A model for quantifying and predicting urban pressure on woodland

European and global urbanisation is increasing. For the urban population, the woodlands in the urban and peri-urban landscape are important as places for recreation and contact with nature among other functions. This paper presents a geographical information system (GIS) based model to classify urban woodlands by urban pressure, of which visitor pressure is a key component. The model identifies and uses distance, accessibility and quality of woodland as key components affecting visitation rates for urban woodland. The model was applied to the Malmo-Lund region in Sweden, a highly urbanised area with few areas accessible for recreation. Validation of the model was through field inventory of indicators of urban pressure. The classification identifies woodlands with a high priority for including visitor pressure in management planning. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.