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Highlights: [•] Knowledge integration is the key aspect of successful collaborative planning. [•] The framework can help setting goals for collaborative planning of land use and nature areas. [•] The framework can help organizations to shift their practices towards the organizations’ own ideal. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Research into the values and meanings of urban green spaces has increased in recent years mainly, in order to determine how much and what kinds of green spaces should be provided for urban residents to ensure their well-being and maintain various urban green space values. This article examines adolescents'' uses of, values for and relationships to local green spaces. A study was carried out in Eastern Helsinki, Finland, to test social value mapping among younger respondents. The other aim was to combine social value mapping with a document analysis to explore the valuations of local green spaces in depth. Place and affordance approaches were used for this purpose. The results revealed that the teenagers used and valued green spaces differently from adults, and that there were also differences between the genders. The adolescents most appreciated the beauty of the environment, tranquillity and opportunities for activity. The green space values were often associated with the places that enabled social contacts and activities. The methodological comparison revealed that social value mapping is more complete tool when maps are combined with qualitative data. The examination of local knowledge revealed place meanings and identities and situational uses of the green environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A review of research and research needs in urban forestry was carried out in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Norway and Sweden during 2005. A questionnaire addressing post-2000 and ongoing research was sent to 146 researchers and generated 76 completed questionnaires. Universities were found to lead urban forestry research, while municipalities headed funding organisations in terms of number of projects funded. Planning, ecological and management aspects were the most common research themes, but socially oriented research also played an important role. The research needs questionnaire was sent to 192 key research actors (assignors, users and researchers), resulting in 63 completed needs assessments. The research themes of ‘urban forest management’, ‘social and cultural values’ and ‘urban forest and green planning’ were prioritised for future research. Comparison of ongoing research and research needs showed discrepancies, as ongoing research does not always cover the same themes identified as primary research needs. Priorities for future research as identified by the research community respective those assigning and using research also differed. Economic assessment of benefits, for example, scored much higher as a need among researchers than other respondents. In terms of present weaknesses in the research ‘infrastructure’, research actors emphasised lack of funding, fragmentation of research and insufficient critical mass. The region''s urban forestry research can be enhanced and made more meaningful by strengthening national and international networking within the research community, across disciplines, as well as between researchers and those commissioning and using research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In Helsinki, Finland, a participatory approach has been used in strategic planning of municipally owned urban forests since 1995. This paper presents the main results of a survey carried out among the residents and authorities participating in collaborative planning groups between 1995 and 2002. The aim of the study was to evaluate the experiences of residents and authorities related to the planning process. The study provided information for the upcoming reform of the participatory planning system at the Green Area Division of Helsinki. The participants felt that the participatory approach prevented conflicts in planning and increased residents' awareness of matters concerning green areas. Most respondents were satisfied with this system. The green area planning authorities found a participatory approach in urban forest planning to be useful, although they believed themselves to be capable of making effective plans even without involving local residents. They did, however, believe that the process had been too demanding and time-consuming for group members. Moreover, the majority of respondents felt that participants had been given an over-optimistic idea of how much they could influence the plans. Setting goals for the green areas, particularly, at the local level, was considered to be the most important stage for involving residents in the planning process, while their participation in choosing actual management methods was thought to be less valuable. The residents placed a greater importance on early involvement of residents than did the planning authorities, who more often felt that allowing residents to comment on a draft of the plan was sufficient. In urban forest planning, cost-effective participation systems need to be developed. Conventional participation methods, such as public meetings, field trips and surveys, are important and should not be replaced by methods based on modern technology. In the future, several different participation methods should be used during a single planning process to encourage all stakeholders, including children, youth and other special groups, to take part in the planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the planning processes of urban forests there are frequent conflicting opinions about the extent to which forests should be managed. On the one hand, management is needed to deal with the intensive use of forests, as well as unfavourable growing conditions, security factors and aesthetic variables. On the other hand, there is an increasing demand for unmanaged areas which is based primarily on ecological arguments. This paper presents research that was conducted in connection with the participatory planning process of Helsinki City forests. The main aim of this research was to study whether aesthetic and ecological values can be combined in the management of urban forests. Furthermore, the stability of forest landscape preferences during the participatory planning process was studied, along with the representativeness of planning groups compared to larger user groups. The data was collected in planning group meetings and public hearings in Helsinki during 1998–2000. Respondents evaluated a set of photographs designed to cover the main conflict situations in urban forest management: