Abstract
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, people in countries around the world including the United Kingdom, Denmark, Canada, and South Korea are seeking physiological and psychological healing by visiting forests as stay-at-home orders continue. NVOCs (natural volatile organic compounds), a major healing factor of forests, have several positive effects on human health. This study specifically researched the NVOC characteristics of bamboo groves. This study revealed that α-pinene, 3-carene, and camphene were observed to emit the most, and the largest amount of NVOC emitted was seen during the early morning and late afternoon within bamboo groves. Furthermore, NVOC emission was found to have normal correlations with temperature and humidity, and inverse correlations with solar radiation, PAR (photosynthetically active radiation), and wind speed. A regression analysis conducted to predict the effect of microclimate factors on NVOC emissions resulted in a regression equation with 82.9% explanatory power, finding that PAR, temperature, and humidity had a significant effect on NVOC emission prediction. In conclusion, this study investigated NVOC emission of bamboo groves, examined the relationship between NVOC emissions and microclimate factors, and derived a prediction equation of NVOC emissions to figure out bamboo groves’ forest healing effects. These results are expected to provide a basis for establishing more effective forest healing programs in bamboo groves.
Highlights
Attention restoration theory, claimed by Stephen and Rachel Kaplan, explained that humans, who have grown tense due to continuous exposure to artificial environments, instinctively want to visit nature [1,2]
This study aimed to discover the NVOC emission characteristics of bamboo groves and to build a model to predict the effects of microclimate elements on the NVOC emissions of bamboo groves
Prior studies have already demonstrated that microclimate factors affect NVOC emissions in various types of forests, especially the NVOC emission characteristics of broadleaf forests and coniferous forests
Summary
Attention restoration theory, claimed by Stephen and Rachel Kaplan, explained that humans, who have grown tense due to continuous exposure to artificial environments, instinctively want to visit nature [1,2]. Caused by external environmental and internal psychological factors, are restored by the friendly “restorative environment” within forests, which makes them feel comfortable This theory is further highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic: due to the COVID-19 outbreak, people around the world were forced to minimize social contact through remote-working and online classes; their time at home significantly increased [3,4]. Due to social distancing policies, interactions with family and friends were restricted, and the privilege to visit indoor locations that allow one to engage with leisure activities was forfeit [4] Instead of these places, parks and forests have been spotlighted as sites of recreation and healing [5,6,7]. Due to the global pandemic, forest and nature visitation continues to rise due to its’ promotion of physical and psychological health
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