Visits in Forests During the Covid-19 Pandemic in the Cross-Border Area of Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany

The importance of the availability of green areas and spending time in them has been consistently highlighted in sociological and psychological research findings (Bielinis et al. 2019; Furuyashiki et al. 2019). It has been known for a long time that contact with nature has a positive effect on human health and well-being, can lower stress levels or even reduce mortality (Barboza et al. 2021). Green areas play a major role in ensuring recreation, especially for urban dwellers (van den Berg et al. 2003; Nielsen et al. 2017; Baumeister et al. 2020). However, limited number of green areas causes the inhabitants of these spaces to look for other places of recreation. Forest areas are a natural place where it is possible to fulfil one of the basic human needs, which is contact with nature through active and passive recreation (Ciesielski, Stereńczak 2018). Tourism in forest areas is called silva tourism. This term refers to any type of traffic whose destination is forest areas (Muszyński, kozioł 2013). Research on recreational use of forest areas, conducted for nearly half a century, has provided extensive insights into society’s preferences regarding the following:

The results of the surveys indicate that the non-productive functions of the forest (protective, social) are more important for society than the production function (Gołos 2013). Recent studies that move away from the function of the forest in favour of the concept of ecosystem services also emphasise that provisioning services are of very little importance to the inhabitants of cities and mountain areas (Bruzzese et al. 2022; Hegetschweiler et al. 2022). The importance of the social functions of the forest, including recreation and tourism in forest areas, has also been highlighted in legal provisions of the rank of act (Act of 1991) and internal regulations of the State Forests (including the Forest Management Manual 2012). Moreover, Ordinance (Zarządzenie 2022) indicate the possibility of designating zones of intensive and sustainable social impacts.

In recent years, the recreational function of forests has become extremely important, not only in the opinion of society but also of forest managers. Forest managers face the need to adapt forest areas for the needs of recreation, which is currently one of the challenges of forest management (Eggers et al. 2019). The growing demand for recreation in the forest led not only to conflicts between foresters and society, but also between various groups of forest users before the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic (Derks et al. 2020; Wilkes-Allemann et al. 2020). The reasons for the conflicts included different expectations of the society regarding forest management and investment in forest areas, as well as excessive traffic (recreation) in forests (Nousiainen, Mola-Yudego 2022).

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to many changes in people’s lives, both in the private and professional spheres (Kang et al. 2020). Restrictions on movement introduced by governments, e.g., (1) #stay-at-home principle, (2) the closure of many sectors of the economy, such as services including cinema, theatre, hairdressers, beauticians and shopping malls, (3) the closure of nurseries, kindergartens and schools and the subsequent switch to distance learning, (4) the introduction of remote work on an unprecedented scale, and (5) the closure of sports facilities, changed our typical daily routines. Reduced mobility and physical activity were observed (Taylor et al. 2021), as well as less social contact (Latsuzbaia et al. 2020), while time flexibility and time spent in front of computers increased (Wong et al. 2021). The importance of local and national tourism also increased, at the expense of foreign travel (Volgger et al. 2021). The pandemic also had an impact on mental health (Fiorillo, Gorwood 2020). The introduced restrictions, as well as fear for health, caused people to experience negative emotions, stress, depression and feelings of helplessness (Serafini et al. 2020). As noticed by Sher (2020), prolonged isolation and confinement may also increase the risk of committing suicide. Considering all these circumstances, the role of green areas in improving human well-being has become even more evident (Dushkova et al. 2021; Zhang et al. 2021). During the pandemic, the demand for recreational opportunities in forests also increased (Derks et al. 2020; Pichlerová et al. 2021; Ciesielski et al. 2022). Recreation in forest areas and its accessibility have also been the subject of numerous debates at various levels of decision-making (Derks et al. 2020; Venter et al. 2020). However, as Weinbrenner et al. (2021) note, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and numerous restrictions implemented by national governments meant that society had to relearn how to relax in the forest. It is legitimate to wonder whether the change in behaviour will last and whether it will be necessary to create new forest management rules to meet social expectations and the increased number of visitors.

