<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Forests are being increasingly studied within the framework of social sciences, especially in relation to environmental problems and global climate change. This article deals with the perception of Czech forests and their management at two basic levels: at the level of sociological analysis of in-depth interviews with experts in the field of forestry and at the level of public opinion research. The main aim of this study was to describe the attitudes of professionals and the general public towards forests and forestry, especially with regard to climate change. Qualitative analysis of interviews with professionals discerned two main categories of opinion: ecological realism and social constructionism. The results of the study show that the Czech public, in agreement with ecological realists, considers it highly important to preserve and support the non-productive environmental functions of forests. The public also prefers close-to-nature forest management practices. Czech Republic is witnessing a fundamental shift in the mindset about forests. Although the public still expects forests to retain their production function, it perceives their environmental functions as increasingly important.</p></abstract>

Forests are being increasingly studied within the framework of social sciences, especially in relation to environmental problems and global climate change. This article deals with the perception of Czech forests and their management at two basic levels: at the level of sociological analysis of in-depth interviews with experts in the field of forestry and at the level of public opinion research. The main aim of this study was to describe the attitudes of professionals and the general public towards forests and forestry, especially with regard to climate change. Qualitative analysis of interviews with professionals discerned two main categories of opinion: ecological realism and social constructionism. The results of the study show that the Czech public, in agreement with ecological realists, considers it highly important to preserve and support the non-productive environmental functions of forests. The public also prefers close-to-nature forest management practices. Czech Republic is witnessing a fundamental shift in the mindset about forests. Although the public still expects forests to retain their production function, it perceives their environmental functions as increasingly important.

Forests in the Czech Public Discourse

Journal of Landscape Ecology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Forests in the Czech Public Discourse"}

Forests are being increasingly studied within the framework of social sciences, especially in relation to environmental problems and global climate change....

Forests in the Czech Public Discourse

Published Online: Feb 14, 2019

Page range: 33 - 44

Received: Oct 24, 2018

Accepted: Nov 29, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jlecol-2018-0011

Keywords
forest functions, forest management, public opinion, professionals’ opinions

© 2018 Jana Stachová, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Forests in the Czech Public Discourse

Published Online: Feb 14, 2019

Page range: 33 - 44

Received: Oct 24, 2018

Accepted: Nov 29, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jlecol-2018-0011

Keywordsforest functions, forest management, public opinion, professionals’ opinions

© 2018 Jana Stachová, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
forest functions, forest management, public opinion, professionals’ opinions