Health-Related Effects of Short Stays at Mountain Meadows, a River and an Urban Site—Results from a Field Experiment

Arnberger, Arne; Eder, Renate; Allex, Brigitte; Ebenberger, Martin; Hutter, Hans-Peter; Wallner, Peter; Bauer, Nicole; Zaller, Johann G.; Frank, Thomas

doi:10.3390/ijerph15122647

Cited by 27 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Among the 50 articles included in this review, 35 articles had a cross-sectional design [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 ], four were cross-over studies [ 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 ], seven were of longitudinal design [ 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 ], two were cohort studies [ 77 , 78 ], one article had both a longitudinal and cross-sectional design [ 79 ] and one article had both a cross-over and cross-sectional design [ 28 ] ( Table 1 ). For physical activity, 14 articles were cross-sectional […”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms of Impact of Blue Spaces on Human Health: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis

Georgiou

Morison

Smith

et al. 2021

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Blue spaces have been found to have significant salutogenic effects. However, little is known about the mechanisms and pathways that link blue spaces and health. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to summarise the evidence and quantify the effect of blue spaces on four hypothesised mediating pathways: physical activity, restoration, social interaction and environmental factors. Following the PRISMA guidelines, a literature search was conducted using six databases (PubMed, Scopus, PsycInfo, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, EBSCOHOST/CINAHL). Fifty studies were included in our systematic review. The overall quality of the included articles, evaluated with the Qualsyst tool, was judged to be very good, as no mediating pathway had an average article quality lower than 70%. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted for physical activity, restoration and social interaction. Living closer to blue space was associated with statistically significantly higher physical activity levels (Cohen’s d = 0.122, 95% CI: 0.065, 0.179). Shorter distance to blue space was not associated with restoration (Cohen’s d = 0.123, 95% CI: −0.037, 0.284) or social interaction (Cohen’s d = −0.214, 95% CI: −0.55, 0.122). Larger amounts of blue space within a geographical area were significantly associated with higher physical activity levels (Cohen’s d = 0.144, 95% CI: 0.024, 0.264) and higher levels of restoration (Cohen’s d = 0.339, 95% CI: 0.072, 0.606). Being in more contact with blue space was significantly associated with higher levels of restoration (Cohen’s d = 0.191, 95% CI: 0.084, 0.298). There is also evidence that blue spaces improve environmental factors, but more studies are necessary for meta-analyses to be conducted. Evidence is conflicting on the mediating effects of social interaction and further research is required on this hypothesised pathway. Blue spaces may offer part of a solution to public health concerns faced by growing global urban populations.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms of Impact of Blue Spaces on Human Health: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis

Georgiou

Morison

Smith

et al. 2021

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Extensive meadow management also led to a reduced aboveground plant biomass production, increased earthworm densities and reduced litter decomposition. Aside from these contrasting effects on these parameters of supporting ecosystem services, effects on cultural ecosystem services such as health benefits of more diverse, extensively managed meadows have been shown (Arnberger et al, 2018). As this is one of few studies considering effects of extensive mountain meadow management on above-and belowground ecosystem interactions, more studies investigating these aspects seem imperative.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A loss of plant species leads to changes in community fine root biomass and negatively affects the food supply for earthworms (Zaller and Arnone III, 1999b). However, different earthworm densities in managed and abandoned meadows might have also affected root growth and aboveground plant production (Arnone III and Zaller, 2014). Furthermore, Eisenhauer et al (2009) found the loss of key plant functional groups to be more important than plant species richness in shaping the structure of earthworm communities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of land-use change in mountain semi-dry meadows on plants, litter decomposition and earthworms

et al. 2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Traditionally managed mountain grasslands are biodiversity hotspots in central Europe. However, socio-economic trends in agriculture during the last decades have changed farming practices, leaving steep and remote sites abandoned. Especially the abandonment of meadows is well known to directly affect plant and insect diversity. However, not much is known about the effects on soil processes and soil biota. To assess this, we studied four extensively managed (mown once a year, no fertilization) and four abandoned (no mowing, no fertilization) semi-dry meadows in a mountain region in Austria. Plant species richness, plant cover, plant traits, plant biomass, litter decomposition (tea bag index), and earthworm species richness and density were assessed. Additionally, soil temperature, moisture and electrical conductivity were measured. Results showed that managed meadows contained more plant species than abandoned meadows (118 vs. 93 species, respectively). We also observed different plant species assemblages between the two management types. In managed meadows, hemirosette and ruderal plant species were more abundant, while more plant species without rosettes and a higher plant necromass were found in abandoned meadows. Additionally, decomposition rate was higher in abandoned meadows. There was a trend towards higher earthworm densities in managed meadows, but there was no difference in earthworm species richness. We conclude that meadow management has effects on both aboveground vegetation and belowground biota and processes. Both abandoned and extensively managed meadows were important to sustain overall biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the study region.

show abstract

“…Although participants valued positively both management regimes in terms of beauty and probability to revisit, managed meadows, richer in flower cover and plant species than abandoned meadows, were rated higher. This also showed that mountainous meadows differ in their perceived health effects 10 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…However, changes in agricultural practices and low farm incomes have resulted in abandonment of these alpine grasslands 6–9 . Mountainous meadows do provide restorative benefits 10 and are considered to promote human health 11 . However, there is a lack of direct evidence in linking biodiversity, ecosystem services, human health and well-being with meadow management intensity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management of mountainous meadows associated with biodiversity attributes, perceived health benefits and cultural ecosystem services

Hussain

Walcher

Eder

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Associations between biodiversity, human health and well-being have never been discussed with reference to agriculturally managed, species-rich mountainous meadows. We evaluated these associations between extensively managed (one mowing a year, no fertilization) and abandoned (no mowing since more than 80 years, no fertilization) semi-dry meadows located in the Austrian and Swiss Alps. We quantified the richness and abundance of plants, grasshoppers, true bugs, bumblebees, syrphids and landscape characteristics in the surroundings of the meadows. Associations between these biodiversity attributes and short-term psychological and physiological human health effects were assessed with 22 participants (10 males, 12 females; mean age 27 years). Participants´ pulse rate, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were not affected during visits to managed or abandoned meadows. However, perceived health benefits (e.g., stress reduction, attention restoration) were higher during their stays in managed than in abandoned meadows. Also, the attractiveness of the surrounding landscape and the recreation suitability were rated higher when visiting managed meadows. Perceived naturalness was positively correlated with plant richness and flower cover. A positive correlation was found between SBP and forest cover, but SBP was negatively correlated with the open landscape. A negative association was found between grasshoppers and recreational and landscape perceptions. We suggest to discuss biodiversity attributes not only in connection with agricultural management but also with cultural ecosystem services and health benefits to raise more awareness for multifaceted interrelationships between ecosystems and humans.

show abstract

Health-Related Effects of Short Stays at Mountain Meadows, a River and an Urban Site—Results from a Field Experiment

Cited by 27 publications

References 44 publications

Mechanisms of Impact of Blue Spaces on Human Health: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis

Mechanisms of Impact of Blue Spaces on Human Health: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis

Impact of land-use change in mountain semi-dry meadows on plants, litter decomposition and earthworms

Management of mountainous meadows associated with biodiversity attributes, perceived health benefits and cultural ecosystem services

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About