:
Figure 78:

Figure 79:
Figure 80:
Figure 81:
Figure 82:
Interviewing using a questionnaire. (By author).

What Danish people beleieve they know regarding what one may or may not do in
Danish forests. (Jensen 1998 II).
| 95 |
Appendixes
X. Appendixes
X1 Questionnaire
| 96 |
Appendixes
| 97 |
Appendixes
| 98 |
Appendixes
| 99 |
Appendixes
| 100 |
Appendixes
| 101 |
Appendixes
| 102 |
Appendixes
| 103 |
Appendixes
| 104 |
Appendixes
| 105 |
Appendixes
X2 Some photographs
Figure 79
View in Seest skov/Kolding Kirkeskov on the 13 of April 2016.
Figure 80
The same view in Seest skov/Kolding Kirkeskov on the 14 of June 2016.
The forests that were chosen for this thesis were

visited during a timespan of more than 2 months between the 13th of April to the 14th of June 2016.
| 106 |
Experience differs throughout the seasons and site

analysis should ideally have been made at all four
seasons to cover those differences in experience.
This is a view from a forest that was visited on the
very first and the very last day of the field work.
Seest skov/Kolding Kirkeskov.
Appendixes
Figure 81
Table and benches in Municipal owned part of skov ved Rebk strand.
Figure 82
Table and benches in Privare owned part of skov ved Rebk strand.
These two pictures, only taken a few hundred

metres apart, clearly shows the difference in
attitudes between public and private forest owners
towards recrational use of the forest by the public.
Facilities are well kept within the cadastre owned by

the municipality and neglected within the private
owned cadastre.
| 107 |
The title of this thesis: My Forest is My Garden is

not an actual citation, but rather the essence of the
attitude of some private forest owners:
Caring and Protective.
UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN
FA C U LT Y O F S C I E N C E

Thesis Oscar Andersson

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My Forest is My Garden

Management of Urban and Peri-Urban

Management of Urban and Peri-Urban

Oscar Alexander Andersson

Oscars thesis Definition of what a peri-urban woodland is................... 9

The field work ...........................................................................................

Answering the questions from the thesis statement................................

My focus is also on investigating the management

Thesis statement and Aim

2. Thesis statement and Aim

Thesis statement and Aim

1 Literature research 2_Site analysis

(Nord-Larsen et al. 2015).

Throughout the 19th century initiatives were made

A development that has been misfortunate

Not only is the total length of the country lanes

The focus of this study is mainly within cultural

According to the (rather limited) experience I have,

To further cement what researchers have found

The next few chapters will go into detail with how

When these problems start to emerge, its a signal

Stephen Kaplan (1992) argues that one can have

For users of urban forests the variation between

Recent and earlier studies have also shown

Many preference studies have shown that the

They preferred the bright, open forest settings

Bell (2005) also argue about the importance of

Before doing these things, the forests must first be

The name of individual cadastres was found

The plateau in which the river has dug its way

The composition of ownerships of forests in Kolding

The next forest chosen for the case is the most

1 Field work 3 Answering the

The field work

10. The field work

Learning and experiencing these things helped

The field work

The peacefulness of the forest:

The field work

The field work

The perceived distance to the town:

The field work

The field work

The perceived distance to the town:

The field work

The field work

The actual and perceived accessibility of the forests:

The field work

The field work

The actual and perceived accessibility of the forests:

The field work

It consists of six chapters, each with a specific

One of the private owners expressed that the only

One of the private owners had the opinion that the

Answering the questions from the thesis statement

12. Answering the questions from

Answering the questions from the thesis statement

This lack of knowledge in combination with the

These mapping tools could also be used as a

Distance-related issues on forest visits (Kvist Johansen et al. 2013).

Colour sheme for cadastres. (By author).

Interviewing using a questionnaire. (By author).

The forests that were chosen for this thesis were

Experience differs throughout the seasons and site