Seasonality of the recreational value of forests in Denmark

The importance of forest composition and appearance for recreational value is well-known, with a preference for deciduous species over coniferous species in Denmark. Yet, the effect of seasonal variation in appearance of these species on recreational preferences remain underexplored. In this paper, we combine three datasets to examine how seasonality affects people's preferences for forest visits. Using a repeated choice experiment over a one-year period, we find that the Danish public's preference for deciduous over coniferous forests is far more pronounced in spring and summer than in autumn and winter. Using forest visitor data from counting stations across Denmark, we demonstrate that the seasonal variation in visitor numbers is more pronounced for forests with a higher share of deciduous trees. Finally, we use PPGIS data to show that respondents travel to and stay shorter in the forest in the winter. The mode of transport, however, is stable over the year. Thus, out of five elements important for the calculation of welfare estimates, being species preference, travel distance, visit frequency, visit duration and transport mode, we find that the first four vary significantly by season, with no significant seasonal variation for the latter. We conclude that previous valuation studies, primarily based on spring or summer seasons, are upper bounds on the preference for deciduous forests over coniferous forests as well as for travel distance. Future valuation studies on forest recreation should pay closer attention to the effects of seasonality to produce non-biased estimates.