The soundscape method and eco-acoustic indicators in the analysis of the acoustic environment of the mountain national parks in Poland and Sweden

Abstract

Soundscape is one of the essential environmental elements affecting people’s experience in nature spaces. In the complex mechanism of landscape and soundscape perception, the acoustic characteristics of the environment are the primary influencing factor. The aim of the paper is the analysis of soundscape of two mountain national parks—Tatra National Park (TNP) in Poland and Sarek National Park (SNP) in Sweden. The first park is very frequently visited by tourists (around 4 million tourists a year) while the second park has an attendance of around a few thousand tourists. The paper presents the results of the analysis of acoustic measurements and ambisonic recordings made in the Koscieliska Valley (TNP) and the Rapa Valey (SNP, Swedish: Rapadalen) using classical method and the soundscape method. In addition, psychoacoustic parameters and soundecology indicators such as loudness, sharpness or roughness, ACI (acoustic complexity index), NDSI (normalized difference soundscape index), BIO (bioacoustic index), ADI (acoustic diversity index), and AEI (acoustic evenness index) were calculated.