The many states of Central Europe have produced a variety of approaches to recreation research over the past few decades. The high density of population and housing in many of the states of Central Europe with an attendant increase in environmental problems have led to high interest in nature conservation and landscape protection. In consequence, use of the landscape for recreation has been analyzed critically. Those forms of recreation that use nature gently generally have met with approval.
Past and present investigations deal with many topics. Some of the more prominent focus on the effects of touristic activities (such as skiing) on wildlife and vegetation, economic benefits and effects of recreation, tourism, and nature conservation, management of conflicts among recreationists and recreation and other uses, effects of environmental information and education, the social compatibility of various activities, and the accessibility of recreation opportunities to all segments of the population.
Many of these topics will be continued into the future. For example, studies of economic issues and recreationist conflict are likely to increase. More studies of human behavior in different environments are likely as are studies which focus on spatial analysis of recreation and other social data using geographic information systems and remote sensing technology.
These and other topics are discussed in this paper which describes the past and current research undertaken on forest recreation and landscape in Central Europe and identifies likely future directions for this research. A look across the various Central European states is offered.
Key words: forest recreation research, landscape, Central Europe, research perspectives.
Correspondence: Ulrike Probstl, St. Andrae-Str. 8, 8128 Etting-Polling, Germany