The association between plant diversity and perceived emotions for visitors in urban forests: A pilot study across 49 parks in China

《The association between plant diversity and perceived emotions for visitors in urban forests: A pilot study across 49 parks in China》

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作者: Hongxu Wei;Jie Zhang;Zhihui Xu;Tengfei Hui;Peng Guo;Yuxiang Sun

来源: URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING,Vol.73,Issue1,Article 127613

语言: 英文

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作者单位: Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China;Univeristy of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;Forestry College, Beihua University, Jilin 132103, China;Environment and Resources College, Dalian Nationalities University, Dalian 116600, China;Department of Human Resources Management, School of Business and Management, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China;Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China;Univeristy of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;Forestry College, Beihua University, Jilin 132103, China;Environment and Resources College, Dalian Nationalities University, Dalian 116600, China;Department of Human Resources Management, School of Business and Management, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China;Department of Systems Engineering, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 21 Prague 6-Suchdol, Czech Republic;Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic, Kaplanova 1931/1, 148 00 Prague 11-Chodov, Czech Republic;USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, 359 Main Rd., Delaware, OH 43015, USA;Bowling Green State University, Department of Biological Sciences, 429e Life Sciences Building, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA;Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden;Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark;Department of Built Environment, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland;Geography and Urban Studies, Temple University, 308 Gladfelter Hall, 1115W. Berks St., Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA;USDA Forest Service, Philadelphia Field Station, 100N. 20th St., Suite 205, Philadelphia, PA 19105, USA;Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 100N. 20th St., 5th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19105, USA;College of Resources and Environment, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, China;Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department / Tropical Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Homestead, FL 33031, USA;General Education Department, Taishan College of Science and Technology, Tai’an 271000, China;Dezhou Natural Resources Bureau & Forestry Bureau, Dezhou 25300, China;University of Lodz, Faculty of Economics and Sociology, Department of Regional Economics and Environment, Social-Ecological Systems Analysis Lab, POW 3/5 Street, 90-255 Lodz, Poland

摘要: Urbanization introduces uncertainties to the biodiversity of plant communities. The perception of biodiversity can be associated with positive mental health and well-being, but direct evidence is still insufficient. In this study, we collected data about plant biodiversity assessments from studies on urban forests in the literature of China’s national knowledge infrastructure. Records of the species amount, Shannon index, and Simpson index were extracted from 49 urban forest parks in 13 cities across mainland China from 2018 to 2021. A total of 1938 facial photos were obtained from microblogs with check-in locations at these parks in the Sina Microblog in 2020. Happy, sad, and neutral emotions and positive response index (PRI; happy minus sad) were rated and mapped for spatial distributions. The amount of species was distributed as a heterogeneous pattern for all plant types, and biodiversity was higher in the northern regions (e.g., ~55% in Qingdao and over 50% in Taiyuan) than in southern cities along the Yangtze River (e.g., ~35% in Huaihua and Changsha). Trees did not account for the association of biodiversity with emotional expressions. Smiles were elicited mostly in parks with more diverse shrubs (Shannon index: R=0.4335; P = 0.0029) and herbs (R=0.6162; P = 0.0008). Females showed more smiles than males (47% vs. 32%, respectively; F=39.15, P < 0.0001), and happy emotions tended to be higher in older visitors (senior vs. younger: 58% vs. 43%, respectively; F=2.72, P = 0.0280). Overall, we recommend visiting parks in northern cities of China for the benefit of evoking positive emotions through experiencing abundant undergrowth species. Female visitors would benefit more than males in the promotion of mental well-being by perceiving diverse shrubs and herbs in urban forest parks.