Psychological benefits of greenspace increase with biodiversity

Fuller, Richard A.; Irvine, Katherine N.; Devine‐Wright, Patrick; Warren, Philip H.; Gaston, Kevin J.

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0149

Cited by 1,226 publications

(869 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…This is validated by respondents stating that their spiritual experience would not be enhanced if the garden was larger, had a greater variety of plants, or contained certain tree species or amenities. This is contradictory to other studies illustrating that benefits received from urban green spaces increased with increasing area [11,62]. This maybe a consequence of most of the gardens in our sample being quite small (the largest being 0.5 ha).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…The positive relationship of aesthetic appreciation and greenness reflects much other literature in which respondents express an affinity for green spaces [60,61]. The relationship with species richness has rarely been examined other than the seminal work of Fuller et al [62], who showed respondents' ranking of their feeling of distinct identity and to reflect increased in urban parks with increasing species richness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

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Aesthetic and Spiritual Ecosystem Services Provided by Urban Sacred Sites

Lacy¹,

Shackleton

2017

Sustainability

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Abstract:The range and use of ecosystem services provided by urban sacred sites has hardly been considered in studies of urban ecology, sustainability and human wellbeing. This paper examines the perceived ecosystem services supplied by green spaces or gardens associated with places of religious worship and appreciated by worshippers in a mid-sized town in South Africa. A questionnaire with open, closed and Likert scale questions was administered at 30 places of worship (25 with gardens and five without). Respondents identified a wide diversity of ecosystem services provided by gardens, with social ones being more recognized than ecological, and economic services the least. Approximately two-thirds of respondents visited a sacred site garden weekly or more often. The majority of respondents (96%) felt that a garden was necessary because it added to their feelings of connection with God, or helped them relax and so be better able to concentrate, and 54% stated that a garden enhanced their overall spiritual experience. Regression analysis revealed that aesthetic appreciation of a garden was significantly related to woody plant species richness, number and basal area in the garden. On the other hand, spiritual experience was positively related to woody plant basal area, but not species richness nor tree number. Neither size of the garden, nor number of years the respondents had been vising a particular sacred site had any influence on the rated spiritual or aesthetic experiences. These results reveal the widely appreciated ecosystem services provided by urban sacred spaces and their centrality in enhancing spiritual satisfaction for some.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Aesthetic and Spiritual Ecosystem Services Provided by Urban Sacred Sites

Lacy¹,

Shackleton

2017

Sustainability

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“…It has been shown that the psychological benefits that humans gain from encountering urban greenspaces increase with the species richness of these greenspaces (Fuller et al, 2007). The medians in New York (and we suspect similar patches of habitat in other megacities) are sufficiently extreme to reduce diversity, even of disturbance-tolerant taxa such as ants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Urban stress is associated with variation in microbial species composition—but not richness—in Manhattan

et al. 2015

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The biological diversity and composition of microorganisms influences both human health outcomes and ecological processes; therefore, understanding the factors that influence microbial biodiversity is key to creating healthy, functional landscapes in which to live. In general, biological diversity is predicted to be limited by habitat size, which for green areas is often reduced in cities, and by chronic disturbance (stress). These hypotheses have not previously been tested in microbial systems in direct comparison to macroorganisms. Here we analyzed bacterial, fungal and ant communities in small road medians (average area 0.0008 km 2 ) and larger parks (average area 0.64 km 2 ) across Manhattan (NYC). Bacterial species richness was not significantly different between medians and parks, but community composition was significantly distinct. In contrast, ant communities differed both in composition and richness with fewer ant species in medians than parks. Fungi showed no significant variation in composition or richness but had few shared taxa between habitats or sites. The diversity and composition of microbes appears less sensitive to habitat patchiness or urban stress than those of macroorganisms. Microbes and their associated ecosystem services and functions may be more resilient to the negative effects of urbanization than has been previously appreciated.

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“…De manera directa, un humedal con mayor diversidad de plantas o mayores índices de naturalidad, generaría mayores benefi cios desde el punto de vista de los servicios ecosistémicos de recreación y bienestar psicológico de la comunidad. Diversos estudios han mostrado correlaciones positivas entre el grado de naturalidad de áreas verdes urbanas con variables de bienestar humano (Irvine et al, 2010), y en algunos casos han correlacionado incluso la riqueza de plantas, positivamente con variables psicológicas del bienestar y motivación para visitar áreas verdes urbanas (Dallimer et al, 2012, Fuller et al, 2007.…”

Section: Discusión Y Conclusiónunclassified

Patrones de urbanización en la biodiversidad de humedales urbanos en Concepción metropolitano

Rojas¹,

Sepúlveda-Zúñiga²,

Barbosa³

et al. 2015

Rev. geogr. Norte Gd.

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RESUMENLa urbanización en Concepción metropolitano (36°S) en las últimas décadas ha impactado áreas de valor ecológico, tales como humedales y lagunas. Aquí analizamos la perturbación de parámetros de biodiversidad en seis humedales urbanos, mediante la exploración y uso de indicadores. Se proponen tres indicadores: naturalidad y riqueza de macrolepidópteros y plantas, los que se evalúan mediante modelos de regresión múltiple. Los resultados indican que los humedales con menor grado de perturbación antrópica se encuentran ubicados dentro de una reserva protegida y rodeados de una matriz de paisaje seminatural; mientras que los más perturbados están más próximos a la urbanización. Además, la riqueza de macrolepidópteros se ve más afectada por la distancia a carreteras, en cambio la riqueza de plantas por la densidad de viviendas. Se genera una herramienta para la evaluación de efectos de la urbanización en humedales urbanos.Palabras clave: Humedales, Urbanización, Biodiversidad, Naturalidad ABSTRACTUrbanization of the Metropolitan region of Concepción (36°S) in the last decades has impacted on the ecological value of areas such as wetlands and lagoons. Here, we analyse the disturbance to biodiversity indicators in six urban wetlands. Three measures are proposed: a naturalness indicator and two Macrolepidoptera plant indicators of species richness. Multiple regression models were developed for the assessment of indicators. Results show that the wetlands with the lowest degree of human interference are located in a protected area and surrounded by a matrix of semi-natural landscapes, whereas the more disturbed wetlands are those closer to areas of urbanization. Results indicate that macrolepidopterans richness is more affected by the distance to roads, in contrast with the richness of plants, which is affected by housing density. We generated a tool for the assessment of urbanization effects in urban wetlands.

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Psychological benefits of greenspace increase with biodiversity

Cited by 1,226 publications

References 15 publications

Aesthetic and Spiritual Ecosystem Services Provided by Urban Sacred Sites

Aesthetic and Spiritual Ecosystem Services Provided by Urban Sacred Sites

Urban stress is associated with variation in microbial species composition—but not richness—in Manhattan

Patrones de urbanización en la biodiversidad de humedales urbanos en Concepción metropolitano

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