Biodiverse urban forests, happy people: Experimental evidence linking perceived biodiversity, restoration, and emotional wellbeing

Here we investigate whether perceived biodiversity is linked to emotional wellbeing, taking into account the individual level of connection to nature, and whether such relationship is mediated by perceived restorativeness. We exposed participants to urban trails of different biodiversity levels and analysed the data using linear mixed effects and structural equation models. Our results show that animal diversity and nature relatedness are positively linked to perceived restorativeness that, in turn, increases positive affect and decreases negative affect; thus suggesting that restoration mediates the effect of biodiversity on emotional wellbeing. We also found walk duration is linked to increased positive affect and reduced negative affect while crowdedness level in the trail has the opposite effect. Our results show an important link between urban biodiversity conservation and public mental health.

Automated summary

The study found positive links between animal diversity and nature relatedness with perceived restorativeness, leading to increased positive affect and decreased negative affect; duration of the walk was associated with increased positive affect and reduced negative affect, while crowdedness level had the opposite effect. The results highlight an important connection between urban biodiversity conservation and public mental health.