Thinnings, understorey management, the leaving of dead snags and decaying ground-wood. These results show that the majority of residents in Helsinki prefer managed forests. The preferences are, however, closely connected to the background characteristics of respondents. Younger residents with a higher education and active urban forest users prefer more ecologically-oriented management when compared to older residents with less education, or less active users. The individuals had a rather clear and relatively stable opinion of what constitutes suitable management in urban forests, but the views differed considerably as a whole. This means that a participatory planning process will typically lead to some type of compromise. Moreover, the planning groups in Helsinki reflected the opinions of the larger user groups rather well. This indicates that the currently used participatory planning approach sufficiently integrates public values into its planning process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Relatively many forest owners are willing to protect landscapes against compensation. • Largest compensation claims relate to long contracts and strict cutting restrictions. • PES model offering flexibility for landowners is needed to secure its acceptability. • Valuable sites need to be identified at the landscape level to achieve cost-efficiency. Although nature-based tourism is increasingly recognized in forest strategies, economic incentives for private landowners supporting the production of amenity values are largely lacking. This study focused on possibilities to enhance the scenic and recreational values of private forests for nature-based tourism in Finland. More specifically, we studied forest owners' attitudes towards – and willingness to participate in – a Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) initiative called Landscape and Recreation Value Trade. We also investigated the acceptability of forest management alternatives sustaining landscape qualities, the relative importance of different features of Landscape and Recreation Value Trade for landowners, and the magnitude of overall compensation claims of alternative Landscape and Recreation Value Trade models. A choice experiment survey was conducted in Kuusamo, a popular nature-based tourism destination, located in northeastern Finland. The results show that several forest owners were interested in the suggested scheme if economic losses were to be compensated. The landowners' preferences for Landscape and Recreation Value Trade were somewhat heterogeneous, suggesting that private forest owners in Kuusamo have rather diverse motivations and objectives for their ownership. Owners who stated to have scenic landscapes on their land, and those living outside Kuusamo area, were more willing to join in the suggested mechanism. In general, landowners' willingness to participate was strongly dependent on the amount of compensation as well as on other terms of the contract, such as the duration and severity of harvesting restrictions. The largest marginal compensation claims were related to long contract durations and the stringent "no harvesting at all" restriction. Given the heterogeneity in landowners' preferences, a Landscape and Recreation Value Trade model, offering flexibility to join the system, is needed to attract landowners of forests in hotspot locations for tourism that would help in designing a cost-efficient model for practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The study analyses the importance of landscape for nature-based tourism business. • Nature-based tourism companies (NBTs) and general service companies are compared. • Firms assess that their business increases due to the forest quality improvement. • Landscape beauty is more important for the NBTs than for the other companies. • The interest of companies in participating in PES mechanisms is relatively low. To promote the growth of nature based tourism in privately owned forest areas, new policy instruments, e.g. Payments for Ecosystem Services, are needed. They could engage private forest owners and nature-based tourism companies to cooperate and support the growth of the sector. We studied the entrepreneurs' attitudes towards the importance of environmental amenities and assessments of possible improvements in forest landscapes for their business in the framework of proposed Payments for Ecosystem Services mechanism, called Landscape and Recreation Value Trade. In the analyses, we compared the assessments of two groups of companies: core nature-based tourism companies that produce most services for tourists, and general service companies that produce services for both tourists and local people. We collected a data set from an online survey that was sent to representatives of the companies of the Ruka-Kuusamo region, Finland. Core nature-based tourism companies see forest landscape beauty as being more important for their business than do general service companies. In addition, we hypothesized in the questionnaire that the quality of landscape would improve so that the impacts of forest management practices, such as the traces of clear cuttings and intensive site preparation would be less visible in future than today. If the quality improves in the core area of tourism, the activity of the business of the 2 company groups will increase equally. If, however, the quality improves in a wider area, both the number of clients and revenues will increase more for nature-based tourism companies than for general service companies. Finally, related to the implementation of suggested Payments for Ecosystem Services, nature-based tourism companies had both more interest in collecting payments from tourists for a fund for landscape quality improvement and to make a private agreement with forest owners for improving landscape quality. For the policy makers of regions where nature tourism has potential, the following suggestions are given: As attractive landscape is identified as being an important factor for the nature-based tourism business, new types of mechanisms are needed to secure a good quality of this basic resource and the positive development of this sector. As the level of interest in participating in funding and agreements related to Payments for Ecosystem Services can be rather low among entrepreneurs, an incentive mechanism for companies should also be launched. In addition, a collaborative deliberation and communication process is needed for implementing the mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated how people's recreational activities, values, and land use preferences are related to the protection level, biodiversity and cultural heritage values of nature-based tourism areas in northern Finland. We assessed