Perceived restorativeness of urban green spaces in southern China during summer

Although urban green spaces have been proven to benefit human physical and mental health, the impact of people's perceptions of biodiversity on these health benefits remains to be studied. This study measured physiological and psychological differences among 44 participants to assess the biophilic recovery benefits of two park sample sites in Foshan City. The effects of spatial features on recovery were analyzed using the perceptual restorability scale and physiological measures, including heart rate variability and electrodermal activity. In addition, eye-tracking methodology was employed to explore the impact of environmental components on biophilic recovery. The following findings were observed in this study. (1) Results from both physiological and psychological studies confirmed that natural landscapes of virtual urban parks activate the parasympathetic nervous system. (2) In urban parks, the addition of auditory stimuli could yield better restorative effects than visual stimuli alone. (3) Among the four sound combinations, bird songs in summer green spaces had a more arousing effect than cicada sounds, while cicada sounds had a better effect on heart rate relaxation than bird songs. In contrast, traffic noise could diminish restorative potential. (4) Using eye-tracking technology, this study analyzed differences in environmental features. Natural landscapes, such as forests, attracted more attention from participants when they were exposed to natural bio-sounds, such as cicadas and birds. However, the introduction of noise sound made artificial landscapes, such as squares, more attention-grabbing. In conclusion, multisensory biodiversity perception based on the audiovisual senses has specific restorative effects on the physiological and psychological dimensions of people in urban green spaces in southern China during the summer. In the future, biophilic design combining virtual reality and environmental interactions with multisensory spatial characteristics will enhance the nature-restorative benefits of urban green spaces.