ARE FORESTS PLANTED ON COAL MINE RECLAMATION SITES PREFERRED TO FOREST GROWTH FORMED IN SUCCESSION PROCESS?
Abstract
Large scale reclamation of landscape affected by surface coal mining has taken place for more than 50 years. Forest areas were established, however their visiting rates are rather low.
People are not interested spending their time in reclaimed forests, despite the facts that they are located in vicinity of cities and that forest ecosystems are perceived positively by people all over Europe. We therefore investigate how the visual difference that is given by the process of creation, subsequent care and rather young age of growth of reclaimed forests explains the rather low attractiveness of these areas.
Our study of preferences towards forests typical for reclamation of Sokolov post-mining landscape therefore focuses on visual characteristics of forest growths of different age with the aim to compare basic sites created either as forest reclamations or formed spontaneously in the process of succession. The environmental preferences are examined in the context of recreation; we conceptualize them as attitudes towards recreation in certain environment and measure in an on-line survey by means of visual representations.
Environmental preferences significantly differ according to the type of reclamation, i.e. tree species planted or spontaneously growing on the dumps. The attractiveness of succession forests considerably increases with its age.