主要研究 今天

徒步旅行在美国很流行 继续激增这对新罕布什尔州的休闲旅游景观有利. 的 白山国家森林,这 占地80万英亩 新罕布什尔州北部和缅因州东部的部分地区, 每年接待600多万游客,200多英里的徒步小径(包括160英里的 阿帕拉契山径), and the White Mountains includes just a small portion of the Granite State’s many scenic hiking trails. And while lots of research points to the health benefits—both physical and mental—of hiking, less is known about how the biologically diversity of the surrounding forest can add to those benefits.

纽约大学的一项新研究 新罕布什尔州农业实验站 (NHAES) seeks to better understand how our mood and mental wellbeing changes in biologically diverse environments and whether hiking on trails with greater and more diverse animal and plant life improves psychological health benefits. 这项研究得到了新的NHAES的支持 加强合作研究和团队探索 (CREATE)项目由联合国大学的跨学科研究小组领导 生命科学与农业学院 (COLSA)和 健康与人类服务学院 (CHHS).

新罕布什尔州:以自然为基础的旅游经济

“Outdoor recreation activities that take place in New Hampshire’s forests are integral to our nature-based tourism economy,“描述 劳伦·弗格森的助理教授 康乐管理及政策 在CHHS. “Outdoor recreation visitors are often seeking opportunities to restore and improve their health and wellness, and empirical evidence that connects healthy ecosystems to improved health outcomes for visitors can be essential for sustaining conservation, 社区卫生, 以及户外休闲经济.”

生物多样性的增加会增加户外娱乐体验吗?

而 先前的研究 表明更多的生物多样性有助于提高娱乐体验, 这项研究由弗格森和 雷明顿摩尔他是NHAES的科学家，也是美国国立卫生研究院的助理教授 自然资源和环境部门 at 主要研究—takes a multifaceted approach to determining whether people will enjoy hiking more when they know more about the surrounding area’s wildlife and vegetation.

“的re’s a large body of evidence that shows humans have improved physical and mental health outcomes when they are exposed to natural environments,弗格森说。. “但是自然环境对我们的健康和幸福有好处?”

“也许是因为生物多样性，”她补充说. “的 more species we see and hear could influence our experience and the ecosystem services we receive from spending time in natural spaces.”

弗格森和莫尔，还有 劳拉Kloepper他是科罗拉多大学生物科学助理教授 卡琳娜桑切斯, a postdoctoral research associate in COLSA’s 自然资源和环境部门, 今年夏天将在主要研究林地进行实地试验, 包括 自由/开源软件的农场，学院森林， 金曼研究农场 和其他 区域. 研究人员将测量鸟类的生物多样性, mammals and frogs living in these popular recreational destinations and surveying visitors to determine their perceptions of wildlife biodiversity and psychological wellbeing as it relates to hiking and walking. 研究期间将跨越每个季节, 这使得研究人员能够根据季节来评估人类对生物多样性的感知.

“在春天和夏天, 你可以听到鸟鸣, 看到不同的动物或植物和树木,弗格森说。. “在冬天, 动物们安静下来，绿植也少了, so we’re curious whether that change influences visitors’ 对生物多样性的认识 and their psychological wellbeing.”

据莫尔说, one goal of the research is to help “identify management practices that can provide mutual benefits for biodiversity conservation and human health.”

“我们为多个用户管理我们的森林, 包括野生动物和人类,莫尔说。, “我们认为这些用户群体之间存在一些隐藏的联系.”

“我们为多个用户管理我们的森林, 包括野生动物和人类…通过量化这种联系, perhaps we can manage forests more holistically so that increased biodiversity is more explicitly linked to improved human recreational experiences.”

“通过量化这些联系, perhaps we can manage forests more holistically so that increased biodiversity is more explicitly linked to improved human recreational experiences,他补充道. “It would be a win-win if we can uncover and boost such connections through coordinated management and outreach.”

That’s where 森林管理 practices related to recreational education potentially come into play. 推广和教育方法，如标志, kiosks and nature interpretation programming can improve understanding of forest biodiversity and enhance recreational experiences while also explaining the need for 健全的森林管理做法,就像 木材收获,这 create clearings that offer important wildlife benefits and sustain economic livelihoods. In turn, this information will help inform educational interventions in properties managed by the 联合国儿童基金会林地和自然地区办事处 and in the many other managed forested recreational 区域 around New Hampshire and beyond.

林地和自然区域办公室由联合国大学土地使用协调员监督 Stephen Eisenhaure, 1997年.

“任何时候，土地管理者都可以雇佣好员工, 实用科学来更好地了解如何最好地为娱乐用户服务, 这对我们来说是积极的,艾森豪尔说. "的re are definitely gaps in our understanding of how people view 森林管理 practices and also how to best educate them on the importance of these practices to the long-term sustainability of our forests. 这项研究将有助于填补这些知识空白."