| 1. |
- Andersson-Sköld, Yvonne, et al.
(författare)
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A framework for assessing urban greenery's effects and valuing its ecosystem services
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Management. - : Academic Press. - 0301-4797 .- 1095-8630. ; 205, s. 274-285
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ongoing urban exploitation is increasing pressure to transform urban green spaces, while there is increasing awareness that greenery provides a range of important benefits to city residents. In efforts to help resolve associated problems we have developed a framework for integrated assessments of ecosystem service (ES) benefits and values provided by urban greenery, based on the ecosystem service cascade model. The aim is to provide a method for assessing the contribution to, and valuing, multiple ES provided by urban greenery that can be readily applied in routine planning processes. The framework is unique as it recognizes that an urban greenery comprises several components and functions that can contribute to multiple ecosystem services in one or more ways via different functional traits (e.g. foliage characteristics) for which readily measured indicators have been identified. The framework consists of five steps including compilation of an inventory of indicator; application of effectivity factors to rate indicators' effectiveness; estimation of effects; estimation of benefits for each ES; estimation of the total ES value of the ecosystem. The framework was applied to assess ecosystem services provided by trees, shrubs, herbs, birds, and bees, in green areas spanning an urban gradient in Gothenburg, Sweden. Estimates of perceived values of ecosystem services were obtained from interviews with the public and workshop activities with civil servants. The framework is systematic and transparent at all stages and appears to have potential utility in the existing spatial planning processes.
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| 2. |
- Gunnarsson, Bengt, 1954, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of biodiversity and environment-related attitude on perception of urban green space
- 2017
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Ingår i: Urban Ecosystems. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1083-8155 .- 1573-1642. ; 20:1, s. 37-49
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Green space in cities contributes to the quality of life for city dwellers, e.g., by increasing the opportunity for recreation. However, perception of urban green space is influenced by multiple factors. We investigated effects of biodiversity and environment-related attitudes on visual and auditory perceptions of urban green space. Field measurements of biodiversity were conducted in six sites across an urban gradient in Gothenburg, Sweden, and three categories of biodiversity—high, medium, low—were established. Households were sent a survey on aesthetic perception of urban green space, sound perception and the importance of trees and plants for the perception of bird species. Each respondent focused on the site that was located nearby. The environment-related attitudes comprised “Nature-oriented” and “Urban-oriented” persons and were based on participants’ own attitude estimations. It was shown that participants’ “subjective” aesthetic and sound-related perception of urban greenery were in line with the “objectively” measured subdivisions of high, medium and low biodiversity. So also were their estimations of the importance of trees and plants for perception of bird species in urban greenery, although differing only between high and medium/low biodiversity conditions. Persons rating themselves as highly nature-oriented were shown to give higher scores to urban green space aesthetics and to value greenery-related sounds higher, and to attach greater importance to trees and plants in their perception of bird species in urban greenery, than less nature-oriented persons. Highly urban-oriented persons compared to less urban-oriented persons did the same, but only regarding urban greenery-related aesthetics and sounds of nature. We conclude that environment-related attitudes influence perceptions of green space. Moreover, our findings support the idea that biodiversity per se also influences perceptions; people value green space significantly more with high than with low measured biodiversity. Urban planning needs to provide city inhabitants with green spaces that are species-rich, lush, varied and rich with natural sounds.
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| 3. |
- Hedblom, Marcus, et al.
(författare)
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Bird diversity improves the well-being of city residents
- 2017
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Ingår i: Ecology and Conservation of Birds in Urban Environments. - Cham : Springer. - 9783319433141 - 9783319433127 ; , s. 287-306
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Humans are increasingly becoming urbanized. Because a number of bird species readily live in urban areas and birds are relatively easily observed, birds are becoming the largest everyday encounter with wild fauna people will have, globally. Despite, few studies have been made on how visual (or acoustic) bird encounter affects humans. The few existing studies show that birds provide humans with increased self-evaluated well-being when seeing and hearing them. These values provided by birds can be recognized as a cultural ecosystems service. Here we review extant literature to consider why certain species fascinate humans more than others, and some can increase well-being and provide ecosystem services, while others offer disservices through unappealing characteristics. We particularly highlight indications of links between species diversity and well-being. Finally, we discuss possible reasons for variations in our responses to birds and birdsong associated with age, gender, childhood, contact with nature, and the biophilia theory. If interaction with birds truly increases quality of life, then this value should be considered in the planning of sustainable cities. Both conservation and proper management of existing urban green areas are needed to increase possibilities to encounter many bird species. © Springer International Publishing AG 2017.
