The study was based on an online questionnaire available in both Czech and English. “In the spring of 2025, we placed leaflets at frequently visited locations throughout the University Forest Enterprise. The leaflets included both an invitation to complete the questionnaire and a QR code that allowed interested participants to answer the 17 thematic questions we had prepared. We also informed the public about the opportunity to participate in the research through the faculty’s social media channels,” explained Jan Deutscher, the project leader.
The research focused on how people spend their time in the forest and how frequently they visit, as well as on their assessment of ecosystem services – the benefits that forests provide to individuals and society as a whole. Other questions addressed preferences regarding the future management of the forests concerned and potential conflicts between timber production, recreation and nature conservation. The study authors included 234 fully completed responses in their analysis.
“For the time being, we have left the information signs in place in the forest. The collection of responses is currently suspended, but we intend to relaunch the questionnaire survey later this year. Visitors to forests within the ŠLP Křtiny area will therefore continue to have the opportunity to take part in the survey. We would like to express our sincere thanks to everyone who has already participated and taken the time to answer our questions. Their responses have provided us with valuable insight into what the public expects from forests around Brno and which values should be taken into account when planning their future development. Without respondents’ willingness to share their experiences and opinions, it would not have been possible to carry out this research,” said Deutscher.
The data presented in this report were collected between 18 March 2025 and 6 March 2026.
The results confirmed that peri-urban forests are an important recreational space for the public, with visitors returning to them regularly. For 91% of respondents, recreational activities such as walking and cycling were the primary reason for using the forest. Approximately 44% of those surveyed visit the forest daily or at least once a week, while 71% visit at least once a month. At the same time, three-quarters of respondents consider the promotion of recreation and tourism in forests to be important or very important.
However, recreation was not the only priority. Respondents ranked biodiversity support among the most important forest ecosystem services, with 83.3% identifying it as a key benefit, followed by climate regulation, which received positive responses from 78.2%. Regarding future forest management, 82.5% of respondents called for biodiversity to be prioritised, while 60.3% supported mitigating the impacts of floods and droughts. Surprisingly, only 43.2% of participants identified the recreational function as a future management priority. The conflict most frequently perceived by respondents was the one between timber production and biodiversity conservation.
The public survey results are considered one of the foundations for defining broader societal expectations of forest management within the project. Other parts of the research examine the attitudes of experts and other individuals and organisations connected with forest management or whose activities influence the condition of forests.
In the context of ongoing climate change, the importance society attaches to individual forest ecosystem services can be expected to evolve over time. The aim of the survey is to identify and quantify these changes. If forest managers have access to clearly defined, data-based expectations reflecting the needs of society as a whole, they will be better equipped to balance biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation, recreational use, water and soil protection, and timber production in their forest management practices.
One of the project’s outputs will also be a so-called policy brief entitled: “Policy on Changing the Role of Hilly Regions in Providing Ecosystem Services in Forestry and Water Management.” The document is intended for the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic, which may use it when updating priorities for disadvantaged areas, for example, through targeted subsidy programmes.
The research was conducted as part of the FESTIVAL project (TQ10000001), supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic under the Water4All programme.
