The recreational value of forests under different management systems

Forest degradation is a severe threat to the provision of ecosystem services, such as tim- ber production, biodiversity and hydrogeological protection. Forest abandonment is one of the main causes of forest degradation in Mediterranean areas where the low value-added of forest activities a ects economic sustainability. This issue requires urgent restoration actions which must be supported by cost–bene t analysis that comprises all forestry activi- ties that generate income, including the recreational ones. In e ect, while the impact of forest management systems on timber production is well studied, the impact of recreational values is not. The present article intends to demonstrate that di erent forms of forest man- agement result in a di ering willingness to pay (WTP) for maintaining the recreational use of forests. We collected 248 questionnaires from respondents who con rmed their WTP for the maintenance of the recreational function of forests under three management systems: coppice, active conversion to high forest, and the natural evolution of forests. Moreover, we tested the in uence of certain socio-demographic variables on individual WTP. Users elic- ited a high preference for conversion to high forest, while natural evolution was the least preferred management system. Moreover, males and users with higher levels of education had a greater WTP for conversion to the high forest approach.