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| 4. |
- Hedblom, Marcus, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of natural sounds in urban greenery: potential impact for urban nature preservation
- 2017
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Ingår i: Royal Society open science. - : The Royal Society. - 2054-5703. ; 4:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Most humans now live in cities and their main experience of nature is through urban greenery. An increasing number of studies show the importance of urban green spaces for wellbeing, although most of them are based on visual perception. A questionnaire examining people's evaluations of natural sounds was answered by 1326 individuals living near one of six urban green areas of varying naturalness in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden. Women and the elderly reported greater calmness when hearing bird song and rustling leaves (and placed a higher importance on the richness of bird species) than did men, younger and middle-aged individuals. Independent of age and gender, urban woodlands (high naturalness) had higher evaluations than parks (low naturalness). Our results suggest that to increase positive experiences of urban green areas, demographic variables of gender and age should be taken into account, and settings that mimic nature should be prioritized in planning.
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| 5. |
- Hedblom, Marcus, et al.
(författare)
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Reduction of physiological stress by urban green space in a multisensory virtual experiment
- 2019
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although stress is an increasing global health problem in cities, urban green spaces can provide health benefits. There is, however, a lack of understanding of the link between physiological mechanisms and qualities of urban green spaces. Here, we compare the effects of visual stimuli (360 degree virtual photos of an urban environment, forest, and park) to the effects of congruent olfactory stimuli (nature and city odours) and auditory stimuli (bird songs and noise) on physiological stress recovery. Participants (N = 154) were pseudo-randomised into participating in one of the three environments and subsequently exposed to stress (operationalised by skin conductance levels). The park and forest, but not the urban area, provided significant stress reduction. High pleasantness ratings of the environment were linked to low physiological stress responses for olfactory and to some extent for auditory, but not for visual stimuli. This result indicates that olfactory stimuli may be better at facilitating stress reduction than visual stimuli. Currently, urban planners prioritise visual stimuli when planning open green spaces, but urban planners should also consider multisensory qualities.
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| 6. |
- Hedblom, Marcus, et al.
(författare)
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Sounds of Nature in the City: No Evidence of Bird Song Improving Stress Recovery
- 2019
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI AG. - 1660-4601 .- 1661-7827. ; 16:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Noise from city traffic is one of the most significant environmental stressors. Natural soundscapes, such as bird songs, have been suggested to potentially mitigate or mask noise. All previous studies on masking noise use self-evaluation data rather than physiological data. In this study, while respondents (n = 117) watched a 360 degrees virtual reality (VR) photograph of a park, they were exposed to different soundscapes and mild electrical shocks. The soundscapesbird song, bird song and traffic noise, and traffic noisewere played during a 10 min recovery period while their skin conductance levels were assessed as a measure of arousal/stress. No significant difference in stress recovery was found between the soundscapes although a tendency for less stress in bird song and more stress in traffic noise was noted. All three soundscapes, however, significantly reduced stress. This result could be attributed to the stress-reducing effect of the visual VR environment, to the noise levels being higher than 47 dBA (a level known to make masking ineffective), or to the respondents finding bird songs stressful. Reduction of stress in cities using masking with natural sounds requires further studies with not only larger samples but also sufficient methods to detect potential sex differences.
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| 7. |
- Knez, Igor, 1959-, et al.
