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. 2023 Jan 28;20(3):2357.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph20032357.

How Does the Experience of Forest Recreation Spaces in Different Seasons Affect the Physical and Mental Recovery of Users?

Rui Chen  1 , Yu Gao  1 , Ruixin Zhang  1 , Zhi Zhang  1 , Weikang Zhang  1 , Huan Meng  1 , Tong Zhang  1
Affiliations

How Does the Experience of Forest Recreation Spaces in Different Seasons Affect the Physical and Mental Recovery of Users?

Rui Chen et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: In recent years, increasing attention has been given to the recovery effect of the forest environment on physical and mental health. Therefore, providing users with a high-quality forest landscape space is a very important research topic for forest landscape designers and forest resource managers.

Main purpose: From the perspective of different seasons, this study explores the differences in landscape perceptions and physical and mental recovery of users when they experience different forest recreation spaces and the interactions between them.

Methods: First, this study used virtual reality video experience and questionnaires for participants. Then, the paired-samples t test, one-way ANOVA and the independent-samples t test were used for statistical analysis. Finally, we also used structural equation models to analyze the relationship between landscape perception and recovery.

Main results: (1) The restoration effect and perception of forest recreation spaces on people are influenced by space types and seasonal factors. (2) People's restoration from forest environments is a gradual process from spatial cognition to emotional response. (3) The perception of the natural attributes and form of the recreation space plays a key role in the restorative effect of the environment to people, while the natural form is more important in spring than autumn. Based on the above conclusions, we suggest that the characteristic factors of the landscape environment and their different restoration effects for users in different dimensions should be considered when planning forest recreation space.

Keywords: environmental health; forest therapy; landscape perception evaluation; physical and mental recovery; seasonal characteristics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure A1
Figure A1
The relationship between landscape perception and physical and mental recovery in different spring spaces. (A-1) Spring dynamic water landscape. (A-2) Spring static water landscape. (A-3) Spring lookout landscape. (A-4) Spring coniferous forest landscape. (A-5) Spring broadleaved forest landscape. (A-6) Spring mixed forest landscape. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001. SBP: systolic blood pressure; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; HR: heart rate. This figure was created by Rui Chen.
Figure A2
Figure A2
The relationship between landscape perception and physical and mental recovery in different autumn spaces. (A-1) Autumn dynamic water landscape. (A-2) Autumn static water landscape. (A-3) Autumn lookout landscape. (A-4) Autumn coniferous forest landscape. (A-5) Autumn broadleaved forest landscape. (A-6) Autumn mixed forest landscape. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001. SBP: systolic blood pressure. This character was created by Chen Rui.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Locations of the study sites. A: Hemu National Forest Park has a total area of 13.68 square kilometers. The environmental quality in the park is good, and the vegetation coverage rate is high. There are natural secondary forests and plantations. B: Greenstone Valley National Forest Park covers an area of approximately 20 square kilometers, with undulating terrain and diverse vegetation. It is a typical mountain-type forest park. C: The Liberation Forest in Caohekou, Benxi City, has 0.22 square kilometers of artificially planted Korean pine forest; it is the first artificially built Korean pine forest in China. D: Phoenix Mountain National Scenic Area covers an area of approximately 216 square kilometers, with high mountains and forests, waterfalls and springs, and rich dynamic water space. It is a typical scenic area in eastern Liaoning.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic diagram of the experiment. (A) Experimental flow chart. (B) Measurement of physiological and psychological indicators. (C) Landscape VR experience for 5 min. (D) Completion of landscape perception evaluation questionnaires. SBP: systolic blood pressure; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; HR: heart rate; MCL-S.2: mood check list-short form.2; TSST: trier social stress test; VR: virtual reality; PNS: perceived naturalness scale; EPS: environment preference scale; PRS: perceived restorativeness scale. This figure was created by Rui Chen.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of the changes in physiological and psychological indexes of recreation spaces in the same season. (A-1) Spring physiological indexes. (A-2) Autumn physiological indexes. (B-1) Spring psychological indexes. (B-2) Autumn psychological indexes. Mean ± SE; “*”: significant differences among the three landscape types, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001; “Lowercase letters”: significant differences (p < 0.05) among the six spaces; one-way ANOVA. △D = post–pre. SBP: systolic blood pressure; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; HR: heart rate; P: pleasantness; R: relaxation; A: anxiety. This figure was created by Rui Chen.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Seasonal differences in physiological and psychological index variation across recreation spaces. (A) Physiological indexes. (B) Psychological indexes. Mean ± SE; * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001; Independent-samples t test. ΔD = post–pre. SBP: systolic blood pressure; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; HR: heart rate; P: pleasantness; R: relaxation; A: anxiety. This figure was created by Rui Chen.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Comparison of mean scores of the Perceived Naturalness Scale, Environmental Preference Scale and Perceived Restorativeness Scale. Perceived naturalness scale: natural attributes, natural space and natural form. Environmental preference scale: coherence, legibility, complexity and mystery. Perceived restorativeness scale: being away, extent, fascination and compatibility. “Lowercase letters”: significant differences (p < 0.05) among the six spaces. “*”: significant differences between the spring and autumn; * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01. Landscape space comparison: one-way ANOVA; Seasonal comparison: independent-samples t test. This figure was created by Rui Chen.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The final associations among the study variables. Fit indexes: Chi-square/df = 1.18, GFI = 0.97, AGFI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.02, IFI = 0.99, NFI = 0.97, CFI = 0.99, TLI = 0.99, RFI = 0.97. The model fits well. ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001. SBP: systolic blood pressure; DBP: diastolic blood pressure. This figure was created by Rui Chen.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Differences in the relationship between landscape perception and physical and mental recovery across seasons. (A): Spring. (B): Autumn. Spring fitting indexes: Chi-square/df = 1.14, GFI = 0.94, AGFI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.02, IFI = 0.99, NFI = 0.94, CFI = 0.99, TLI = 0.99, RFI = 0.94. Autumn fitting indexes: Chi-square/df = 1.18, GFI = 0.94, AGFI = 0.92, RMSEA = 0.03, IFI = 0.99, NFI = 0.94, CFI = 0.99, TLI = 0.99, RFI = 0.93. The two models fit well. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001. SBP: systolic blood pressure; DBP: diastolic blood pressure. This figure was created by Rui Chen.
Figure 8
Figure 8
The process of human recovery from landscape space. This figure was created by Rui Chen.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Effects of landscape perception on physical and mental recovery. This figure was created by Rui Chen.
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