A systematic literature review was conducted using the Scopus database, covering the period from 2010 to 2025, and was retrieved in April 2025. The following search string was used to identify relevant documents: (“urban forest” OR “open green space”) AND (“biodiversity” AND “conservation”) OR (“tourist” OR “visitor”) AND (“preference” OR “perception” OR “behavior” OR “attraction”). The search was limited to peer- reviewed journal articles, reviews, and conference papers in English, published in open-access format. An initial pool of 202 documents was obtained Figure. 1; Supplementary Table 1.

Those documents were screened using specific keywords and topics, including titles and abstracts related to urban forests, biodiversity, and visitor preferences, perceptions, and behavior, employing Rayyan AI (https://www.rayyan.ai/). After this process, 107 articles were retained. A second round of screening, involving title and abstract refinement through full-text reviews to confirm relevance, further narrowed the selection to 83 final documents. The publications were not related to the main theme by reviewing the context in the abstract and also full paper were excluded in this review. Bibliometric analysis was conducted using VOSviewer (v1.6.20; https://www.vosviewer. com/download) to generate network and overlay visualizations of keyword co-occurrence, cluster analysis, and temporal trends. Keywords with a high average publication year (≥ 2021) and moderate to high frequency (occurrences ≥ 5) were selected as the emerging topics.

Based on Scopus-indexed literature from 2010 to 2025, the analysis highlights an increasing research interest in the nexus between urban forest, biodiversity conservation, and ecotourism. Although the number of publications in 2025 appears to decline, this is due to the timing of the analysis, which was conducted in April 2025. The number of publications on these topics increased after 2020 Figure. 2A. Those publications primarily focus on agricultural and biological sciences, environmental sciences, and social sciences Figure. 2B, which indicated that the research topic of urban forests is mostly focused from the perspective of biological, environmental, and social sciences. This is because the urban forest is proposed as a nature-based solution to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss (Hutt-Taylor et al., 2024) sustainably manage, and restore ecosystems while simultaneously providing human wellbeing and biodiversity benefits. Managing urban forests for the environmental and human wellbeing benefits is recognized worldwide and is essential in this context of increased urbanization and climate change impacts (Endreny, 2018). The social, psychological, and environmental benefits of urban forests are being increasingly studied worldwide, with growing consensus that nature-based solutions support both people and ecosystems while addressing climate change (Hutt-Taylor et al., 2022).

Although urban forests, which encompass biological, environmental, and social sciences, have a global focus, this subject is more concentrated in northern areas, such as East Asia (China and South Korea), Europe, and North America Figure. 2C. It suggests a potential research gap in tropical and developing countries, especially in Southeast Asia and Africa. These regions’ abundant biodiversity and increasing urbanization offer great opportunities for empirical research (Khan et al., 2022); (Sofyan et al., 2024). For example, several studies were conducted in the Southeast Asia region, focused on the environmental benefits, socio-economic influences, and biodiversity (Igor & Chotib, 2018);(Foo, 2022);(Bryophyte diversity and atmospheric pollution in a residential area and an industrial urban forest in Jakarta, 2023).

A previous study shown that the biodiversity in urban forests, especially for trees, were dominated by exotic species than native species (Barrico et al., 2018). There was a proposed composition of tree diversity in urban, called the rule of thumb (10/20/30) (Santamour, 1990). The evaluation of this rule showed that the existing urban forest were less diverse than the proposed benchmarks at species level by using Shannon index, however, it has similar at the genus and family level (Kendal et al., 2014).

Cluster 2 (green color) contains keywords like urban forest, recreation, ecotourism, and tourist attraction. It centers on the theme of recreation and ecotourism in urban forests, reflecting a surge of interest in exploring the recreational value and tourism potential of urban forests that was mostly published in 2022 or later Table 1. These studies examine how urban forests can serve as ecotourism destinations, attracting visitors through scenic beauty, accessibility, and opportunities for outdoor recreation (Fadila et al., 2021); (Yao et al., 2024). Urban forests provide recreational environments that could increase visitors’ satisfaction and experience, which can improve tourists’ positive behavioral intentions (Yao et al., 2024). The conservation of urban forests depends on the development of pro- environmental attitudes and behaviors, which are greatly influenced by the environmental knowledge acquired from visits to forest parks (Zhao & Weng, 2024);(Erfanian et al., 2024).

Cluster 3 (blue color) focuses on visitor preferences and well-being, including keywords such as urban forestry, perception, preference behavior, mental health, and outdoor recreation. This cluster demonstrates a growing interest in determining what draws people to urban forests and how those pull factors affect their mental health. A previous study suggests that individual characteristics of visitors influence the variety of their post-visit experience (Yıldırım et al., 2024). Another study also showed that forest landscapes influenced visitor preferences, and it has a strong correlation to the restorative effect (Zhang et al., 2022).

Cluster 4 (yellow color) centers on the theme of human-nature interaction, encompassing keywords such as forest, humans, recreational park, and urban green spaces. This cluster focuses on how people interact with and value the green environment, examining the social and cultural aspects of human interaction with urban nature. A recent study found that visitors perceived more benefits than disbenefits in urban green spaces, including aesthetic value, memories, reflection, strengthening social bonds, connection to nature, and a sense of freedom (Nowak-Olejnik et al., 2024). The human-nature interaction, including human perception, generates cultural ecosystem services, which are the benefits that ecosystems provide to human well-being in terms of identities, experiences, and capacities (Fish et al., 2016). Recreational, aesthetic, and cultural values are the benefits of ecosystem values from forests (Crețan et al., 2024).

