Modelling and mapping spatial heterogeneity in forest recreation services

Modelling and spatial mapping of recreation services require attention to both demand and supply factors. This paper combines recreational choice modelling and economic valuation with GIS based techniques to allow an assessment of the spatial diversity of the value of forest recreation services. The data for the analysis is a national study of the car borne recreational use of Danish forest sites. A random utility framework is used and a comparison between the standard fixed coefficient model and a mixed logit model is made. The results show that the different specifications of the random utility models reveal similar preferences for the measured forest attributes in terms of sign and magnitude. The spatial predictions, however, reveal a considerable difference in the spatial pattern of economic benefits from recreation between the two models. These results have implications for current ecosystem service mapping initiatives as they emphasise the need to account for spatial heterogeneity in preferences, and aggregate demand and environmental attributes and infrastructure.