In order to make decisions about the impact of the pandemic on the use of forest areas, it was necessary to determine the volume of traffic there. For this purpose, the use of natural areas has been monitored for many years. Despite the development of many monitoring techniques, there is still a search for new research methods that will allow five basic questions to be answered as accurately as possible. These questions are both quantitative and qualitative: where and when does recreation occur, who does it, what does it do and why? (Willberg et al. 2021) To answer the first two questions (where and when), various methods of direct and indirect monitoring have been used to date, including, e.g. pyroelectric sensors (Ciesielski et al. 2022), camera traps (Lupp et al. 2021), surveys (Gołos 2013), ticket registration data (Fisher et al. 2019) and Global Positioning System (GPS) data (Taczanowska et al. 2017). Surveys have also been the main tool in research in the area of analysing the behaviour and demographics of people visiting natural areas (the questions being ‘Who? What does it do? Why does it do it?’) (Pickering et al. 2018). A separate group of data and methods included those using the so-called big data resources. According to Manyika et al. (2011), we entered the era of big data when companies began to collect data from their customers and many devices were equipped with sensors. Therefore, big data resources are usually understood as large-scale data. However, as Miller and Goodchild (2015) point out, these comprise data that are beyond our ability to analyse. In terms of social mobility, big data created by users of mobile applications and social networks have been used: Flickr (Domènech et al. 2020; Ciesielski, Stereńczak 2021), Instagram (Tenkanen et al. 2017; Falk, Hagsten 2021; Grzyb et al. 2021), Strava (Venter et al. 2020), Twitter (Ghermandi, Sinclair 2019) and mobile phone data (Rice, Pan 2021). As Wang et al. (2018) point out, mobile phone data are an extremely valuable source for analysing the community mobility. The application of these data in natural areas was confirmed, e.g., by Merrill et al. (2020), who used them to estimate the number of tourists. Monz et al. (2019) point out that mobile phone data enable the creation of models of the relationship between people and the environment on an unprecedented scale. Tu et al. (2017) have identified zones of recreational use of spaces, and Xiao et al. (2019) have determined the availability of green areas. The effects of weather on cultural ecosystem services in urban protected areas were studied by Jaung and Carrasco (2021). Mobile phone data were also used to analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on community mobility in natural areas (Xiong et al. 2020; Rice, Pan 2021). Gao et al. (2020) used aggregated cell phone location data to examine the factors influencing changes in park visitation dynamics during the pandemic. Similar analyses were conducted by Rice and Pan (2021). The effects of restrictions on community mobility and recreation in protected areas were also studied by Kupfer et al. (2021). Galleguillos-Torres et al. (2022) have shown that the pandemic has exacerbated the problem of recreation demand, especially in cities where there is little space for recreation. In typical forest areas, mobile phone data were not used for analysing the effects of COVID-19 on recreation demand. However, it should be emphasised that numerous works regarding the area in question primarily used remote forms of survey (online, telephone) (Rice et al. 2020), user-generated data (Grzyb et al. 2021) and data from pyroelectric sensors (Rogowski 2021; Ciesielski et al. 2022). This was primarily due to the limitations introduced during the pandemic (limiting contacts, maintaining distance) and security.

In an attempt to fill this research gap and considering the potential of forests to provide a place for recreation, this article uses data from mobile phones registered in 2019–2020 to analyse the following changes:

The analyses were conducted in the area of the Forest Promotional Complex Sudety Zachodnie.

The changing conditions resulting from the restrictions, as well as the different perceptions of the pandemic by society (from panic to negation [Kalinowski 2020]), meant that the period of the pandemic cannot be treated as homogeneous. The dynamics of the process of change during the pandemic was also emphasised in the work of Lewtak and Nitsch-Osuch (2021). The study used the division of 2020 according to the methodology proposed by Ciesielski et al. (2022). This division made it possible not only to compare the overall pandemic year 2020 against 2019 but also changes in the use of forest during individual periods of the pandemic. This is a different approach in relation to previous works that examined the impact of the pandemic on recreation in natural areas (Derks et al. 2020; Lopez et al. 2020).

The results presented show that, in the first year of the pandemic, there was an increase in the number of visitors to the forest areas. This result confirms the majority of works in the field. Geng et al. (2021) pointed out that there was a significant increase in the demand for rest in green areas. The authors used data from Google Mobility for their work. Derks et al. (2020), who used data from pyroelectric sensors, also pointed to an increase in the number of visitors to suburban forests in Germany. One of the factors driving this increase is proximity to home. As shown in the results of surveys conducted in the Czech Republic, the number of forest visitors in 2020 also increased compared to previous years (Jarský et al. 2022). Weinbrenner et al. (2021) emphasised that, during the lockdown, the frequency of forest visits and their durations increased. The authors described the role of forests during the pandemic by including the phrase ‘The forest has become our new living room’ in the title. As Grima et al. (2020) pointed out, the behaviour of society also changed, as people who previously did not use forests or used them sporadically now began to use forest areas. On the other hand, Astel-Burt and Feng (2021) emphasised that the demand for using green areas depended on material status. The increase in the number of visitors to forest areas was also influenced by the restrictions that led to the closure of many places where the public used to spend their leisure time (cinemas, theatres, museums and restaurants). This factor, leading to a lack of alternative recreational activities, was cited by Soga et al. (2021) as the main determinant of behaviour change. The increasing number of visits to forest areas has highlighted the important role of these areas in providing the public with a place to relax, which has a positive impact on health and well-being (Kleinschroth, Kowarik 2020). It should be emphasised that the type of activities performed in the forest has not changed, but the importance of non-productive functions of the forest has been emphasised in the public opinion (Derks et al. 2020). Pichlerová et al. (2021) pointed out that, given the increased interest in forest recreation, it was crucial to maintain and develop existing infrastructure to meet society’s expectations. In addition, the authors emphasised that attention should be paid not only to protect existing ecosystems but also to create new natural areas. On the other hand, the increase of tourism in forest areas may affect recreational experiences. In extreme cases, too much traffic can lead to conflicts between different user groups (Bamwesigye et al. 2021).

