The impact of ancient tree form on modern landscape preferences

Townsend, Joseph B.; Barton, Susan

doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2018.06.004

Cited by 33 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…When looking into results related to their dearest place, unsurprisingly most important attributes for several types of UGSs were having previous positive memories (e.g., childhood spent) and the perception of place being well maintained. Indeed studies show that humans often have emotional responses to their natural environment that may be both positive and negative [11,19,49]. Additionally, when looking at the most important categories (groups of attributes) for various types of UGS, besides maintenance and having emotional ties, others were mostly related to the utilitarian character of UGS, or in other words, possibility of UGS to be used for recreational and other experiences (having access, facilities, place suites recreational purposes, possibility of various experiences while being there).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Qualitative Exploration of Perception and Use of Cultural Ecosystem Services from Tree-Based Urban Green Space in the City of Zagreb (Croatia)

Ostoić

Marin

Kičić

et al. 2020

Forests

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Background and Objectives: Cultural ecosystem services of urban green spaces are increasingly important and often recognized as such by people living in urban areas. Qualitative studies on perception of cultural ecosystem services from urban green spaces are still rare. Previous studies addressed only certain types of urban green space and often only some services. There is a lack of understanding how people perceive cultural ecosystem services from different types of tree-based urban green spaces. Hence, the purpose of the study was to explore whether and how people perceive and use cultural ecosystem services of different types of tree-based urban green spaces. Materials and Methods: Focus groups were conducted with citizens in each city district. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and transcripts analyzed in MAXQDA software. We used bottom up code-category-theme approach to analyze the data without predefined set of codes or categories. Results: Place attachment, aesthetic and recreational services were more recognized than educational and cultural identity services. For place attachment, most important single attributes were positive memories, and good maintenance, while most important categories were facilities, existence of emotional ties, possibility of experiences, recreational use and access. Presence of specific tree species and presence of trees in general were most important attributes for aesthetic services, while possibility of experiences and trees were the most important categories. Conclusions: People perceived various cultural ecosystem services from tree-based urban green space, even though some services more than others. Recreation may be the underlying goal of our participants when interacting with tree-based urban nature. Forests, parks were recognized as those providing multiple cultural ecosystem services. However, other types of green spaces were also recognized as bearers of these services, albeit with less services and attributes attached. It supports the importance of careful planning of urban green spaces in terms of providing a variety of green space types. The study provides basis for later quantification of cultural ecosystem services (CES) from tree-based urban green space.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some studies focus on perception of specific elements of UGS design, for instance openness [16] or naturalness [18]. Other address certain traits of trees, such as preference for colors, size, age, broadleaves or conifers, crown tree elements [19][20][21][22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Qualitative Exploration of Perception and Use of Cultural Ecosystem Services from Tree-Based Urban Green Space in the City of Zagreb (Croatia)

Ostoić

Marin

Kičić

et al. 2020

Forests

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“…Comparing the four spatial color distributions, the single distributed green landscape (M VAQ = 60.9) and the group distributed landscape when started with red (M VAQ = 54.0) had the higher quality than the others. Findings from this study can be used to support public authorities and urban planners to effectively design and manage urban spaces to meet dwellers' needs.Visual aesthetic quality (VAQ) is an index to potentially rate USG [9][10][11] and use by decision makers to design and install landscapes that link people and nature [12,13] and best express people's preferences for landscapes. Most VAQ research comes from landscape studies on agriculture [14], architecture [15], and rural forestry applications [16].…”

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confidence: 99%

Effects of Design Proportion and Distribution of Color in Urban and Suburban Green Space Planning to Visual Aesthetics Quality

