Symptoms of anxiety and worry about climate impacts among Finnish forest owners

Abstract

<p> <span>Private forest owners face conflicting pressures regarding management of their forests, including</span><br><span>producing</span><span> </span><span>timber</span><span> </span><span>for</span><span> </span><span>the</span><span> </span><span>forest</span><span> </span><span>industry,</span><span> </span><span>preserving</span><span> </span><span>biodiversity,</span><span> </span><span>and</span><span> </span><span>enhancing</span><span> </span><span>carbon</span><br><span>sequestration to mitigate climate change. At the same time, climate change poses a threat to the</span><br><span>viability of forests. It is poorly known how these pressures affect the mental well-being of forest</span><br><span>owners. We used a Finnish forest owner survey (</span><span>N</span><span> </span><span>= 1224) to examine whether distress due to</span><br><span>public demands regarding forest management is associated with symptoms of anxiety. We also</span><br><span>examined which factors are associated with worry about the climate change impacts on own</span><br><span>forests. Distress due to public demands on forest management was not associated with symptoms</span><br><span>of anxiety. Only stress due to the invasion of Russia into Ukraine was associated with symptoms of</span><br><span>anxiety. Having multiple objectives as a forest owner, being female gender, and having higher</span><br><span>education were associated with worry about the climate change impacts on own forests. In</span><br><span>conclusion, distress due to public demands regarding forest management may not be associated</span><br><span>with forest owners’ anxiety symptoms. Worry about the climate change impacts on own forests</span><br><span>may be partly explained by higher awareness regarding the various possibilities that forests can offer.</span> <br></p>