Research On The Effects Of Forest Therapy Based On Forest Types And Natural Experience In Shallow Mountain Area Of Beijing

The continuing urbanisation process has promoted social and economic development.Meanwhile,rapid urbanization is usually associated with high population density,various environmental pollution,urban heat island effect,and the loss of chances to experience nature,which have negative effects on the physical and mental health of urban residents.As the world continues to urbanize,the value of natural environments,green spaces and forests to the quality of life and the well-being of urban populations is becoming more apparent.There is a growing recognition that exposure to natural and green environments is an important method for stress recovery and health.This study took the typical forest types in the shallow mountainous area of Beijing as the research sites to investigate the restorative effects of three different types of forests on participant’s physical and mental health.In this paper,there were 30 healthy adult university students who participated in the field experiments in three types of forest environments and city site.Results indicated that:(1)The results showed that the three different types of forests had positive physical and mental health benefits for individuals.Compared with baseline:SBP decreased that the mixed forest had the highest change rate(-8.53%),followed by deciduous forest(-4.91%)and coniferous forest(-2.02%);DBP also decreased that the mixed forest had the highest change rate(-8.57%),followed by coniferous forest(-6.59%)and deciduous forest(-4.89%);HR decreased that the mixed forest had the highest change rate(-6.27%),followed by deciduous forest(-3.44%)and coniferous forest(-2.60%).ROS increased that the coniferous forest had the highest change rate(124.02%),followed by deciduous forest(92.56%)and mixed forest(91.86%);SVS increased that the mixed forest had the highest change rate(164.37%),followed by deciduous forest(141.70%)and coniferous forest(98.45%);WEMWBS increased that the coniferous forest had the highest change rate(59.79%),followed by mixed forest(52.85%)and deciduous forest(46.77%).The TMD decreased that the mixed forest had the highest change rate(-97.35%),followed by deciduous forest(-96.32%)and coniferous forest(-93.42%).The SBP,DBP and HR in the mixed forest had the best reduction effects,and mixed forest was most beneficial to the increase of SVS and the decrease of TMD.The coniferous forests had the best effects on the increases of ROS and WEMWBS.(2)Through characterizing and comparing the health-related physical factors of forest environments and city site,the results proved that the values of all physical factors in the forest environments were better than those in the city environment.The illumination intensity(3424.44±632.441x)and noise(47.00±1.38db)were lowest in the deciduous forest.The highest relative humidity(44.33±0.65%),and the lowest wind velocity(0.23±0.06m/s)and air pollutant concentration(PM2.5=1.67±0.24ug/m3;PM10=14.89±2.26ug/m3;TSP=31.56±10.08ug/m3)were in the mixed forest.The highest Aero-anion concentration(1225.00±201.00cm3)and lowest temperature(26.33±0.50℃)were in the coniferous forest.SBP,DBP,HR and ROS,SVS,WEMWBS,V of POMS were significantly negatively correlated with illumination intensity,noise,temperature,and air pollutants,but significantly positively correlated with Aero-anion concentration and wind speed.The relationship between the TMD and the above mentioned physical factors was completely opposite.(3)Compared with the city site(1.56±1.13),the PRS of the three forests was higher,with the highest level in the mixed forest(4.84±0.95),followed by the coniferous forest(4.29±1.06)and the deciduous forest(4.25±1.12).The scores in the four dimensions of PRS showed that all three forest sites had higher values than city site.For the "fascination"(4.85±0.96)and "compatibility"(5.03±0.82)dimensions,the mixed forest was at the highest level.For "being away"(5.01±0.96)and"extent"(4.81±0.81)dimensions,the coniferous forest was at the highest level.SBP,DBP,HR and ROS,SVS,WEMWBS,V of POMS were significantly positively correlated with PRS and four subscales,but negative mood(T-A,A-H,F,D,C of POMS)were the opposite.(4)Different types of nature experience activities showed that SBP of the three types of forests decreased after the sitting activity,and the change rate ranged from-3.99%to-7.97%;Mixed forests decreased the most(change rate-9.11%)after walking,followed by deciduous forest(change rate-5.83%),and coniferous forests increased(change rate 0.86%).DBP and HR decreased in three types of forest after sitting and walking activities.The range of DBP was-4.41%～-11.36%in sitting activity,and the range of DBP in walking activity was-5.39%～-6.73%.The rate of change of HR after sitting activity was-4.10%～-7.73%,and after walking was-0.66%～-2.89%.ROS,SVS and WEMWBS were all increased in three types of forest after sitting and walking activities,and the change rate of ROS was 87.33%-122.90%for sitting activity,96.83%-125.14%for walking activity;The change rate of SVS was 104.57%～154.60%after sitting activity,95.43%～174.71%after walking activity;the change rate of WEMWBS was 43.28%～69.84%after sitting activity,49.74%～57.51%after walking activity.The TMD decreased better after walking activity,and the descending order was coniferous forest=-0.08>deciduous forest=-0.37>mixed forest=-0.72.The forest environment is conducive to lowering blood pressure and heart rate,reducing negative emotions,and promoting positive emotions.The restorative effects were different between sitting and walking activities.The significant decrease in SBP and DBP remarkably relied on the walking activity performed in the mixed forests.The sitting activity had a better decrease in HR.The values of ROS,SVS and WEMWBS greatly increased after the walking activity in the forests.Similarly,the level of V(subscale of POMS)greatly increased,while the levels of T-A,A-H,F,D and C decreased generally after walking in the coniferous forests.Overall,walking activity has a stronger restoration effect on both physiological and psychological health parameters.(5)The nature experience activities with different duration have different effects on health condition.At the 15-minute HR reduction value(change rate-7.97%～-9.14%)and ROS increase value(change rate 85.97%～95.02%)were the best in mixed forest,and the SVS was the highest(change rate128.43%～133.50%)in the coniferous forest.At the 30-minute SBP(-7.97%～-9.11%),DBP(-5.79%～12.43%),TMD(0.32;-0.37)decreased the most in the mixed forest,and the WEMWBS(49.74%～69.84%)increased the most in the coniferous forest.The impact on subjects’ physiological and psychological restoration varied according to the forest characteristics,and the experiential characteristics of forest exposure may be helpful from the perspective of creating supportive forest interventions and lifting the benefits of forest therapy as people interact with a forest environment.Based on the above results,suggestions about promoting the development of forest therapy can be offered from different aspects,including forest management measures based on improving public health and well-being,effective utilization of natural forest resources based on establishing scientific,practical and comprehensive evaluation indicators,taking consideration of the demographic characteristics of participants,exploring specific health outcomes based on nature experience features,improving the measurement of health benefit parameters of forest therapy.