Dividing the first year of the pandemic into various periods made it possible to examine how the use of the forest changed in each of them. The first two periods (the first lockdown and the ban on using green areas and forests) were characterised by a significant decrease in forest visits. This confirms the previous results using measurement sensors in the work of Ciesielski et al. (2022). The period of the first lockdown fell in spring, the time when Poles frequently spend time in forest areas according to Grzyb et al. (2021). It should be recalled that in the first phase of the pandemic, there was a great fear in Poland of the consequences of the COVID-19 infection. The slogan ‘#stay at home’ was widely used, and most people adhered to the restrictions introduced. Therefore, the observed decline is not surprising. As shown in the survey conducted by the SWPS Research Centre (SWPS, 2020), during the initial phase of the pandemic, almost 90% of the population adhered to the guidelines. Over time, due to pandemic fatigue and a dismissive attitude, this percentage declined significantly to l<70% in December 2020 (SWPS 2020). The decline in the percentage of those complying with the restrictions may have influenced the increase in visitation to forest areas during the second lockdown. During this phase of the pandemic, the number of positive COVID-19 tests in Poland increased significantly (during the first lockdown, there were about 1,000 positive tests per week; during the second lockdown, there were >160,000). Nevertheless, the mobility of the society in the forest areas increased compared to the year before the pandemic.

The selected research area is an attractive destination due to its natural values. This is one of the reasons that could explain the increase in the number of visitors to forest areas during the period of easing of the restrictions. An increase in the number of visitors to forest areas during the summer was also observed in the work of Geng et al. (2021) and Ciesielski et al. (2022). This could be due to the increasing importance of domestic tourism.

The use of base fields with a relatively high spatial resolution made it possible to identify locations where the number of visitors decreased or increased. During the first lockdown and the ban of forest areas, three locations experienced significant declines. These were places near the largest cities (points 2 and 3, Fig. 4) or places with a large concentration of tourist routes and recreational infrastructure (points 1 and 2, Fig. 4). As a result, the intensity and mobility of society decreased in the areas that were once the most used. During the second lockdown, the number of visits to these places increased significantly. This is probably related to the aforementioned decrease due to the fear of coronavirus infection.

The structure of visitors also changed during the pandemic. The first lockdown resulted in almost 90% of visitors living in the Dolnośląskie Voivodeship in the period from April to January, of which >60% lived in municipalities located in or near the study area. The restriction of mobility due to the ban on foreign travel or the required fulfilment of the test obligation caused the percentage of international visitors to drop to about 2%. Similar observations were made by Spenceley et al. (2021) and Venter et al. (2020) for the Oslo area and by Volanec et al. (2021) for parks in New Jersey. Kupfer et al. (2021), in their research on national parks in the United States, also found that as a result of restrictions, the number of visitors from out-of-state and distant states declined. However, the importance of local tourism increased.

A significant decline in the proportion of older people (>60 years of age) who chose to be active in forested areas is also worth noting. As the research of Chan (2022) shows, the decline in tourism activities of older people is mainly due to health factors.

From the results presented, it appears that the pandemic and the restrictions affected both the number of people visiting forest areas and the structure of visitors by place of residence. The analysis of the different periods of the pandemic and the restrictions showed that the pandemic cannot be treated as a whole. The behaviour of the society due to psychological factors and the restrictions introduced varied during different periods of the pandemic. Over the period of the first lockdown, there was a significant decrease in the number of visitors, but after more than half a year and the introduction of the second lockdown, the trend completely reversed. This could be a confirmation of the special role of forests in providing society with places of rest. The mobile phone data allowed a thorough analysis of changes in the spatio-temporal distribution of activities in forest areas. This type of data should be used to manage forest areas, such as in the context of making forests available to the public. Access to forests was of particular significance during the pandemic, but it is also important to conduct research to determine the long-term effects of the pandemic on the role of forests in meeting the needs of society.