Forest recreation is irreplaceable for the protection and sustainable development of urban environments. Understanding the structural characteristics of forest recreation networks in urban areas thus offers valuable theoretical and practical insights. Grounded in social network theory and spatial analysis of recreational behavior, this study leverages point of interest (POI) data for forest attractions, forest land cover data, and user-generated content (UGC) trajectory data to analyze the evolution of the forest recreation network in the Chang-Zhu-Tan Green Heart (CZTGH) of China—the world’s largest metropolitan ecological green heart area. Findings reveal that the forest recreation network of CZTHGH exhibits a multi-center, clustered spatial pattern, with a weakened radiative influence from core to peripheral areas. While recreational behaviors are increasingly fragmented and localized, this has not undermined the network’s overall function; instead, it has fostered systemic adaptability through multiple, functionally complementary clusters, accompanied by a marked shift in activity preference toward ecologically oriented spaces such as arbor forests, shrublands, and scenic forests, alongside a significant decline in non-forest recreation. Furthermore, a high degree of spatial alignment is observed among recreation supply nodes, public demand, and forest resources, indicating synergistic spatial coordination between recreational use and ecological conservation. Findings support an analytical framework integrating recreation supply, recreation demand, and forest resources, providing practical references for the sustainable use of ecological spaces in similar urban areas.
Zhang et al. (Sat,) studied this question.
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