Cluster 5 (purple color) mainly focuses on interdisciplinary approaches in urban forest studies. Emerging terms include psychology, forest therapy, behavioral research, and health, which are labelled as behavioral science and health. This cluster represents the interest of urban forest researchers in the visitor experience of urban forests, linked with the psychological and physiological outcomes. This cluster is starting to focus on issues including environmentally responsible behavior, therapeutic landscape design, and the health benefits of forest experience (Weng et al., 2023); (Zhao & Weng, 2024); (He et al., 2022). The interest in the health benefits of urban forests has increased after the COVID-19 pandemic, which clearly shows the importance of green areas in cities for strengthening the physical and mental well-being of the urban population (Derks et al., 2020); (The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of and attitudes towards urban forests and green spaces: Exploring the instigators of change in Belgium, 2021). A previous study showed that the health benefits of green areas are significant, suggesting that higher- quality green regions are associated with reduced medication spending and fewer doctor visits (Simović et al., 2023). Furthermore, behavioral studies in urban forests highlight the importance of increasing awareness and enhancing the environmental awareness and skills of urban forest visitors (Erfanian et al., 2024). It is also important to consider the fit between the tourist and the recreational environment of the urban forest to promote the emergence of empathy and awe to stimulate the visitor’s environmentally responsible behavior (Li & Song, 2024).

We then listed the top 15 keywords based on the co-occurrence data to illustrate the conceptual landscape across the dataset Figure. 3C. These keywords represent the most influential and recurrent concepts within the literature that emphasize the core of research topics on urban forest, biodiversity conservation, and ecotourism. Urban forestry is the most commonly used keyword in the literature. It shows that the focus of the study across the literature is related to the management of trees and forest resources in urban areas, which provide various benefits, including physiological, sociological, economic, and aesthetic advantages (Volder & Watson, 2015). Several studies also suggest considering the perception and perceived values, including visitor experiences, in developing urban forest (Yıldırım et al., 2024); (Jamean & Abas, 2023); (Beyond ‘trees are good’: Disservices, 2021); (Tourist perceptions and uses of urban green infrastructure: An exploratory cross-cultural investigation, 2020).

Studies on urban forests encompass diverse fields, including ecological, social, and psychological aspects, and have been increasingly studied over the years Table 1. Based on our analysis, the topic of recreation and ecotourism is increasingly studied in urban forest areas. The study focuses on the relationship between urban forests and recreation, ecotourism, and tourist behavior. These topics could contribute to urban forest planning and construction, which directly or indirectly influences tourist behavior (Yao et al., 2024).

Several emerging themes were identified using the temporal overlay visualization Figure. 4A and the average publication year analysis Figure. 4B, particularly for publications released after 2021. Our data showed that there have been shifts in topics over the years in the urban forest study. The publications in 2021 focused on the concepts of “urban forestry” and “perceptions,” which are fundamental to discussions about urban forests. In 2022, the discussions shifted to the role of urban forest parks in promoting mental health, psychology, and ecosystem services. Furthermore, it is more enhanced in 2023 in health, behavior, and conservation topics. It might be influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, when mental health has become an issue, such as depression, stress, anger, anxiety, and so on (Jevtic et al., 2022)

The keyword occurrences “behavior” have prominently gained focus and discuss the tourists’ perceived value, post-visit behavior, and visitors’ experience of the environmentally responsible behavior in urban forests (Zhao & Weng, 2024); (Weng et al., 2023);(Li & Song, 2024);(Yao et al., 2024);(Borthakur & Kondasani, 2024). A shift toward a more behavioral and impact-driven research agenda is evident in the growing emphasis on studies that aim to understand how visitor experiences in urban forests can promote sustainable attitudes and actions.

These patterns indicate an increasing emphasis on interdisciplinary research that combines tourism studies, environmental psychology, and conservation science. Multisensory experiences, forest therapy, and the utilization of urban forest parks as tools for mental and physical health interventions are also gaining popularity.

In summary, studies of urban forests encompass a range of perspectives and diverse research topics. Based on the review conducted, we provide a conceptual framework to summarize the connections between each cluster, which will help illustrate how urban forests are studied Figure. 5. This conceptual framework portrays the urban forest as a nexus of ecological, psychological, and recreational dimensions.

Urban forests, biodiversity conservation, and their interaction with visitors are studied as interdisciplinary research. However, several critical gaps and future opportunities will guide the next phase of interdisciplinary inquiry. As shown in the geographical distribution of publication Figure. 2C, the research is concentrated in East Asia, Europe, and North America. The urban forest area in tropical and developing regions, including Southeast Asia and Africa, remains underexplored, despite being biodiversity hotspots and experiencing rapid urbanization (Foo, 2022);(Khan et al., 2022);(Bryophyte diversity and atmospheric pollution in a residential area and an industrial urban forest in Jakarta, 2023). It suggests that there is a need to explore how urban forests function within the specific biophysical, social, and policy contexts of the Global South, such as South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

It could also involve cultural studies, how multicultural values are perceived in urban forests, integrating traditional ecological knowledge, and localized tourism behavior models. Several studies have indicated the necessity for enhanced interdisciplinary methods in urban forestry research to address the complex socio-ecological dynamics

within multicultural metropolitan environments and to incorporate diverse viewpoints and techniques for improved urban forest sustainability and resilience (Barona et al., 2022); (Vogt et al., 2016).

The thematic cluster shows a strong divide between ecological studies (Cluster 1) and visitor-focused research (Clusters 2 & 3) Figure. 3B, Table 1. There are not many studies that investigate both biodiversity assessment and visitor engagement at the same time, as urban forests are managed as multifunctional spaces that serve conservation and recreation purposes (Imran et al., 2014); (Zhao & Weng, 2024)). Interdisciplinary studies should integrate biodiversity indicators and visitor engagement, which can be evaluated through participatory mapping and visitor impact

assessments.