How forests foster human health – Present state of research-based knowledge (in the field of Forests and Human Health)

Meyer, Katharina; Bürger-Arndt, Renate

doi:10.1505/146554814813484103

Cited by 21 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 117 publications

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“…On a more general level, the observations made in this study indicate that in times of often problematic social situations in their homes, people (re-)discovered forests as a recreational space. Urban forest visits are known to positively contribute to human health ( Donovan, 2017 , Iwata et al, 2016 , Meyer and Bürger-Arndt 2014 ). Combining the two observations, we conclude that under the pandemic measures forests are substantially serving crucial societal functions regarding physical and mental health, revealing them as thus far undervalued parts of the critical infrastructure in a pandemic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19-induced visitor boom reveals the importance of forests as critical infrastructure

Derks

Gießen

Winkel

2020

Forest Policy and Economics

267

206

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During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, countries around the globe have implemented a certain degree of lockdown, restricting citizens' freedom of movement and freedom of assembly. This article aims to illustrate the impact that the measures against the spread of COVID-19 have on forest recreation, building on a study in an urban context around Bonn (Germany) that was conducted between April 2019 and February 2020. The quantitative and qualitative data on urban forest visits from that study were supplemented with new census data supported by selected expert interviews. We found that visitor numbers since the inception of COVID-19 measures in March 2020 have more than doubled. Visitor patterns have drastically shifted, from an even distribution throughout the day with small peaks before and after office hours to a culmination in the late afternoon. Lastly, the interviewed forestry professionals have noted that a new set of visitors, i.e. young people, families with children and non-locals, has arrived to the forest. This influx of more and novice visitors poses challenges for forest managers and urban forest policy. It is, however, also a unique opportunity for a substantial engagement of forestry with society at large, that has implications for forest policy, especially in urban areas, possibly beyond the COVID-19 pandemic era.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19-induced visitor boom reveals the importance of forests as critical infrastructure

Derks

Gießen

Winkel

2020

Forest Policy and Economics

267

206

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“…Previous reviews were analyzed to identify relevant terms for configuring a Boolean search: Cho [3,6,9,13,17]. The keywords identified were divided into three main blocks: (a) habitat (synonyms of forested environments and terms referring to these areas), (b) activity (action developed in forests that have been tested seeking health outcomes) and (c) health effects (effects of forest exposure on body and health systems or functions).…”

Section: Review Scopingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The potential of forests as a source of health has led to numerous studies that provide evidence of the benefits of exposure to these forested ecosystems [1,3,4]. Previous reviews that have compiled the results from these studies report the effects of forests on the following body systems and functions: cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine, immune, nervous, as well as the impact on mental disorders and psychological well-being [5][6][7][8][9]. Forest exposure has also generally been strongly correlated with stress regulation [9,10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Should Forests Be Characterized in Regard to Human Health? Evidence from Existing Literature

Bach

Peñuelas

Clarà

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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The potential of forests as a source of health has been addressed by the scientific community and is now being considered in national forest strategies, management plans and policies. Studies identifying the mechanisms by which forest characteristics may induce these effects on human health are nevertheless scarce. This systematic review of literature on forests and human health with real-life human exposure was conducted to assess the extent to which forests have been studied and described in detail and the extent to which relationships between forest variables and health effects have been reported. The analysis underlines the lack of forest descriptions in 19.35% of the 62 studies selected for review as well as the high heterogeneity of forest variables’ description. Patterns among the articles could not be identified correlating the broader forest variable (forest type) and the most studied health variables identified (blood pressure, pulse rate or/and cortisol levels). These findings, together with previous ex situ researches, suggest the need to ameliorate and incorporate more accurate descriptions of forest variables within human health studies to provide data for forest management and the potential use of these habitats for preventive medicine and clinical practice guidelines.

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“…Les études sur les effets favorables des séjours dans la nature sur la santé font toutefois rarement la distinction entre la forêt spécifiquement et d'autres formes d'environnement naturel. Par conséquent, l'influence des séjours en forêt est encore peu étudiée [81]. Cependant, de nombreux indices donnent à penser que les séjours en forêt, précisément, ont des effets particulièrement bénéfiques sur la santé.…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

“…Les enquêtes conduites auprès de promeneurs en forêts et les sondages montrent que de nombreuses personnes associent les visites en forêt à des aspects positifs pour la santé. Dans ce contexte, les caractéristiques forestières physiquement et mentalement efficaces sur la santé, telles que l'air frais et propre, ou les sons de la nature (plutôt que le bruit), sont de la plus haute importance [81,82].…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Les effets de la forêt sur la santé physique et mentale. Une revue de la littérature scientifique

Meyer-Schulz¹,

Bürger-Arndt²

2019

Santé Publique

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How forests foster human health – Present state of research-based knowledge (in the field of Forests and Human Health)

Cited by 21 publications

References 117 publications

COVID-19-induced visitor boom reveals the importance of forests as critical infrastructure

COVID-19-induced visitor boom reveals the importance of forests as critical infrastructure

How Should Forests Be Characterized in Regard to Human Health? Evidence from Existing Literature

Les effets de la forêt sur la santé physique et mentale. Une revue de la littérature scientifique

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