Old trees are perceived as a valuable element of the municipal forest landscape

Abstract

Urban trees are important to maintain biodiversity and, therefore, need public acceptance. Few studies, however, have addressed the topic of social acceptability of old trees. The aim of this research was to examine city residents’ perception of old trees, including hollow-bearing ones, mainly in the aspect of safety and aesthetics. A total of 448 Warsaw municipal forest’ users expressed their opinions by completing an online questionnaire. Several methods were used to analyse the results of the study: the Chi-square test of independence, the Kruskal–Wallis H test, the Mann–Whitney U test and the Quartimax method of factor rotation analysis. The results revealed a correlation between the frequency of forest visits and the level of sensitivity toward old trees, which translates to less radical notion of danger and less radical decisions about cutting such trees down. Age of the respondents (56+) was a factor contributing to higher willingness to protect and care for old trees. The results also indicated that outdoor activity in the urban forest may increase ancient trees acceptance by developing emotional connection with them, and eventually contribute to their protection.

Curation of new green space indicator for the U.S.: Accessible & recreational park cover (PAD-US-AR)

“…The strongest correlations were among Midwestern counties (r = .65 [.61, .68]) and the weakest associations were in nationwide county-level models (r = .10[.07, .14]). The consistent correlation between canopy cover and parks may be explained by people's innate preference for open-growth trees with large amounts of canopy cover (Hofmann et al, 2017;Hull, 1992;Suchocka et al, 2022;Townsend & Barton, 2018) and historic guidelines to retain such trees in park design (Olmsted, 1882).…”

Concrete Paving Slabs for Comfort of Movement of Mobility-Impaired Pedestrians—A Survey

“…On the other hand, the presence of trees in the city, including those growing along the pavements, has an impact on residents’ well-being [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. Trees combat many civilisation diseases, alleviate social stress, and help build friendly and inclusive neighbourhoods [ 26 , 32 , 33 ]. People deprived of contact with nature are more prone to depression and reduced functional efficiency, which in turn can lead to a significant deterioration in their quality of life [ 34 ].…”

Potential hazard characteristics of trees with hollows, cavities and fruiting bodies growing along pedestrian routes

“…Trees planted along pedestrian paths are the most accessible means for urban residents to access nature 4 , 5 . Urban trees provide various tree-based ecosystem services, ranging from helping to mitigate climate change and protecting biodiversity to mitigating pollution and noise reduction 6 , 7 , as well as ensuring residents' overall well-being, especially in crises 5 , 8 . As a tree ages, it plays an increasingly important role in biodiversity conservation, including trees with cavities or hollows termed ‘hollow bearing trees’ or ‘habitat trees’ 9 , 10 .…”

“…The risk perceived by the assessor may not correlate with tree health 45 , 63 . People’s subjective perceptions often play a decisive role in deciding whether to remove a tree with visible signs of cavities and/or fungal infestation rather than scientific evidence or expert recommendations 7 .…”

“…Therefore, hollow trees are particularly vulnerable to removal in urban landscapes 68 , 69 . In terms of aesthetics, trees with ageing characteristics are generally accepted 7 , 70 . However, municipal preventive measures for pedestrian and vehicle safety often mean old trees are replaced with younger ones, especially along pavements 71 .…”