Seasonal Influence On Aesthetic Quality Of Urban Green Spaces In Xuzhou City And Its Practical Application

With the development of social economy and requirements for better life,the aesthetic values of urban green spaces have become the focus of the public.Because of the climate changes in temperate zones,landscapes can show different appearance all the year round.Landscape architects have sought to create different seasonal diversities based on the natural rhythm.However,which of seasons do people like,what are the public's favourite seasonal diversities,and how to design a kind of environment that owns best aesthetic values all through the year? These questions are still unknown.In the study,10 urban green spaces were chosen as sample sites.Photos were taken at the same spots of the sites in January,March,April,May,July,September,October and November,respectively.80 photos were collected in total,and used as stimuli to conduct questionnaire survey of scenic beauty evaluation.Referring to the existing literature,16 landscape characteristics were qualified.Based on variation coefficient of landscape characteristics,which represents the extent of change,the seasonal diversity of every site could be measured by mean.Curve estimation and scatter plot were used to explore relationship between mean year-round beauty,fluctuation of seasonal beauty and seasonal diversity;correlation analysis and stepwise multiple linear regression analysis were performed to explore the driving forces of landscape characteristics on seasonal beauty and fluctuation of seasonal beauty,respectively.The main conclusions are as follows:(1)September and November has the highest aesthetic value,while January lowest in Xuzhou city.(2)The medium extent of landscape changes can lead to the highest scenic beauty all through the year.(3)There is a significantly positive correlation between fluctuation of seasonal beauty and seasonal diversity.(4)In a year,seasonal beauty has significant positive correlation with the related water and plant indices of landscape characteristics.(5)In March,July,and September,the much easier accessibility to water,the higher aesthetic values of urban green spaces;in April and November,the more types of land vegetation,the higher aesthetic values.(6)The more changes of plant configuration in a year,the higher year-round beauty;the more changes of water body in a year,the higher fluctuation of seasonal aesthetics.The results has compensated the study of seasonal beauty variation,and enriched theory of landscape architecture which can then provide suggestions to create all yearround scenic beauty in practical garden design.