Study on NVOCs Concentration Characteristics by Season, Time and Climatic Factors: Focused on Pinus densiflora Forest in National Center for Forest Therapy

Abstract

Forest therapy refers to activities that enhance the body's immune system and improve health by utilizing various elements such as scents and landscapes. Forest therapy is expected to be used along with modern medical treatments for physical and mental illnesses. Natural volatile organic compounds (NVOCs) are one of the important resources of forest therapy. This study compared the concentration of NVOCs by season and time, and compared the correlation between NVOCs and climatic factors (temperature, humidity and wind speed). Air samples and climatic data were measured once a month in Pinus densiflora forest in the National Center for Forest Therapy from June 2017 to May 2018 and five components such as α-Pinene, β-Pinene, Camphene, Limonene, and Camphor were analyzed for NVOCs. The concentration of NVOCs by season is highest in summer, followed by spring, fall, and winter. The ratio of α-Pinene among NVOCs was high in summer. The NVOCs concentration over time was highest at 5 p.m. and lowest at 8 a.m. The correlation between the climatic factors and the NVOCs concentration was statistically significant for all three factors: temperature, humidity, and wind speed. The correlation was positive between NVOCs and temperature or humidity, whereas it was negative between NVOCs and wind speed. This study concludes that forest therapy using NVOCs can be more effective when the temperature and humidity within the stands are high and the wind speed is low to maximize forest healing effects.

Temporal and Spatial Variability of Volatile Organic Compounds in the Forest Atmosphere

“…The presented findings are partially contrasting with results recently obtained in Korea, where peak BVOC concentrations were found around 17:00 pm, and the lowest in the early morning [36]. However, different sampling frequencies, forest environments and latitudes seriously limit the meaningfulness of a comparison between the two studies.…”

“…A recent study performed by Korea's National Center for Forest Therapy focused on the variability of BVOCs concentration in the atmosphere of a Pinus densiflora forest, on a fixed site, during daylight hours (one-hour measurements starting at 08:00 am, 12:00 pm, and 17:00 pm), and once a month for a year [36]. The study was motivated by the consideration of BVOCs as an important resource in forest therapy due to their wide-spectrum healing effects, and was carried out by means of absorbent tubes and subsequent desorption and gas chromatographic analysis.…”

“…The detection of the specific composition of volatile organic compounds, enabling their attribution to biogenic or anthropogenic sources and thus providing a more accurate representation of BVOC concentration, with an analysis of possible changes in time and space of the composition of BVOCs in the forest air, would require completely different devices. For example, absorbent tubes that must be deployed at least in triplicate at any point of measurement, require at least 60 min for any absorption session, and must be thermally desorbed offline [36].…”

“…This direction aims at defining the relative contribution of biogenic compounds to the total concentration of volatile organic compounds, and likely even more importantly the detailed composition of BVOCs, which could change with season, time of day, weather conditions, composition of the forest, and soil conditions [36]. Due to the remarkable specialization of different components of BVOCs with regard to their biological activities [39], the functionality, or healing effectivity, of a forest site or path would require the knowledge of the concentration not only of total BVOCs, but also of the relative abundance of their most active constituents, and the respective variability in time and space.…”

Qualitative Content Analysis of Forest Healing Experience in Forest Life

“…The forest therapy experience in the forest life of natural persons is explained as follows, and this is the 'empirical domain', a set of people's experiences on events mentioned in critical realism. through the respiratory system and skin (Park et al, 2018).…”