Treesearch

BACKGROUND: At a time of increasing disconnectedness from nature, scientific interest in the potential health benefits of nature contact has grown. Research in recent decades has yielded substantial evidence, but large gaps remain in our understanding. OBJECTIVES: We propose a research agenda on nature contact and health, identifying principal domains of research and key questions that, if answered, would provide the basis for evidence-based public health interventions. DISCUSSION: We identify research questions in seven domains: a) mechanistic biomedical studies; b) exposure science; c)...

Decades of research studies demonstrate links between healthy environment, healthy lifestyles, and healthy people. This study evaluated the correlations between young adult conservation workers’ perceived stress, personal effectiveness, and nature experience using quantitative and qualitative social science methods. The study cohort numbered nearly 300 individuals serving on small crews for an entire year, and were dispersed across Washington State (USA) to participate in conservation projects in rural to urban landscapes. Pre- and post-test surveys, using validated measures of perceived...

This book is a first edition technical handbook on a topic that is gaining ever greater attention around the world – urban forestry. Written for international audiences, the book covers a range of conceptual and technical content, including urban forest assessment, planning, and best management practices. Chapters address the full scale of city tree knowledge, from arboricultural activity concerning individual trees to operations across an entire city. Authors were invited to contribute by the editors based on their expertise, so the volume contains the best available science and knowledge...

The magazine article is an informal review of a wide range of research, spanning multiple decades, concerning human health benefits derived from experiences of nearby nature in urbanized places. The actionable information is aimed at professional, manager, and concerned citizen audiences who may have an interest in urban design and planning, as well as urban forestry. A framework of benefits is presented, including Active Living, Stress Reduction, Mental Health and Function, Healing and Therapy, and Social Cohesion. In addition, the article offers suggestions for integrating the research...

This magazine article is an informal review of a wide range of research, spanning multiple decades, concerning human health benefits derived from experiences of nearby nature in urbanized places. The actionable information is aimed at professional and manager audiences who may have an interest in urban design and planning, as well as urban forestry. Urban parks range in scale from large regional parks that are destinations for recreation, to local parks that contain natural areas and sports facilities, to small parks that serve a specific community or neighborhood, including pocket parks....

An enduring paradox for the management of public lands is the need to accommodate increasing levels of human uses while reducing the environmental impacts of those uses. Historically, land management agencies used standard practices and principles of outdoor recreation management like recreation carrying capacity, limits of acceptable change, recreation opportunity spectrum, and scenery management system (Hendee et al. 1990, Manning 2010). But most of these principles are dated. This book provides a case study of integrated approach to understanding and planning for human uses in a large,...

The previous chapters in this book build on over three decades of work studying human-landscape interactions and associated conflicts, as well as policy related to protection of special places, wildland values, and human experiences. We believe that the approach recommended to the Forest Service in chapter 19 has merits beyond the region of Prince William Sound. Finally, through the course of putting this volume together, three interconnected themes emerged that are vital when managing for the sustainable use of wildlands. Those themes are as follows: • Sustainable use of management...

The Silvies Valley Ranch is an example of using local innovation to combat the global problem of incised streams on rangelands. Incised channels reduce the flow between water in the channel and water in the surrounding soils, which reduces the vegetation available for wildlife habitat and cattle forage. One of the ranch owners, Scott Campbell, a doctor of veterinary medicine, believes that stream incision is related to the decline of beaver populations; thus, the ranch’s approach to restoration includes efforts to mimic beavers’ influence on the system. He is using an extensive network of...

Following the grounding of the Exxon Valdez in 1989, a sustainable human use framework (human use framework) for Prince William Sound (PWS), AK was developed by the Chugach National Forest after concerns emerged about the social and environmental impacts of expanding human use due to cleanup activities and increased recreation visitation. A practical, issue-based process was used to develop an implementation strategy for integrating the complex social and ecological data contained in the human use framework and for making specific management and monitoring recommendations. The issue-based...

The critical zone (CZ), the dynamic living skin of the Earth, extends from the top of the vegetative canopy through the soil and down to fresh bedrock and the bottom of the groundwater. All humans live in and depend on the CZ. This zone has three co-evolving surfaces: the top of the vegetative canopy, the ground surface, and a deep subsurface below which Earth’s materials are unweathered. The network of nine CZ observatories supported by the US National Science Foundation has made advances in three broad areas of CZ research relating to the co-evolving surfaces. First, monitoring has...