Forest professionals have traditionally played a central role in shaping how forests are understood and managed, occupying operational and managerial positions related to forest planning, timber harvesting, biodiversity conservation, and stakeholder engagement. In these roles, they increasingly navigate societal debates in which forest-related institutions and governance are challenged and tensions over forest values and objectives intensify.
The purpose of this research was to deepen conceptual and empirical understanding of forest professionals’ lived relationships with forests, the interconnections between these relationships and professional culture, and how they can be interpreted as tensions and possibilities in sustainability-oriented change.
The research comprised three studies. Study I elaborated the concept of the human–forest relationship (HFR) for examining how people experience forests and ascribe meanings to them. Study II applied this framework to explore forest professionals’ lived HFRs, focusing on how meanings are shaped within professional community culture. Study III examined emotions expressed by different actors participating in a forest-related digital discussion, interpreting emotional expressions as manifestations of HFRs and as factors shaping conflict dynamics.
Methodologically, the research combined conceptual analysis drawing on multidisciplinary literature with qualitative empirical inquiry. The empirical analysis was grounded primarily in interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), complemented by qualitative content analysis and narrative emotion analysis. The material comprised interviews with Finnish forest professionals and digital media discussions related to a forest conflict.
The findings indicate that forest professionals’ HFRs are holistic and deeply interwoven with professional culture. Through professional socialisation, individuals become embedded in a cultural continuum that shapes values, perceptions, and existential orientations toward forests. Forests permeate both personal and professional lifeworlds, fostering strong attachments that support commitment but may also clash with alternative worldviews. Overall, the study reveals how professional identities and forest meanings are negotiated within historically embedded lifeworlds, opening understandings for sustainability-oriented shifts.