{"id":3992,"date":"2022-09-27T12:53:21","date_gmt":"2022-09-27T10:53:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/naturallybalanced.devversion.pl\/?p=3992"},"modified":"2023-05-30T10:16:02","modified_gmt":"2023-05-30T08:16:02","slug":"plants-bird-affects-people-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/naturallybalanced.devversion.pl\/en\/plants-bird-affects-people-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Abundance of plant and bird species affects people\u2019s mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Date of the last update: 27.09.2022<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo: Slawomir Murawiec, MD<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mental health of the country\u2019s population is influenced by biodiversity of plant and bird species, the results of a nationwide study from Germany reveals. As this is Poland\u2019s neighbouring country, this correlation may very likely refer to Polish society, too, only there is no relevant data to confirm that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Table of Contents:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Scientific research \u2013 effects of plants and birds on mental health<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Results<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Conclusion<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    You can read this article in 4 minutes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Scientific research \u2013 effects of plants and birds on mental health<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    A study by a team of researchers led by Joel Methorst from Frankfurt am Main reports that the number of bird and plant species in the surroundings correlates with socioeconomic data on people\u2019s mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Methorst and his co-workers point out that there is a large number of studies confirming that connecting with nature is positively related to people\u2019s health. The positive impact has been documented in relation to both mental and physical health, for example in the context of people living near urban parks or water bodies. Most of these studies, however, focus on selected aspects, such as proximity to natural places or their size.  By contrast, little is known about the relationship between mental and physical health and species richness in the given area (biodiversity). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Research to date has indicated that a high bird and plant species diversity in parks and urban environment in general is related to improved psychological well-being in people. Two theories are mentioned to explain this phenomenon: ART (Attention Restoration Theory) and Stress Reduction Theory. In terms of broader health, visitors to parks with greater biodiversity reported better overall health, both in reference to mental and physical health aspects, and higher perceived restoration.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    The authors also noted the effect of subjectively perceived species richness on health. Thus, it is the subjective perception of biodiversity (abundance of plant, bird and butterfly species) rather than its objective measurement that influences the psychological well-being of people visiting green areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The researchers decided to investigate these relationships on a country-wide level in a survey conducted all across Germany. For this purpose, the study combined macro-ecological data and socio-economic data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). As for biodiversity assessments, the team focused on plants and birds. They considered both the number of species and quantity (abundance) of birds.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    Explore more:<\/strong> Therapeutic ornithology \u2013 practical experience from the 2022 Ecotherapy Workshop<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Data on the health of population across country was taken from the German Socio-Economic Panel. The data provide information on the socio-economic, demographic and health status of the German population. The data are organised territorially. The information available from this panel addressed 8 domains of physical and mental health. Factors such as population density, GDP per capita, unemployment rates and the size of the country’s different territorial units, were also taken into account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Data on bird species richness and abundance were obtained from the \u201cAtlas of German Breeding Birds\u201d(Gedeon et al. 2014). The richness of bird species in a county ranged from 59 to 146, while bird abundance ranged from 1000 to 6000 breeding pairs. To assess plant species biodiversity the researchers used data on species occurrence in Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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