Exurban and suburban forests have superior healthcare benefits beyond downtown forests

Abstract

Forests in urban areas provide great healthcare benefits to citizens, but it is less well known whether this benefit is related to different geographical spaces. We selected exurban forest, suburban forest, downtown forest, and urban control in Guangzhou, China to analyze the change characteristics of negative air ion concentration (NAIC), air oxygen content (AOC), and human comfort index (HCI). Based on Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) method, the urban forest comprehensive healthcare index (UFCHI) was established. Finally, the evaluation criteria for UFCHI were identified by cluster analysis. The results demonstrated that (1) The NAIC in exurban forest (2,713 ± 1,573 ions/cm3) and suburban forest (2,147 ± 923 ions/cm3) was evidently better than downtown forest (1,130 ± 255 ions/cm3) and urban control (531 ± 162 ions/cm3). (2) The AOC was in the order of exurban forest (21.17 ± 0.38%) > suburban forest (21.13 ± 0.30%) > downtown forest (21.10 ± 0.16%) > urban control (20.98 ± 0.12%). (3) The HCI in urban control (5.56 ± 2.32) and downtown forest (5.15 ± 1.80) is higher than suburban forest (4.02 ± 1.53) and exurban forest (3.71 ± 1.48). (4) The UFCHI in exurban forest (1.000), suburban forest (0.790), and downtown forest (0.378) were beneficial to human health to some extent, while urban control (0.000) was at Level IV, having no healthcare benefit. Except in winter, the UFCHI in exurban forest and suburban forest were all at Level II and above; while downtown forest and urban control were all at Level III and below at all seasons. Overall, urban forests in the exurbs and suburbs have better healthcare benefits than those in the downtowns. Furthermore, it is recommended that urban residents visit exurban and suburban forests for forest therapy in spring, summer, and autumn.

Exploring the Impact of Urban Road Network Characteristics on City Fringe Tourist Areas: A Case Study of Xi’an, China

“…In the future, it will be necessary to explore the quantitative impact of the relationship between media publicity and the attractiveness of urban fringe tourism zones. In addition, the natural landscapes surrounding the city fringe tourist areas can be beneficial to human health [57]. Considering the full utilization of the landscape, a slow-moving greenway has been established between the city fringe tourist areas and the city, and there have been studies on the willingness to travel by slow-moving transportation services from the perspectives of physiology, psychological loading [58], and fatigue [59], although the relationship between these factors and the willingness to travel by slowmoving transportation services when using a greenway to travel to the city fringe tourist areas has yet to be investigated.…”

Temporal Dynamics and Influencing Mechanism of Air Oxygen Content in Different Vegetation Types

“…It is located adjacent to Guangdong Longmen Nankunshan Provincial Nature Reserve and Guangzhou Baishuizai Scenic Spots, with adjacent forest areas being concentrated and contiguous (Figure 1). Spanning an area of 26.36 km 2 with a forest coverage rate of 98.91%, its altitude varies from 270 m to 1210 m. Shimen National Forest Park experiences a southern subtropical monsoon climate characterized by an average air temperature fluctuating between 19.5 • C and 21.4 • C. The annual average rainfall amounts to approximately 1800 mm, while the mean annual solar radiation reaches around 440,870 J/cm 2 [7,8]. interactions.…”

“…Spanning an area of 26.36 km 2 with a forest coverage rate of 98.91%, its altitude varies from 270 m to 1210 m. Shimen National Forest Park experiences a southern subtropical monsoon climate characterized by an average air temperature fluctuating between 19.5 °C and 21.4 °C. The annual average rainfall amounts to approximately 1800 mm, while the mean annual solar radiation reaches around 440,870 J/cm 2 [7,8].…”

“…There has been substantial evidence showing that breathing oxygen-rich air is beneficial to human health, such as improving respiratory diseases [3], delaying facial skin aging [4], improving arterial oxygenation, and enhancing human exercise capacity [5]. Furthermore, air oxygen content is also a critical component of forest therapy resources and must be considered when evaluating the factors and comprehensive benefits of forest therapy [6][7][8]. There is, however, an emphasis on negative air ion concentration, human comfort, forest microclimate, and airborne particle concentration as part of current research on forest therapy resources.…”

Progress and Prospects of Research on the Impact of Forest Therapy on Mental Health: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…The third largest cluster, Cluster #2, is "urban green space". As urban life is getting more closely associated with modern humans, urban green spaces have become a significant focus of forest therapy research [37][38][39]. Although similar trends in mental health benefits are observed in forest environments, differences compared with urban environments exist [17].…”