(författare)
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Wellbeing in Urban Greenery: The Role of Naturalness and Place Identity
- 2018
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-1078. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim was to investigate effects of urban greenery (high vs. low naturalness) on place identity and wellbeing, and the links between place identity and wellbeing. It was shown that participants (Gothenburg, Sweden, N = 1347) estimated a stronger attachment/closeness/belonging (emotional component of place-identity), and more remembrance and thinking about and mental travel (cognitive component of placeidentity) in relation to high vs. low perceived naturalness. High naturalness was also reported to generate higher wellbeing in participants than low naturalness. Furthermore, place identity was shown to predict participants' wellbeing in urban greenery, accounting for 35% of variance explained by the regression. However, there was a stronger relationship between the emotional vs. the cognitive component of place identity and wellbeing. Finally, a significant role of place identity in mediating the naturalnesswellbeing relationship was shown, indicating that the naturalness-wellbeing connection can be partly accounted for by the psychological mechanisms of people-place bonding.
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| 8. |
- Larsson, Josefine, et al.
(författare)
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Regional genetic differentiation in the blue mussel from the Baltic Sea area
- 2017
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Ingår i: Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. - : Academic Press. - 0272-7714 .- 1096-0015. ; , s. 98-109
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Connectivity plays an important role in shaping the genetic structure and in evolution of local adaptation. In the marine environment barriers to gene flow are in most cases caused by gradients in environmental factors, ocean circulation and/or larval behavior. Despite the long pelagic larval stages, with high potential for dispersal many marine organisms have been shown to have a fine scale genetic structuring. In this study, by using a combination of high-resolution genetic markers, species hybridization data and biophysical modeling we can present a comprehensive picture of the evolutionary landscape for a keystone species in the Baltic Sea, the blue mussel. We identified distinct genetic differentiation between the West Coast, Baltic Proper and Bothnian Sea regions, with lower gene diversity in the Bothnian Sea. Oceanographic connectivity together with salinity and to some extent species identity provides explanations for the genetic differentiation between the West Coast and the Baltic Sea (Baltic Proper and Bothnian Sea). The genetic differentiation between the Baltic Proper and Bothnian Sea cannot be directly explained by oceanographic connectivity, species identity or salinity, while the lower connectivity to the Bothnian Sea may explain the lower gene diversity. © 2016.
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| 9. |
- Mjöfors, Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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Indications that site preparation increases forest ecosystem carbon stocks in the long term
- 2017
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0282-7581 .- 1651-1891. ; 32:8, s. 717-725
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mechanical site preparation (MSP) causes a mixing disturbance of the soil, which may increase decomposition of soil organic matter and subsequent carbon (C) dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. MSP also promotes the establishment and growth of tree seedlings, and hence ecosystem C fixation. However, there are uncertainties regarding the net effects of MSP on C stocks at the ecosystem scale. To assess decennial effects of MSP on ecosystem C stocks, C stocks in soil, ground vegetation and trees at three experimental forest sites with Pinus contorta, Pinus sylvestris and Picea abies in Sweden were sampled and measured for ca. 25 years in a control and after three MSP treatments: disc trenching, mounding and ploughing. After 25 years, all of the MSP treatments resulted in larger ecosystem C stocks than the control treatment due to positive effects on the tree biomass C stock. The tree C stock was highest after ploughing, intermediate after mounding or disc trenching and lowest in untreated control plots at all experimental sites. The MSP treatments did not affect the soil C stocks down to 30cm. We recommend mounding or disc trenching to promote C sequestration as they disturb sites’ ecological, aesthetic and recreation values less than ploughing.
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| 10. |
- Ode Sang, Åsa, et al.
(författare)
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Are path choices of people moving through urban green spaces explained by gender and age? Implications for planning and management
- 2020
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Ingår i: Urban Forestry & Urban Greening. - : Elsevier BV. - 1618-8667 .- 1610-8167. ; 49
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Neighbourhood green space is an important asset for the urban population, providing valuable ecosystem services such as supporting human health. Distance or access to urban green areas is well established as being important for the potential use of the area but how different demographic groups move within greenspace is still somewhat unknown. Previous studies have shown that there are gender as well as age differences in visual perception, audio experience and recreational activities as well as estimated well-being experienced from use of urban green space. Here we explored people's movement within their local green space in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden. The results showed that movement took place over large parts of the green spaces studied, not only along paths. The data further showed that the movement pattern differed significantly between men and women as well as between young adults and old adults. Movement patterns of demographic groups could provide support to planning for sustainable urban green areas, help avoid conflict, identify areas for solitude and ensure equal access for people of different gender and age.
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