**4. Discussion**

As the main forest product, woods are utilized for different purposes, for instance roundwood for industrial purposes, pulp and paper, housing, and furniture material. [28]. Wood for building materials, furniture, and energy sources were considered to be commonly used in the Czech Republic [19]. Between the years 2000 and 2018, the Czech statistical office reported an increased trend (up to 15%) in wooden house/building constructions [29]. In this survey, 46.3% of the respondents reported that they considered wood a better material for housing than other materials, due to the short duration of material preparation, its environmentally friendly factor, the reasonable price, and its thermal insulating character. In contrast, wood's short lifespan and non-fireproof characteristics were in the bottom two of the reasons. Our results revealed that the strength and weakness of wood could either discourage or encourage customers to buy wood materials. By aiming to find solutions that could produce wood materials with a long lifespan, that are fireproof and sustainable at a reasonable price, wood consumption in the country can be improved. Additionally, the Czech statistical office also reported that utilization of wood as a furniture material (excluding kitchen furniture) in the country was similar over the years, especially 2017–2018 [30]. Our survey presented a preference for wood for furniture materials, which gives an opportunity for the development of value-added products in this sector, too. This can be seen also as a potential market for producers of the local wood furniture, with the caution of a potential change in consumption patterns from roundwood to, e.g., plywood furniture.

In 2015, the Czech statistical office reported that about 25% of utilized energy was from renewable resources. From 1995 to 2015, the trend of using energy from renewable resources nearly doubled. Use of renewable energy source was mostly at household levels (66.5%), followed by industry (25.2%) and other sectors (8.3%) [31]. Wood as a renewable energy resource was used by 38.6% of our respondents. Firewood was the most preferred type of wood as a source of energy. The results

imply that the simple use of wood as an energy source was still favourable. In this survey, we did not ask further questions regarding the respondents' reasons for selecting an energy source at home. About two million m<sup>3</sup> per capita of wood was used as a source of energy in the country, which was lower compared to the roughly twelve and six million m<sup>3</sup> users in Germany and Austria, respectively, indicating that it is challenging to change the practice of using a fossil-based heater to a wood boiler energy source.

Studies from Finland, Germany, and Austria reported growing economic activity in rural areas, which includes biomass-based value chains and the economic utilization of other types of FES [32–34]. In comparison to Austria and Germany (about 14,800 and 19,900 full-time equivalent (FTE), respectively), the country had 42,500 FTE employmen in forest-based sectors. However, the annual change rate of FTE decreased in the Czech Republic (− 6.85%) [35]. In the Czech Republic, the number of employees in the forestry sector has systematically decreased in the last two decades, mainly due to low wages in this sector. This mainly concerns workers, and started to manifest itself negatively in the last two years in connection with the bark beetle outbreak. There is a lack of sta ff both in logging activities (inability to remove infested trees within the legal deadline), and especially in planting activities (there are not enough workers to plant trees). Therefore, the promotion of production in the bioeconomy, and changing the consumption pattern of the Czech people in the future, could potentially improve the employment situation in the forest-based sector and its value chains. The new challenge is to launch a better use of biological renewable resources in the Czech Republic in a suitable form for the future of society in sustainable manner.

To date, only wood forest products are considered to provide significant economic value for the Czech forest owners. Through the adoption of the forest bioeconomy strategy, it is expected that other FESs will also be promoted. NWFPs, especially mushrooms and di fferent varieties of berry, were important for the recreational activity and socio-economic value of the Czech public [36,37]. The Czech MoA [22] reported that mushrooms were the most picked NWFPs (21,900 kg per year), and, altogether, collected berries amounted to 17,000 kg per year. Our current study also found a similar trend in preferred NWFPs (mushrooms and berries), which suggests the importance of further promoting this FES. In this survey, we did not ask how the respondents obtained the NWFPs (e.g., self-picking or buying the berries, honey, etc.). However, we discovered the importance of the respondent's gender and their preferred NWFPs, with women preferring more diverse NWFPs than men, such as collecting forest flowers and honey. In Switzerland, women were also reported as potential consumers of NWFPs [38].

In contrast, hoof game meat seemed to be of more interest for males compared to females. The Czech statistical o ffice reported that consumption of game meat was still considered to be low (1.2% from the total consumed meat per year per capita). Additionally, the statistical o ffice also reported an increasing trend of game animal consumption, from 0.5 kg per capita per year in 2006 to 0.9 kg in 2013 [39]. Game animals, such as wild boars and deer, are raised more naturally than livestock on a farm. The potential increase in game meat consumption due to hunting activities could cause problems in the forest, such as damage to the growth of young shoots. Additionally, the argumen<sup>t</sup> surrounding the function of hunting game as a recreational activity (e.g., getting a trophy, as a type of sport) and wildlife managemen<sup>t</sup> [40] is an ongoing discussion among associated stakeholders in the Czech Republic, in addition to the problem of too high a stock of hoofed game [22].

