Biology

Outdoor businesses and venues could benefit from increased biodiversity through bird calls

Significant relationships between bird species richness and standardized acoustic indices in 21 UK vineyards (a) ACI: Acoustic Complexity Index; (b) BIO: Bioacoustic Index. (c) NDSI: Normalized Differential Soundscape Index. (d) H: Acoustic entropy index. Lines represent model predicted values ​​with 95% confidence intervals (shading) from the generalized linear mixed model, and points indicate raw standardized acoustic index values ​​(jittered for clarity, n = 208 samples). In (b), yellow = “morning” recording, blue = “evening” recording. as they were significantly different from each other (see Supporting Information S2). Credit: People and Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10721

Visitors to vineyards enjoyed their tours more when they heard the enhanced sounds of diverse bird songs, a new study has found. Research from the University of East Anglia suggests outdoor companies could improve their customer experience by investing in the biodiversity of their sites.

“Increasing bird song diversity in vineyards improves visitor tour experience” was published in People and Nature.

Sound is all around us, collectively forming a ‘soundscape’ and playing an important role in people’s experience of the outside world. However, an unprecedented decline in biodiversity is silencing the soundscape of nature and allowing the sounds of ever-increasing urbanization to dominate. These changes have reduced opportunities to interact with nature, leading to deterioration in physical and mental health.

Lead author Dr Natalia Jeronka, from UEA’s Faculty of Biological Sciences, said: ‘To understand the direct impact of sound on our experience of nature, we studied the soundscapes of UK vineyards and We measured their effect on the visitor’s tour experience.”

“Agricultural landscapes are often associated with declines in wildlife populations, increasing pressure to protect biodiversity. We investigated the benefits.

“We hid speakers in vineyards along the tour route to reflect what a soundscape with increased bird song would sound like. These speakers provided additional bird song to some tour groups. to create an “enhanced soundscape” that is louder and more diverse.

“At the end of the tour, we collected responses from visitors through a survey to measure the tour experience. Vineyard visitors who experienced our enhanced soundscapes reported an improved tour experience. and strongly agreed that the sounds of the vineyard are mesmerizing and can make you feel good.”

“As a result, visitors are freed from work, daily life and responsibilities, allowing them to feel more relaxed and optimistic during the tour.”

Researchers used acoustic indices to characterize soundscapes across 21 vineyards in the UK and correlated them with bird richness and abundance. They found that richer but less abundant bird species resulted in a more diverse and noisy soundscape.

At three of the study vineyards offering tours, the research team measured visitors’ tour experiences in terms of sonic enjoyment, soundscape connectivity, and tour satisfaction. What’s interesting is that those who visited vineyards with louder, more diverse baseline soundscapes (no hidden speakers playing bird songs) also reported an improved tour experience.

This finding is attributable to the researchers’ experimental findings, in which respondents reported hearing significantly more species of birds during tours and had significantly higher scores for enjoyment, connectedness, and satisfaction than under ambient conditions. Enhanced with soundscape enhancements.

This effect was stronger for visitors who engaged in more environmentally friendly behaviors, such as purchasing organic food, which may indicate higher levels of interest in nature and the ability to participate in soundscapes. there is.

Essex vineyard Saffron Grange specializes in growing high-quality sparkling wine grapes and is keen to take a holistic approach to supporting ecosystems through biodiversity and is taking part in research. That’s one of the things I did.

Vineyard Manager Paul Harrison said: ‘We all benefit from the vineyard’s soundscape every day, but when it happens so often, it’s associated with poor wellbeing compared to other working conditions. Most of us come from corporate backgrounds and therefore compare it to an open plan office. and enjoy being in nature.

“What was surprising was that bird calls had a huge impact on people, and then playing the recordings had an even bigger impact. This shows how important nature is to humanity on so many levels. Hopefully research like this will support more investment and support for conservation.”The same goes for improving the natural environment. ”

“This shows that a soundscape made up of richer bird calls can help us experience nature more mindfully, which in turn benefits our well-being,” Dr. Jeronka said. It highlights the importance of sound in our relationship with nature, at a time when biodiversity is under threat and human lives are at risk, as we become increasingly urbanized and disconnected from nature. Now more than ever, it is important to conserve biodiversity and create new and accessible opportunities to experience nature.

“Our findings demonstrate how bird conservation in vineyards can simultaneously enhance our experience of spending time in nature, elicit positive emotions, and impact our well-being. It shows how helpful it is.”

The study was carried out in a British vineyard where, like other farming systems, biodiversity conservation is encouraged. Researchers say the findings show that bird conservation measures can improve the vineyard experience for vineyard visitors, which in turn could benefit the industry. I am making a hypothesis.

Co-author Professor Simon Butler, from UEA’s School of Biological Sciences, said the findings could be applied anywhere there is outdoor space used by customers and can be managed to increase biodiversity. Ta.

He said: “Gardens and historic halls, cafes and restaurants with outdoor seating, outdoor markets, national parks and holiday parks could all potentially benefit from being run for money. Away from business, we expect the same principles to apply to the environment.” It is hoped that enhancing the natural and soundscape of schools, care homes and hospitals will help create a more relaxed and caring atmosphere. ”

Saffron Grange’s team is being advised by researchers on simple steps to improve biodiversity.

Mr Harrison said: “We discussed the results of Natalia’s bird survey research at length and what we could do to further improve the habitat. For example, we cut our hedges every three years. But we can also cut it for the future.” Rather than having a flat top, it has a dot that resembles the roof of a house, further promoting good habitat.

“With a specific perspective of supporting finches and turtledoves, we can start incorporating more diverse grass and bird seed mixtures into our ground cover. I think the surprising recommendation was to leave the soil exposed.”This is a great example of how a broader understanding of the entire ecosystem can lead to better management.

“We have been working on eliminating exposed soil to provide a better habitat for soil organisms. This is easily achieved in and around the vineyard. This is more difficult to achieve under trees due to the possibility of moisture and fungal disease pressure.

“What I can reiterate is that balancing everything is the most important thing to remember, both in the vineyard and for our own mental health.”

The researchers found that tour satisfaction increases when the soundscape is larger and more diverse, but whether there are any benefits from post-tour sales or whether more satisfied visitors return to the vineyard again. In this sense, the impact on companies was not directly quantified.

This research was supported by the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Norwich Research Park Biosciences PhD Training Partnership, the UKRI Natural Environment Research Council, the University of East Anglia and UK Sustainable Wine. It was carried out in collaboration with the University of Cambridge. scholarship.

Further information: Natalia B. Zielonka et al., Increased diversity of bird calls in vineyards improves visitor tour experience, People and Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1002/Pan3.10721

Provided by University of East Anglia

Citation: Outdoor businesses and venues could benefit from increasing bird song biodiversity (October 3, 2024) https://phys.org/news/2024-10-outdoor Retrieved October 3, 2024 from -businesses-venues-benefit-boosting.html

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