Assessment of recreational potential of forests in the Central ecological zone of the Baikal natural territory

Examines the current state, problems and potential of recreational use of forests on forest land and specially protected natural territories in the Central ecological zone of the Baikal natural territory of the Irkutsk region. The urgency of the problem is due to the fact that forests occupy more than 80% of the total area of the Central Ecological Zone and are in the field of view of legislation in the field of protection of the unique ecosystems of Lake Baikal. The priority development in recent years of recreational activities creates certain prerequisites for possible land use conflicts and negative environmental consequences for forest ecosystems. In terms of area, the total number of contracts concluded for the use of forest land, it has been determined that recreational activity is positioned as an actively developing small business sector. The development of recreation is considered taking into account environmental and forest legislation. To assess the recreational potential of land in the context of forest areas, a scale of estimated indicators (age composition, bonitet, fullness of forest stands, forest type) and other indicators (area of meadows, surface waters (rivers, lakes, swamps), roads per unit area of forest land) was developed...