The aesthetics of white pine and red pine forests

Abstract

Aesthetic values of the forest in northeastern Ontario were determined with the Scenic Beauty Estimation Method, which relates psychometric analysis with quantitative forest stand characteristics. Results indicate high agreement for scenic beauty between environmental groups and other public groups, but less agreement between either of these and resource managers. In predominently coniferous forests, hardwoods (especially aspen) contribute to scenic beauty, and respondents prefer mature open stands over younger and denser ones. Linking people's aesthetic evaluations to physical stand characteristics may provide valuable insights for forest management purposes. Key words: Forest aesthetics, user preferences, white pine, red pine, scenic beauty