Urban greenspace - what attributes determine wellbeing ?

压力在英国社会无处不在（其中85%是城市）。然而，进入绿色空间与更好的生活质量相关，并且可以积极降低应激激素的水平，如皮质醇。据估计，英国总共有16万个城市绿地可以提供1300亿英镑的生态系统服务效益。许多将绿色空间和幸福感联系起来的文献只关注可访问的绿色空间的存在。单独的研究侧重于特定的生物多样性要素（例如，野花草地、看得见和听得见的鸟类）。然而，关于绿色空间的结构属性以及这些属性如何影响个体对绿色空间组成部分的价值的研究却很少。这包括生物多样性方面，如树木的类型和性别，绿地的物理结构，绿地中不同元素提供的服务的平衡，以及认识到更多样化的生态系统带来的一些不利因素。该项目将结合生态数据、虚拟现实（VR）技术和智能手机调查，研究公众对绿色空间价值的看法是否与生态价值和生态系统服务效益相匹配。该研究将解决的具体问题是：人们会区分绿色空间中的结构元素（树篱、树木）吗？这些属性的变化是否会引起公众的不同价值，以及它们提供的服务（例如，噪音缓解）？-与生物多样性组成相关的属性变化（例如开花或结果的雌树与不结果的雌树）是否会改变人们对绿地的价值分配？一些潜在的不利因素（停放的汽车上的树叶，密密的树木）的视觉线索会改变绿色空间提供的感知价值吗？该项目将与树木委员会和利物浦市议会合作。

Stress is ubiquitous in UK society (85% of which is urban). However, access to green space is correlated with better quality of life, and can actively reduce levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol. In total, the 160,000 urban greenspace areas in the UK are estimated to provide £130 billion in ecosystem service benefits. Much of the literature linking greenspace and wellbeing focuses only on the presence of accessible greenspace. Separate studies have focused on particular biodiversity elements (e.g. wildflower meadows, visible and audible birds). However, the structural attributes of greenspace have been little studied, and how those influence the value that individuals place on components of greenspace. This includes biodiversity aspects like type and sex of tree, the physical structure of the greenspace, the balance of services provided by different elements in greenspace, and recognizing some of the disbenefits associated with more diverse ecological systems. This project will work with ecological data, virtual reality (VR) technology and smartphone surveys to examine whether public perceptions of greenspace value match both the ecological value and the ecosystem service benefit. Specific questions the study will address are:-Do people differentiate between structural elements in greenspace (hedges, trees) and do variations in these attributes elicit different values from the public, when combined with the service they provide (e.g. noise mitigation)?-Does variation in attributes linked to biodiversity composition (e.g. flowering or fruiting female trees vs non-fruiting) alter the values people assign to greenspace?-Do visual cues on some of the potential dis-benefits (leaves on parked cars, densely packed gloomy trees) alter the perceived value provided by greenspace ?The project will partner with The Tree Council and with Liverpool City Council.