peoples' opinions using a public participation geographic information system (PPGIS) and analyzed the data together with spatial biodiversity and cultural heritage data from the same area. Associations between the PPGIS place markings with the protection level and biodiversity values were quite low, and for the cultural heritage sites they were altogether missing. Negative preferences were often marked in areas with high numbers of sites rated as pleasant and they overlapped with each other, indicating conflicting preferences. Since most activities are not noticeably related to the protection level or biodiversity values of a site they can be planned so as to protect the biodiversity of the area. • We merged PPGIS data with spatial biodiversity and cultural heritage data in a nature-based tourism area. • Associations between PPGIS markings with protection level and biodiversity were low and for cultural heritage missing. • Negative preferences towards tourism, protection and forestry often overlapped, indicating conflicting preferences. • Since most activities were not related to protection level or biodiversity they can be placed to protect biodiversity. • Differences between opinions among respondents can be used to manage the area to fulfil the needs of various users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• All the forests were restorative. • The old forests were significantly more restorative than the young forest. • The old-growth forest and mature commercial forest were equally restorative. • The urban forest was significantly less restorative than the same age-class rural forests. Urban and peri-urban forests and woodlands provide an important recreational service for citizens. However, these forests are facing increasing pressure due to the ongoing land-use encroachment and increased demands for wood-based products. Same time the world is getting more urbanized and living in cities is associated with mental health problems and exposure to air pollution and noise. Conversely, forests are known to create more healthy environments, and the need for effectively restorative forests is even more evident. In this study we investigated whether the restorative effects of forests on people vary according to the forests' different management decisions and/or ages. We selected four spruce-dominated forests that represent well the different management outcomes: 1) an urban recreation forest, 2) a mature commercial forest, 3) a young commercial forest, and 4) an old-growth forest in its natural state. The study participants (39 women and 27 men) visited each forest once. The experiment included 15 min of observation, followed by 30 min of walking. We measured the restorative effects: perceived restorative outcomes, vitality and positive and negative emotions. The restorative effects increased significantly in all forests. The old-growth forest and mature commercial forest were significantly most restorative. The urban recreation forest was less restorative than these two, but more restorative than the young commercial forest which was at least restorative. In conclusion, it is important to preserve forests with old stands close to residential areas. As the forest management decisions and stand age affect restorative qualities, they should be taken into account in forest management and land use planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this experiment we investigated how individual differences in orientation towards built vs. nature environment as well as noise sensitivity affect psychological and physiological restoration in a constructed urban park, urban woodland and city centre of Helsinki, Finland. The participants, 30-61-year-old healthy women (N = 83), visited each study site once. The experiment consisted of a 15-min viewing session, followed by a 30-min walking session in each environment. We measured restorative effects: perceived restorative outcomes, vitality, and blood pressure in these three environments. The data were analysed in SAS with a linear mixed model. We found significant differences between environments in psychological restorative effects, but not in blood pressure. The urban-nature orientedness, and to a lesser extent noise sensitivity, modified the effect of environment on restoration. In conclusion, individual characteristics affect psychological restoration provided by various urban environments. Varying needs of individuals should be taken into account in city planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The study was based on the answers to a mailed questionnaire of a simple random sample of respondents from two cities (Helsinki, Tampere) in Finland. Ten determinants of restorative experiences in favorite places (⩽15km from home; n=1089) were effective. These determinants included “immediate” use of the favorite place (duration and frequency), personal background of nature experiences (nature orientedness, nature hobbies, childhood nature experiences), and situational factors in life, which were related to stress (hassles at work and with money, satisfaction with life) and to social relations (uplifts of social relations, visiting alone vs. in company). Different variables were associated with restorative experiences in different favorite settings (extensively managed nature areas, built-up green spaces, waterside environments, exercise and activity/hobby areas, and indoor and outdoor urban areas). The concept of “favorite place prescriptions” is introduced as an analogy to “exercise prescriptions” in primary healthcare. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this study, we mainly aimed to explore the associations of personal and socio-demographic factors, and the supply of green areas and built sports facilities with green exercise (GE). We also compared the residents of the core urban area and suburban areas according to the level of leisure time physical activity (LTPA) they had. A population-based sample of 3730 adults (aged 25-101 y) from Finland, filled out a questionnaire in 2015. Variables describing the supply of green areas and built sports facilities were objectively calculated. The green areas were classified into small (<25 ha), middle-sized (25-150 ha) and large (>150 ha) areas to reflect their qualities for GE. The data analysis methods included multinomial logistic regression, t-, and Chi Square tests. Our results indicate that having a short distance to at least a middle-sized green area and high nature relatedness are important for participation in GE, both in core urban and suburban areas. More factors were found to be related to GE in the suburban areas compared to core urban areas and among the low LTPA compared to the high LTPA group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]