Hauer

2020

Forests

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Landscape color provides visual attractiveness and is an important landscape architecture construct in design and with aesthetics. Along roadways, plant color in a midground position provides a potential location readily seen by people. However, few studies have quantitatively explored the impact of a green (original) only compared to additions of color on the visual aesthetic quality (VAQ) in this spatial location. In this study, visual images were constructed to contrast four red color proportions (25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of midground) and four color spatial distributions (Red-Single, Red-Group, Green-Single and Green-Group) mixed with three landscapes texture classes (rigid = narrowleaf coniferous, soft = broadleaved, and mixed = both) in the background. As red color proportion increased, VAQ also increased. In the original all green landscape, the background setting had a significant impact on VAQ, but the texture plant design of the foreground had no significant impact on the landscape VAQ. Broadleaved (M VAQ = 63.2) and coniferous landscapes (M VAQ = 55.9) were rated as more attractive than a mixed landscape (M VAQ = 27.9). From the perspective of design color, increasing the proportions of color can improve the VAQ of the landscape. This study indicates that aesthetic quality becomes highest when the color proportion of the middle ground layer was greatest at C 100 (M VAQ = 79.7). Comparing the four spatial color distributions, the single distributed green landscape (M VAQ = 60.9) and the group distributed landscape when started with red (M VAQ = 54.0) had the higher quality than the others. Findings from this study can be used to support public authorities and urban planners to effectively design and manage urban spaces to meet dwellers' needs.Visual aesthetic quality (VAQ) is an index to potentially rate USG [9][10][11] and use by decision makers to design and install landscapes that link people and nature [12,13] and best express people's preferences for landscapes. Most VAQ research comes from landscape studies on agriculture [14], architecture [15], and rural forestry applications [16]. Thus, testing the application of VAQ models into UGS provides another land use to explore the application in built environments.Vegetation imparts aesthetics through color, texture, and form [17]. Other vegetation features, such as the tree stand age and horizontal structure, also show some significant influence on quality [18]. Color is an important element of visual perception and evaluation [19,20] and as much as 80% of people's visual perception comes from color [21]. Thus, vegetation color is an important factor to evaluate and measure to index landscape beauty [3]. Understanding human preference for the color can lead to more attractive UGS through the impact of color on visual beauty.Many studies have shown that plant color is an important factor affecting people's evaluation [6,[22][23][24], but these studies mainly focus on the color change of individual tree parts, such as the leaf [25,26] and flower [27] of a...

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“…Some studies suggest that the selective pressures imposed on early hominids in Africa during the Pleistocene, specifically in the savanna environments, were so decisive for the evolutionary history of the human species that, to date, there seems to be a universal preference for this type of landscape (Orians and Heerwagen, 1992; Falk and Balling, 2010; Klasios, 2016; Townsend and Barton, 2018). Some authors often struggle to test this assertion (see Sommer, 1997; Han, 2007; Falk and Balling, 2010; Hartmann and Apaolaza-Ibáñez, 2010, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A set of studies has found evidence in support of the preference for images of savanna landscapes (Orians and Heerwagen, 1992; Sommer, 1997; Falk and Balling, 2010; Townsend and Barton, 2018). In other cases, such a preference was not observed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of the Evolutionary Past on the Mind: An Analysis of the Preference for Landscapes in the Human Species

et al. 2018

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According to some evolutionary psychologists, landscapes preferences in the human species are influenced by their evolutionary past. Because the Pleistocene savanna is the least inhospitable landscape, it was the most suitable environment for survival and influenced the evolution of hominids in such a way that even today the human being has a universal preference for these environments. However, there is controversy regarding this statement, because in some studies it was evidenced that people prefer images of landscapes that are similar to those of the environment where they live. In this sense, we want to test whether there is indeed a preference for images of the savanna landscape and how the current environmental context may influence this preference. We performed a study in three environmental contexts with different landscapes in order to be able to observe the influence of the familiar landscape on landscape preference, of which two rural communities — one presenting a landscape similar to the deciduous seasonal forest and another presenting a savanna-like landscape — that totaled 132 participants and one urban community with 189 participants. The stimulus consisted of 12 images representing the six major terrestrial biomes and two images of urban landscapes. The variables analyzed were the emotional responses and the preference of the participants in relation to the images of landscapes. We analyzed the data using the Kruskal–Wallis test. The obtained result did not corroborate the idea of universal preference for images of savanna landscape. The image of Rainforest landscape was the preferred one among all the three environmental contexts studied. In this way, the preference for landscape may have been shaped at different periods of human evolutionary history, and not just during the period when hominids lived on the savannah. As much as selective pressures of the Pleistocene savanna have shaped the human mind during the evolutionary history, other factors and different types of environments may have influenced human preferences for landscapes. Thus, evolutionary psychologists who analyze human preferences for images of landscapes, guided by the idea of the past influencing the present, must be cautious before generalizing their results, especially if other variables such as the cultural ones are not controlled.

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The impact of ancient tree form on modern landscape preferences

Cited by 33 publications

References 43 publications

Qualitative Exploration of Perception and Use of Cultural Ecosystem Services from Tree-Based Urban Green Space in the City of Zagreb (Croatia)

Qualitative Exploration of Perception and Use of Cultural Ecosystem Services from Tree-Based Urban Green Space in the City of Zagreb (Croatia)

Effects of Design Proportion and Distribution of Color in Urban and Suburban Green Space Planning to Visual Aesthetics Quality

The Influence of the Evolutionary Past on the Mind: An Analysis of the Preference for Landscapes in the Human Species

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