DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7701-087-0-0287

PERI-URBAN RECREATION AND BIODIVERSITY SERVICES BALANCING IN BRNO: STAKEHOLDER PRIORITIES AND MANAGEMENT FOR MASARYK FOREST KŘTINY

Dastan Bamwesigye^1,2, Jan Deutscher¹, Jitka Fialova¹, Petr Kupec¹

¹ Department of Landscape Management, Faculty of forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 3, 613 00 Brno, Czechia

² Department of Forest and Wood Products Economics and Policy, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 3, 613 00 Brno, Czechia

Brno City and neighboring forests face conflicting pressures balancing recreation and other ecological services, such as water provision, biodiversity, climate regulation, and timber production. Our study explores stakeholders’ priorities and preferences to assess how to balance recreation and lasting ecological resilience. The study surveyed (n = 234), evaluating perceived forest ecosystem services ranking and management in Brno and adjacent neighborhoods, mainly Masaryk Forest Křtiny. The participants were mostly young people aged 18 to 24 years (approximately 39%), with a balance by gender/sex. Most participants (about 91%) recognized recreation services such as walking and cycling as their major forest visiting activities on a weekly or monthly basis. Biodiversity and climate regulation services were the top  choices for participants, i.e., approximately 83% and 78%, respectively, and recreation values at about 39%. Tourism and recreation were robustly weighted at about 39% valued forest recreation support as being very important, 41% (important). Moreover, for future forest management priorities, recreation services ranked roughly 43%. Forest Ecosystems Trade-offs predominantly focused on timber versus biodiversity; however, participants selected and acknowledged the necessity to sustain recreational quality and standards together with regulatory/support services. More so, for forest management considerations, concerns were raised about the possible effects of climate change on recreational prospects. Ceteris paribus, forest management that conserves recreational services accessibility and values whereas improving biodiversity and resilience to climate impacts were prioritized by stakeholders. The study results support a directed approach to integrating recreation obligations with preservation and adaptive management in peri-urban forestry. 

Klíčová slova: Climate regulation, Ecosystem services, Forest management, Public preferences, Recreation services, Trade-offs

stránky: 287-293, Publikováno: 2026, online: 2026