Perceived health benefits of managed and unmanaged meadows in a mountain biosphere reserve – an experimental study in the Austrian Alps

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

doi:10.1553/eco.mont-10-1s5

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…In accordance with the results of the pulse and blood measurements, perceived health benefits (attention restoration, wellbeing, and stress reduction) did not differ between managed and unmanaged meadows. Few previous studies have compared similar land use or vegetation types, such as forests or meadows, with different degrees of naturalness [7,9,33]. This study compared diverse mountain meadow regions with varying degrees of naturalness and study results confirm those studies that have not found differences in health effects depending on the degree of perceived or actual naturalness [7,8,9] but contradict others [33].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

“…Restorative research has found that exposure to natural and semi-natural environments provides more health benefits than exposure to urban built-up or street environments [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Although a substantial amount of evidence revealed the restorative potential of natural environments in general, little is known about the effects of specific landscape types on human health and wellbeing [1,7,8,9,10,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Marselle et al [8] also found no relationships between perceived naturalness and post-walk emotional well-being. Similarly, perceived health benefits did not differ between two mountain meadows with differently perceived degrees of naturalness [7] or between parkland, tended woodland and wild woods [9]. Several researchers [7,37] called for more research to produce a more robust evidence base for the relationships between degree of naturalness, landscape types and human health.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Arnberger

Eder

Allex

et al. 2018

IJERPH

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The study compared psychological and physiological health effects of short-term stays at managed and abandoned meadows, a mountain river, and an urban site of a dependent sample of 22 adult participants (mean age 27) during an 11-day field trip. The study found that pulse rates decreased during the stays at all the meadows and the urban site while no decrease was observed at the river. Blood pressure increased at all sites during the stay, with no study-site differences for systolic, but for diastolic, blood pressure. Participants reported more positive psychological health effects as a result of their stays at the most remote meadow and the river on attention restoration, stress reduction and wellbeing compared to the urban site, while no differences in health perceptions were observed between managed and unmanaged meadows. This study suggests that perceived and measured health benefits were independent of the degree of naturalness of meadows. While differences measured on the physiological level between urban built and natural sites were marginal, psychological measures showed higher health benefits of the natural environments compared to the built one.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Arnberger

Eder

Allex

et al. 2018

IJERPH

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“…The cessation of mowing promotes SOC sequestration but can have detrimental effects on ESs linked to aesthetic values, if abandonment leads to grass-dominated, less colourful plant stands and can even affect human health aspects (Arnberger et al 2018a, b). A high aesthetic value of semi-natural grassland communities as a result of great herb diversity is hardly compatible with SOC sequestration because annual mowing without manuring over a long period together with removal of the mown biomass inevitably leads to C losses in the topsoil (Bohner et al 2016).…”

Section: Ecosystem Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological responses of semi-natural grasslands to abandonment: case studies in three mountain regions in the Eastern Alps

et al. 2019

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Semi-natural, extensively managed, grasslands are among the most species-rich agroecosystems in Europe. However, they are threatened by abandonment. We investigated the response of semi-natural grasslands to cessation of mowing at ten sites in three UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in Switzerland and Austria. We assessed vegetation characteristics, topsoil properties and microbially mediated soil processes by comparing once-a-year mowed with adjacent long-term abandoned grasslands on semi-dry, nutrient-poor, baserich soils. Plant litter decomposition was determined using standardized substrates (Tea Bag Index). Soil microbial community composition was assessed by phospholipid fatty acid analysis. Abandonment altered floristic composition by replacing shade-intolerant or low-growing grassland species, in particular character species of the alliance Bromion erecti, with medium-to tall-sized grasses (e.g. Brachypodium pinnatum) and tall herbs (e.g. Laserpitium latifolium). Time since abandonment had an influence on the magnitude of successional changes after abandonment. Cessation of mowing increased above-ground phytomass but decreased plant species richness and evenness. Abandonment increased soil microbial biomass, promoted litter decomposition and led to an increased soil organic carbon, C:N ratio, and inorganic N supply. Our findings also showed that abandoned grasslands dominated by grasses remained shrub-and treeless for several decades.

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“…Taken together, there is research on the positive effects of exposure to green spaces for both complementary theories, but data on the effects of study breaks spent in green spaces and nature on adolescents’ cognitive performance and wellbeing is sparse. In addition, little is known about the effects of specific landscape types on wellbeing and cognitive performance [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ], in particular for adolescents. Also, results about different green sites are contradictious: a laboratory experiment with university students found a stronger recovery from emotional stress for urban green sites compared to built urban sites, but no significant differences between the different green sites [ 39 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reloading Pupils’ Batteries: Impact of Green Spaces on Cognition and Wellbeing

Wallner

Kundi

Arnberger

et al. 2018

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Cognitive functioning and academic performance of pupils depend on regular breaks from classroom work. However, it is unclear which settings during such breaks provide the best environment to restore cognitive performance and promote wellbeing of adolescent pupils. Therefore, we investigated the effects of staying in different urban green spaces during breaks. Sixty-four pupils (16–18 years old) participated in a cross-over experiment. They were placed into one of three settings (small park, larger park, forest) for one hour during a lunch break. Wellbeing was assessed four times (Nitsch scale), and a cognitive test (d2-R Test of Attention) was applied in the classrooms before and after the break. Wellbeing was almost always highest after the stay in the green spaces. However, a sustained effect was only found for the forest. Concentration performance values of the d2-R test were significantly higher after the pupils’ stay in green spaces for all sites. The highest increase of performance was found for the larger park type. In conclusion, this pilot study showed that study breaks in green spaces improved wellbeing and cognitive performance of adolescents. It also found that larger green spaces, either parks or forests, have stronger positive impacts on wellbeing and cognitive performance than small parks.

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Perceived health benefits of managed and unmanaged meadows in a mountain biosphere reserve – an experimental study in the Austrian Alps

Cited by 7 publications

References 32 publications

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

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

Ecological responses of semi-natural grasslands to abandonment: case studies in three mountain regions in the Eastern Alps

Reloading Pupils’ Batteries: Impact of Green Spaces on Cognition and Wellbeing

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