TY - JOUR
T1 - Municipal woodland in Denmark
T2 - resources, governance and management
AU - Nielsen, Anders Busse
AU - Konijnendijk, Cecil Cornelis
AU - Wiström, Björn
AU - Jensen, Rasmus Bartholdy
PY - 2013/1
Y1 - 2013/1
N2 - Urban woodlands are the subject of complex decision-making that requires a strategic overview of the resource. This article contributes a national study of municipal woodland in Denmark. Data were collected among all Danish municipalities through a postal survey (with a response rate of 52%). As much as 83% of the woodland units were located within urban settlements or at their fringe, emphasising that municipalities are important urban woodland providers. Municipal woodland resources were typically divided into many separate units of varying size. On average, the responding municipalities owned 12.6 woodland units with an allocated area of 265 ha, resulting in a mean size of 21.5 ha. A general lack of management plans, and a significant drop in recreational facilities provided with decreasing woodland size indicate that the recreational use potential of small woodland units was largely overlooked. Municipal woodland units frequently bordered other woodland or nature areas of different ownership. Thus even small municipal woodlands can play a key role in the development of multifunctional green infrastructures in the urban landscape. Only municipalities with extensive woodland property had issued a woodland policy, and/or certified woodland management. This indicates a need for development of governance and strategic management instruments attractive to municipalities with limited woodland property.
AB - Urban woodlands are the subject of complex decision-making that requires a strategic overview of the resource. This article contributes a national study of municipal woodland in Denmark. Data were collected among all Danish municipalities through a postal survey (with a response rate of 52%). As much as 83% of the woodland units were located within urban settlements or at their fringe, emphasising that municipalities are important urban woodland providers. Municipal woodland resources were typically divided into many separate units of varying size. On average, the responding municipalities owned 12.6 woodland units with an allocated area of 265 ha, resulting in a mean size of 21.5 ha. A general lack of management plans, and a significant drop in recreational facilities provided with decreasing woodland size indicate that the recreational use potential of small woodland units was largely overlooked. Municipal woodland units frequently bordered other woodland or nature areas of different ownership. Thus even small municipal woodlands can play a key role in the development of multifunctional green infrastructures in the urban landscape. Only municipalities with extensive woodland property had issued a woodland policy, and/or certified woodland management. This indicates a need for development of governance and strategic management instruments attractive to municipalities with limited woodland property.
U2 - 10.1080/02827581.2012.693193
DO - 10.1080/02827581.2012.693193
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0282-7581
VL - 28
SP - 49
EP - 63
JO - Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research
JF - Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research
IS - 1
ER -
