An Integrated Approach to Assess the Potential of Forest Areas for Therapy Services

Dodev, Yonko; Zhiyanski, Miglena; Glushkova, Maria; Borisova, Bilyana; Semerdzhieva, Lidiya; Ihtimanski, Ivo; Dimitrov, Stelian; Nedkov, Stoyan; Nikolova, Mariyana; Shin, Won-sop

doi:10.3390/land10121354

Cited by 14 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Psychological benefits in environments with natural factors are widely reported from lowland greenspaces to highlands (131)(132)(133)(134)(135), and several studies have suggested a altitudinal effect on mood, emotion, cognitive function and behavior (136)(137)(138)(139)(140). Spending time at high altitudes reportedly has physiological benefits (141)(142)(143)(144)(145)(146)(147)(148)(149)(150) and previous studies adopted outdoor settings >1,500 m to observe apparent changes in pulmonary, cardiac, circulatory, metabolic, and inflammatory outcomes (141,145,151,152). There are multiple potential mechanisms linking altitude with psychophysiological responses, and the observed difference is possibly consequence of the varied altituderelated mechanisms involved in psychological and physiological restoration.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is altitude a determinant of the health benefits of nature exposure? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Kim¹,

Park²,

Kim³

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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IntroductionNature exposure is a widely accepted option for promoting public health owing to the recent surge of scientific evidence. However, the actual settings to facilitate this initiative is yet to be extensively reviewed. In this systematic review, we have aimed to provide an up-to-date summary of interventional studies investigating the psycho-physiological effects of forests and urban forests, including details on their physical settings, and investigate an effect-modifying role of altitude and summarize data on the magnitude and shape of the association.MethodsA keyword search using five electronic academic databases (PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Scopus) was conducted to identify relevant articles published in English from the inception year to the end of February 2022. The methodological quality was evaluated using the ROBINS-I or ROB2 tool, depending on the study design. Meta-regression and random effects model were jointly used to examine the relationship between altitude and health outcomes.ResultsWe included 27 eligible studies and 31 cases extracted from 19 studies were used for the meta-analysis. In the meta-regression, we observed a non-linear association between altitude and psycho-physiological effects. Altitude had a positive quadratic association with anxiety (p < 0.000, adjusted R2 = 96.79%), depression (p < 0.000, adjusted R2 = 98.78%), and fatigue (p < 0.000, adjusted R2 = 64.74%) alleviating effects. Conversely, altitude demonstrated a negative non-linear association with the blood pressure-lowering effect (p = 0.009, adjusted R2 = 32.83%). Additionally, the thermal index (THI) and illuminance (lx) levels were significantly associated with effect sizes of psychological restoration.DiscussionThis review provides moderate-certainty evidence for an effect-modifying role of altitude. The meta-regression results suggested the optimal and minimal altitude ranges for psychological restoration and physiological relaxation, respectively. Despite some limitations, the study findings provide a significant basis for utilizing altitude, which is easily accessible and simple, to promote the health benefits of nature-based initiatives.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022310894, identifier: CRD42022310894.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is altitude a determinant of the health benefits of nature exposure? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Kim¹,

Park²,

Kim³

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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“…However, at the regional and local scale, more detailed and reliable sources are needed. The Forest Inventory database at the level of subdivisions provides good quality data for forest ecosystems which are appropriate mapping units for this ecosystem type (Dodev et al, 2021).…”

Section: Identification and Mapping Of Ecosystem Typesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A methodological framework for mapping and assessment of ecosystem services provided by the natural heritage in Bulgaria

Nedkov¹,

Borisova²,

Nikolova³

et al. 2021

JBGS

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Natural heritage (NH) includes natural features that can be described as outstanding universal value at a national level. It refers to the importance of ecosystems, biodiversity, and geodiversity for their existence value, and the ecosystems can be considered as the spatial units for its mapping and assessment. The ecosystem services (ES) concept provides an appropriate basis in the form of assessment and mapping methods that enable linking the state of ecosystems with human well-being. Thus, it can be used as a platform to find solutions to the problems related to the conflicts between conservation and the use of the NH. In this paper, we aim to present the process of developing a methodological framework for mapping and assessment of ecosystem services provided by the natural heritage in Bulgaria for recreation and tourism. The conceptual framework of the ecosystem-based assessment of NH in Bulgaria is based on the assumption that the generation of NH for the needs of tourism can be presented as the linkages between the natural systems and tourism in the form of ES potential, flow, and demand. The results demonstrate that the NH can be presented as a spatial phenomenon conceptualized by the flows of benefits from ecosystems to people which contribute to human well-being. The mapping and assessment procedures are fully developed for application at a national level, while for the regional and local level, few pilot studies mark some basic foundations for further development.

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“…The studies focused on the assessment of RRCES are much more in Bulgaria (Nedkov et al 2014;Nedkov et al 2018;Ihtimanski et al 2020;Hristova and Stoycheva 2021;Hristova 2020;Dodev et al 2021;Grigorov et al 2021;Nedkov et al 2021a;Nedkov et al 2021b;Nedkov et al 2022;Silvestriev et al 2021;Zhiyanski et al 2021;Nikolova et al 2021b;Nikolova et al 2021c) than those on the accounting of these services, and very few of them are dealing with the protected areas (Assenov et al 2016b). However, in most of the published papers, the accounts referee the mountain ecosystems (Koulov et al 2017;Assenov et al 2017;Assenov et al 2016a;Ivanova et al 2016;Grigorov and Assenov 2015;Assenov et al 2016b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Capacity of the mountain ecosystems in Bulgarian National Parks to generate flow of RRCES.The codes of the ecosystem services are given in table 2. (afterNikolova et al 2021)…”

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confidence: 99%

Valuation of recreation-related cultural ecosystem services provided by Pirin National Park, Bulgaria

Nikolova¹

2022

JBGS

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The aim of this study is to propose a method for accounting of the recreation-related cultural ecosystem services (RRES) provided by protected areas of category National Parks оn the example of Pirin National Park (Pirin NP), Bulgaria in accordance with the System of Environmental Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA) framework and the System of National Accounts (SNA) principles. The suggested Tourist consumption products – based method measure the value of actual recreation-related ecosystem services (RRES) flow as a difference between demand and supply of RRES provided by a protected area. It is based on respective indicators: Total tourism products consumption by the visitors of the NP (demand) and Expenditures for maintenance of the asset’s ecosystems (supply). The results show that the average value of RRES flow is estimated on BGN 170 Million for the period 2015 – 2019. The proposed method for valuation of RRES in protected areas of category National Park gives reliable results, based on a minimum of data which are public or easily accessible.

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An Integrated Approach to Assess the Potential of Forest Areas for Therapy Services

Cited by 14 publications

References 46 publications

Is altitude a determinant of the health benefits of nature exposure? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Is altitude a determinant of the health benefits of nature exposure? A systematic review and meta-analysis

A methodological framework for mapping and assessment of ecosystem services provided by the natural heritage in Bulgaria

Valuation of recreation-related cultural ecosystem services provided by Pirin National Park, Bulgaria

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