Forests in the Functional and Spatial Structure of Municipalities: Evaluating Planning Tools for Sustainable Forest Resource Management

Contemporary urbanization, particularly in the suburban zones of major cities, intensifies conflicts at the interface between forested and developed areas. Forests, as critical components of municipal functional and spatial structures, face increasing development pressure, primarily driven by escalating social demands for housing. This study evaluates the effectiveness of spatial policy implementation in safeguarding and maintaining forested areas, taking into account their distinct environmental and functional characteristics. The research focuses on selected municipalities near Warsaw: Izabelin, Jabłonna, Wiązowna, Lesznowola, and Podkowa Leśna, all of which experience significant investment pressure and possess a high proportion of forest cover. The analysis utilizes qualitative and comparative research methods. A Forest Planning Protection Quality Index (FPPQI) was developed through expert-based assessment of local spatial development plans to evaluate the quality of planning solutions for forest protection. The results were compared with the degree of forest fragmentation identified through GIS analyses. The expert method was used to evaluate selected local plans for the quality of planning protection of forest areas. Additionally, spatial analyses in a GIS environment assessed whether municipalities with a low FPPQI, resulting from ongoing suburbanization, also exhibit increasing forest fragmentation. The findings demonstrate that forest protection effectiveness is determined primarily by the quality of planning provisions in local spatial development plans, rather than by the extent of planning coverage. Municipalities experiencing high suburbanization pressure and lower FPPQI values exhibited increased forest fragmentation, while those with more restrictive planning regulations preserved greater spatial continuity of forest complexes.