Hexian Jin

Diverse biotic components in urban green spaces not only provide fundamental conditions for environmental adaptation but also confer substantial benefits to human health. However, few studies have explored the health benefits of biodiversity in pocket parks—a specific type of urban green space—from the perspective of audio–visual interaction. This study adopted plant diversity (high, medium, and low) as the visual independent variable and bird diversity (high and low) as the auditory independent variable within the biodiversity framework, and constructed six virtual biodiversity scenarios in pocket parks. A total of 60 participants were recruited, and each participant was randomly assigned to experience two distinct biodiversity scenarios. Heart rate variability and psychological scales, including the Profile of Mood States, Perceived Restorativeness Scale, and Perceived Biodiversity Scale, were measured to examine the restorative effects of different types and levels of biodiversity in pocket parks. The results indicate that: 1) rich plant and bird diversity exerts significant positive effects on human health; 2) the combined perception of high plant diversity and high bird diversity produces the strongest restorative benefits; 3) perceived plant diversity as the primary mediating pathway in the impact of biodiversity on mental health; and 4) individuals with higher nature connectedness gain greater restorative benefits in environments with higher biodiversity. Therefore, in the optimal design of pocket parks, improvements should be made to enhance plant and bird diversity, create suitable habitats, implement soundscape compensation, and adopt differentiated intervention strategies to leverage the health promoting effects of green spaces. The study provides a reference for enhancing plant and bird diversity in pocket parks and contribute significantly to improving the health promoting capacity of urban green spaces.

This study deeply analyzes the ecocultural heritage of the Tiantai Mountain area in Eastern China, assesses its current status and explores effective mechanisms for its conservation and construction. Employing remote sensing technology, kernel density analysis and Minimum Cumulative Resistance Model, the study comprehensively evaluated the environmental characteristics of the region and its role in historical and modern conservation efforts. The results demonstrate the unique distribution patterns of ecocultural heritage in various conservation zones, such as restoration, controlled construction and core conservation zone. Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of religious beliefs and clan systems in the preservation of traditional knowledge and practices, with significant impacts of local community participation on conservation strategies. This research provides new theoretical and practical support for the implemention of ecocultural heritage conservation and development within religiously significant areas, highlights the need for conservation measures and synergistic strategies between ecological and cultural practices.

Conducting precise evaluations and predictions of the environmental conditions for plant growth in green spaces is crucial for ensuring their health and sustainability. Yet, assessing the health of urban greenery and the plant growth environment represents a significant and complex challenge within the fields of urban planning and environmental management. This complexity arises from two main challenges: the limitations in acquiring high-density, high-precision data, and the difficulties traditional methods face in capturing and modeling the complex nonlinear relationships between environmental factors and plant growth. In light of the superior spatial interpolation capabilities of CEDGAN (conditional encoder–decoder generative adversarial neural network), notwithstanding its comparative lack of robustness across different subjects, and the excellent ability of FCNN (fully connected neural network) to fit multiple nonlinear equation models, we have developed two models based on these network structures. One model performs high-precision spatial attribute interpolation for urban green spaces, and the other predicts and evaluates the environmental conditions for plant growth within these areas. Our research has demonstrated that, following training with various samples, the CEDGAN network exhibits satisfactory performance in interpolating soil pH values, with an average pixel error below 0.03. This accuracy in predicting both spatial distribution and feature aspects improves with the increase in sample size and the number of controlled sampling points, offering an advanced method for high-precision spatial attribute interpolation in the planning and routine management of urban green spaces. Similarly, FCNN has shown commendable performance in predicting and evaluating plant growth environments, with prediction errors generally less than 0.1. Comparing different network structures, models with fewer hidden layers and nodes yielded superior training outcomes.

This research applies the Coupling Coordination Degree Model (CCDM) for an in-depth analysis of biocultural diversity in the Tiantai Mountain Area, emphasizing the intricate interplay between the mesoscale ecological environment and the societal dynamics of notable mountains. It conducts a quantitative assessment of the region's biological and cultural diversity: Biological diversity is examined through the lenses of species, ecosystem, and landscape diversity. Cultural diversity is gauged based on the spatial concentration of cultural heritage. The study uncovers a pronounced coupling and coordination between biological and cultural diversities, particularly in zones where cultural landscapes congregate and agricultural cultural heritage is preserved. Moreover, it elucidates the pivotal role of religious beliefs and traditional societal practices in the conservation of ecology and culture in these locales. The preservation and transmission of traditional crafts emerge as crucial for the sustainable evolution of local cultures and communities. Conclusively, the study proposes sustainable development strategies for renowned mountains and their adjacent communities. This work offers a novel framework for biocultural diversity research and management in mid-scale regions, validates the effectiveness of the CCDM in elucidating the interrelations between biological and cultural diversities, and provides innovative perspectives on showcasing cultural diversity in areas dominated by a singular ethnicity and language.

Industrialization and urbanization have produced large amounts of atmospheric and soil pollutants. Among them, heavy metals are one of the main byproducts that are widely distributed in the atmosphere, water, soil and organisms, which have a great impact on climate. It is of great significance to reduce their enrichment in soil by ecological restoration methods for the sustainable development of urban atmosphere and climate. This study investigated the effects of different garden plants (Festuca arundinacea, Ageratum conyzoides, Trifolium repens) mixed with Brassica parachinensis on plant growth, physiological indexes and Cr (chromium) content in aboveground and underground parts in Cr (the main heavy metal pollution produced by industrialization) contaminated soil. The yield of B. parachinensis was the highest under the mixed cropping mode with T. repens, with the Cr content in edible parts being lower than the standard, suggesting an effective combination of B. parachinensis in community gardens. The mixed cropping of F. arundinacea with Bra decreased B. parachinensis yield. Under the mixed cropping of A. conyzoides, the edible parts of B. parachinensis were aggravated by Cr pollution, which was not recommended for planting. Our results suggest that converting the monoculture mode of vegetables to mixed cropping with garden plants reduced heavy metal pollution of community garden plants and improved soil productivity and environmental quality.

Caverns of Heaven and Places of Blessing (CHPB) are the earliest Ecological Reserve in China, but in recent years, due to the accelerated process of urbanization and weak protection, the Chinese traditional ecological reserve represented by CHPB has been damaged to a certain extent. How to accurately measure the dynamic changes of ecological value in existing ecological protection and construct is an initial topic of CHPB protection. To understand the temporal and spatial changes characteristics of biodiversity in CHPB, this paper selects three-time nodes in 1990, 2005, and 2020, and takes CHPB in Zhejiang Province as an example, comprehensive three influencing factors: habitat quality, landscape pattern, and nighttime-light. To provide a relevant theoretical basis for the protection of CHPB, this paper quantitatively analyzes the changes of ecological environment and biodiversity in recent 30 years. The results showed that from 1990 to 2020, the biodiversity of CHPB in Zhejiang Province showed a positive change, the decline in Caverns of Heaven overall area slowed down, and the core area rebounded. The spatial distribution change of biodiversity is highly consistent with the land-use changes. The low value regions of biodiversity are mainly concentrated in the regions with intensive human activities, and the area decreases with the expansion of construction land. The core areas are primary areas with high biodiversity and overlap with nature reserves, natural parks, Scenic and Historic Interest Area, and other protected areas. In a word, CHPB still plays a vital role in ecological and environmental protection. In the future development, we should still pay attention to its biodiversity protection, and give full play to its role in ecological and environmental protection, and realize the contemporary application of CHPB’s traditional ecological knowledge.