Biodiversity and well-being: A systematic review and meta-analytic structural equation modeling analysis

The relationship between biodiversity and human well-being is a critical area of interdisciplinary research, representing a fundamental interlinkage between environment and society. However, existing evidence remains fragmented regarding whether measured biodiversity (i.e., objectively assessed biodiversity attributes; e.g., Shannon diversity index and species richness) and perceived biodiversity (i.e., individuals' subjective perceptions of biodiversity-related features) are differentially associated with well-being, and whether and how perceived restorativeness explains this relationship. We thus conducted a systematic review (pre-registered on the Open Science Framework) and utilized one-stage meta-analytic structural equation modeling to construct integrated models guided by the attention restoration theory, which posits that environments perceived as restorative can help individuals recover from attentional fatigue. Following PRISMA 2020, 102 studies were finally included from Web of Science, Scopus, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure, covering records indexed up to October 2025. Results showed that measured biodiversity was significantly and positively associated with perceived biodiversity, and indirectly with self-reported well-being via perceived biodiversity and perceived restorativeness. In addition, among the different restorativeness dimensions (i.e., being away, extent, fascination, and compatibility), being away and fascination exhibited the most robust mediation roles. Study location did not significantly moderate any path, although a relatively stronger positive effect was observed in Asian samples than in non-Asian populations, suggesting a broadly consistent biodiversity-well-being relationship across geographic regions. Risk of bias was assessed using the study quality assessment tools developed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Findings support integrated policies and practices that jointly promote biodiversity conservation and human well-being.