Consistency of photo and field surveys in measuring the attractiveness of forest stands

Assessments of human environmental perceptions are partly based on visible features, roles and functioning of the environment, and partly on personal, cultural, social and experience-based values. Assessment research has often been done by showing photos of the environment to respondents, although in situ visits are considered more reliable in reflecting the true characteristics of the environment. We tested the similarity of attractiveness perceptions of 110 respondents between surveys based on photos and field visits in Eastern Finnish managed Scots pine forests. We found a strong correlation between photo and field views of matching forests. Outdoor NGO members gave on average higher scores than other respondents in photo than in field assessments. Moreover, respondents having a neutral or a positive attitude to forest management gave higher scores in photo than in field assessments, whereas respondents with a negative attitude evaluated the environments in the opposite way. The scores based on walk-through visits to gap-felled stands fell between snapshot scores for gaps and retained parts of these same stands. In conclusion, photos seem to accurately reflect the characteristics of structurally simple pine forests, but in more complex stands, several photos or other assessment techniques are required. We conclude that, in general, photos can be used in forest preference assessments, but evaluations of structurally complex environments would benefit from advanced 3D illustration technologies.