What Really Works? Testing Augmented and Virtual Reality Messaging in Terrestrial Invasive Species Management...

Area of Science:

• Ecological management and public perception
• Invasive species impact and response
• Human dimensions of natural resource management

Background:

• Natural resource management increasingly incorporates ecological understanding, yet public perception of invasive species management lags.
• Visitor information influences landscape preferences and behavioral intentions, with engaging information theoretically having greater impacts.
• Emerald ash borer (EAB) is an invasive species necessitating forest management strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the effect of increasingly engaging information on park visitor preferences and intentions to return.
• To evaluate the impact of different communication methods (control, photo, AR, VR) on responses to EAB forest management.

Main Methods:

• Park visitors were randomly assigned one of four information treatments regarding EAB forest management.
• Treatments included control (no information), text/photo, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) messaging.
• Visitor preferences for management approaches and intentions to return were assessed.

Main Results:

• Messaging impacted preferences for three of four management approaches.
• VR and AR increased preference for complete harvest over text/photo, but not over no information.
• VR decreased preference for select harvest with natural regeneration; text/photo increased preference for select harvest with planted trees.

Conclusions:

• Advanced communication technologies like VR and AR can influence visitor preferences for forest management strategies.
• Judicious use of VR/AR can optimize resource allocation and ecological services in response to invasive species.
• Further research is recommended across diverse geographic and content areas to refine communication strategies.