By visiting the forests, the people utilize the recreation services of the forests. Access to the Czech forest is a public right. At the moment, there are no o fficial data regarding the frequency of the forest visits of the Czech general population. However, concerning mushroom and berry picking, 90% of Czech visitors visited the forests at least once a year, of which 20% visited on a weekly basis [36]. Our study reported that a very high proportion (99%) of respondents aged 18–65 years visited the forest at least once per year (Table 1), which was higher than the 90% of Czech forest visitors in 2005 [36]. The reason for this was probably due to the age range of our respondents, which was at a productive age, and not including those below 15 and above 65 years, who are less active and more

dependent. Meanwhile, 66.67% of the German general population went to forests at least once a year [17], while 40% of Austrians visited forests every week [41]. Out of the 99% of forest visitors in our survey, 77.1% of them visited the Czech forest frequently. However, detailed reasons for visiting the forest were not asked for in this survey. In another national survey (The Market & Media & Lifestyle), walking and doing sport were the largest drivers of the Czech forest visits [42]. By understanding the drivers of forest visits, programs concerning the promotion of FES could be well targeted and developed by the respective forest owners and enterprises.

Our results also revealed that the proportion of respondents that have graduated from secondary school/vocational training (46.7%) was significantly higher in the group of never or rarely visited the forests than other education levels (*p* = 0.004). Based on the results of binary logistic regression analysis, respondents that have graduated from secondary school/vocational training had a 1.6 times odds ratio of not visiting or rarely going to the forest (*p* = 0.001). The education plans of the secondary vocational schools involve more practical and physical work than regular high schools, which lead to more physical jobs and rotating work schedules (shift). In this study, we did not collect information on the type of occupation of the respondents. It was likely that the respondents who had graduated from the secondary school/vocational training had time constraints to do recreational activities due to the type of occupation (excluding those who graduated from a forestry or agriculture secondary vocational school).

In order to increase public awareness with regards to the adoption of a bioeconomy strategy, it is important to select an appropriate information provider, since changes in consumer behavior are expected. Respondents in this national survey still favoured TV and the peer group/family as major information channels. Online news and social media were the next most frequently selected information providers, especially for the respondents below 55 years old. We also found that gender influenced preferences in utilizing online news (male) or social media (female). The internet has been predicted to win over more traditional information providers [43]. But, since a high proportion of respondents in this survey selected TV as the source for information, therefore, TV should still be considered as an important channel, together with other selected mediums.

#### **5. Conclusions and Recommendations**

The results of the survey presented wood products as the most preferred material for furniture (96.3%) and building materials (46.3%). We found that 38.6% of Czech residents used wood as a source of energy, mostly in the form of firewood. It is challenging to change the practice of using fossil-based heaters to wood boiler energy sources. However, by addressing the positive attributes of wood and their impact on the future environment, it is likely that an increase in awareness and changes in consumer patterns can be expected. As the country has not ye<sup>t</sup> adopted a bioeconomy strategy, a review study on the forest bioeconomy in other European countries is recommended, in order to give a better understanding of the impacts of bioeconomy strategies on a country's economic growth, particularly in the forest-based sector. The promotion of wood and non-wood forest products is encouraged, starting with increasing awareness and knowledge of the strength of the forest-based sector as a renewable energy resource and the importance of forest ecosystem services for recreation, health, and the well-being of the people. The increasing trends in NWFPs' utilization can be further promoted by creating di fferent events in relation to respective FESs, while being careful to regulate the sustainable and shared responsibility aspects of protecting the forest. We also propose to investigate the reasons for visiting the forest and design a targeted program for a specific population (based on age, education level, type of occupation, or gender) in the country. It is important to utilize all channels as an information source for the importance of FES and the bioeconomy, depending on the target groups. We also propose to include forestry extension programs at school, especially in secondary vocational schools, aiming to inform people about and link people with forests, and to improve their participation in safeguarding the environment.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, methodology, validation, M.H.; writing—original draft preparation, R.C.P. and M.H.; writing—review and editing, R.C.P., M.Š., M.H. and V.J., visualization, R.C.P., V.J. and M.H.; supervision, M.H.; project administration, M.H.; funding acquisition, M.H. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was financed by the Operational Program Research, Development and Education (OP RDE), the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic, gran<sup>t</sup> no. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16\_019/0000803 and by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, gran<sup>t</sup> no. QK1920391.

**Acknowledgments:** The authors thank the support from the project "Advanced research supporting the forestry and wood-processing sector´s adaptation to global change and the 4th industrial revolution" and the project "Diversification of the Impact of the Bioeconomy on Strategic Documents of the Forestry-Wood Sector as a Basis for State Administration and the Design of Strategic Goals".

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
