TY - JOUR

T1 - Why people like or dislike large wood in rivers—a representative survey of the general public in Germany

AU - Gapinski, Cedric

AU - Hermes, Johannes

AU - von Haaren, Christina

N1 - Funding Information: The “Wilde Mulde” project is jointly funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) with funds also from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) in Germany (funding code: 01LC1322F). The BMBF is funding this project as an Initiative for Sustainable Development (FONA): www.fona.de We would also like to thank the Eresult GmbH for their support in the conception, implementation, and evaluation of the survey, the Lenné 3D GmbH for the creation of the visualizations and Dr. rer. Hort. Frank Schaarschmidt from the Institute of Cell Biology and Biophysics at Leibniz University Hannover for statistical consulting. Finally, we would like to thank the anonymous reviewers, whose comments significantly improved the quality of the article and contributed to its successful publication. Open access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.

PY - 2021/2/7

Y1 - 2021/2/7

N2 - For the restoration of medium and small rivers, the reintroduction of large wood (LW) is crucial. Despite the wide communication of the ecological key functions of LW, residents rejected its reintroduction in a restoration project at the river Mulde (Dessau‐Roßlau, Germany). To determine whether this is a local or widespread phenomenon in Germany, we investigated (a) the German population's attitude toward LW, (b) preferred quantities of LW introduction, and (c) the effects of flood experiences and other sociodemographic characteristics on these preferences. We conducted a nationwide and representative online survey (n = 2,100), including rating‐scale statements and a choice experiment (CE). Regarding the rating statements, we found that a majority of respondents (57–67%) is convinced of the advantages of LW reintroduction. However, 47–60% considered LW to be dangerous for canoeists or during floods. For the CE (n = 743), we defined an LW attribute and added information on possible effects. Conditional logit models showed a strong preference for the highest amount of LW, with an odds ratio 5.47 times higher than for the status quo without LW. We also found that personal flood experiences reduce the preferred LW quantities. In contrast, females, higher educational levels, the youngest and oldest age groups, and especially frequent river visitors preferred higher LW amounts. Since the commitment of young people to environmental issues is currently increasing, we believe that specific environmental education opportunities for this group located along the river can contribute significantly to increase acceptance.

AB - For the restoration of medium and small rivers, the reintroduction of large wood (LW) is crucial. Despite the wide communication of the ecological key functions of LW, residents rejected its reintroduction in a restoration project at the river Mulde (Dessau‐Roßlau, Germany). To determine whether this is a local or widespread phenomenon in Germany, we investigated (a) the German population's attitude toward LW, (b) preferred quantities of LW introduction, and (c) the effects of flood experiences and other sociodemographic characteristics on these preferences. We conducted a nationwide and representative online survey (n = 2,100), including rating‐scale statements and a choice experiment (CE). Regarding the rating statements, we found that a majority of respondents (57–67%) is convinced of the advantages of LW reintroduction. However, 47–60% considered LW to be dangerous for canoeists or during floods. For the CE (n = 743), we defined an LW attribute and added information on possible effects. Conditional logit models showed a strong preference for the highest amount of LW, with an odds ratio 5.47 times higher than for the status quo without LW. We also found that personal flood experiences reduce the preferred LW quantities. In contrast, females, higher educational levels, the youngest and oldest age groups, and especially frequent river visitors preferred higher LW amounts. Since the commitment of young people to environmental issues is currently increasing, we believe that specific environmental education opportunities for this group located along the river can contribute significantly to increase acceptance.

KW - choice experiment

KW - flooding experience

KW - general public

KW - large wood

KW - online survey

KW - river landscapes

KW - river restoration

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85092688312&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1002/rra.3743

DO - 10.1002/rra.3743

M3 - Article

VL - 37

SP - 187

EP - 197

JO - River research and applications

JF - River research and applications

SN - 1535-1459

IS - 2

ER -