Ongoing urban exploitation is increasing pressure to transform urban green spaces, while there is increasing awareness that greenery provides a range of important benefits to city residents. In efforts to help resolve associated problems we have developed a framework for integrated assessments of ecosystem service (ES) benefits and values provided by urban greenery, based on the ecosystem service cascade model. The aim is to provide a method for assessing the contribution to, and valuing, multiple ES provided by urban greenery that can be readily applied in routine planning processes. The framework is unique as it recognizes that an urban greenery comprises several components and functions that can contribute to multiple ecosystem services in one or more ways via different functional traits (e.g. foliage characteristics) for which readily measured indicators have been identified. The framework consists of five steps including compilation of an inventory of indicator; application of effectivity factors to rate indicators' effectiveness; estimation of effects; estimation of benefits for each ES; estimation of the total ES value of the ecosystem. The framework was applied to assess ecosystem services provided by trees, shrubs, herbs, birds, and bees, in green areas spanning an urban gradient in Gothenburg, Sweden. Estimates of perceived values of ecosystem services were obtained from interviews with the public and workshop activities with civil servants. The framework is systematic and transparent at all stages and appears to have potential utility in the existing spatial planning processes.

In this article, we deal with landscape activities in relation to changing landscape identity after a major wildfire in Sweden in 2014. The aim was to investigate the relationships between 22 landscape activities (before the fire) and 2 components (emotion and cognition) of landscape identity (before and after the fire). A total of 656 respondents living nearby the fire area participated in this study. Before the fire, a positive association was found between the activities of enjoying nature and foraging, and both components of landscape identity. This suggests that the more participants enjoyed nature and picked berries and mushrooms, the stronger their attachment to the landscape (emotion), and the more they remembered and reasoned about the landscape (cognition). Post fire, these relationships were found only between the two components of landscape identity and foraging. This implies a significant role of this type of activity for keeping alive' landscape identity.

Our identity is tied to where we are and how we engage with the landscapes in which we find ourselves. But what happens if the landscape which we use for our everyday life is drastically altered by a catastrophic upheaval, for example, when forest fires ravage the landscape? In this paper, interviews with individuals affected by the largest forest fire in modern Swedish history are used to exemplify our conceptualisation of how landscape identity is impacted by dramatic change. We address the phases of stability, change and progression in relation to the case. Finally, we propose that landscape identity can be utilised as a central concept for engaging with the social aspects of the impact of forest fires.

In this paper, we address the relevance of recreational foraging, picking berries and mushrooms, for developing connection to nature and what happens when that practice is interrupted by drastic landscape change. We use the site of the largest forest fire in modern Swedish history as a case to examining the relevance of foraging. In previous studies, positive associations have been observed between the activity of picking berries and mushrooms with landscape-identity prior to forest fires. The results suggest that the more participants enjoyed foraging, the stronger their attachment to the landscape as well as memories and reasoning about the landscape. These relationships remainedafter the area has been drastically altered by fire, implying a significant role of foraging for keeping “alive” the positive feelings and memories of the forest landscape. Through questionnaires and semistructured interviews, we examine why individuals forage, what foraging meant for them before the event and how they relate to the landscape and foraging after the fire. Our findings suggest that these connections are built on an interplay between place, practice and intimate knowledge. We conclude that foraging play an essential role in defining and developing connections to landscape which can act as the basis for stewardship of the landscape. Management implications: • In order to facilitate reconnection to the landscape after a forest fire there is a need to understand how individuals and communities related to the landscape before the fire. • Foraging will always be reliant on issues of access, and specific management regimes. • Cultural values and small-scale activities play an essential role in defining and developing connections to landscape. Connections which can ultimately inform a sense of responsibility and stewardship. • Activities such as foraging are reliant on more than just the affordance provided by the physical and visual character of a landscape.

Ignoring the historic and cultural dimensions of landscapes makes environmental planning unsustainable, which in the long run, will have a negative impact on both the environment and society. This paper examines the work and perceptions of practitioners with a focus on the role of historic and cultural landscape dimensions and their relation to the recent implementation of the ecosystem service framework in sustainable environmental planning. Semi-structured interviews with officials at local and regional planning levels in a Swedish case study showed that the historical landscape forms the basis for environmental work. Respondents expressed an integrated view of the landscape, and historic and cultural landscape dimensions were considered important in the initial planning process. However, several challenges existed later in the planning process and final decision-making, such as conceptual ambiguities, unclear policy and assignments, limited cross-sectorial coordination and lack of awareness, knowledge, resources and other priorities. The results also show that the respondents worked regularly with intangible landscape dimensions, which can be defined as cultural ecosystem services, but they do not label them as such. Furthermore, established knowledge and expertise of heritage planning was not activated in the implementation of the ecosystem service approach. We conclude that historic and cultural landscape dimensions are not ignored in practice, but there is a need to articulate these aspects more clearly in order to achieve sustainable environmental planning. There is also an unexplored opportunity to connect skills and create new forms of cross-sectorial collaboration between heritage planning and the ES approach.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of the landscape’s cultural values in the practical work of biosphere reserves and to identify what opportunities there are to increase awareness and knowledge about these values. The paper draws upon data collected in a Swedish biosphere reserve, including a survey of residents, interviews with public officials involved in cultural heritage management, and an analysis of documents produced by the Biosphere Reserve Association. Residents showed a broad knowledge about the landscape’s cultural values, and they linked immaterial heritage to material objects. The residents’ strong identity and pride in relation to the landscape were confirmed by the officials, who argued that it is the deep layers of history and the cultural diversity of the landscape that make the biosphere reserve attractive. However, concepts related to the landscape’s cultural values were barely touched upon in the documents analysed; the landscape’s cultural values were presented as a background—as an abstract value. The findings reveal several unexplored opportunities and practical implications to increase awareness and knowledge of the landscape’s cultural values. Suggested actions include definition of goals, articulation and use of concepts, inventories of actors, increased collaboration, and use of residents’ knowledge. Cultural values of landscapes are often neglected in the practical work of biosphere reserves, despite the social and cultural dimensions of sustainable development being an important component of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme. This research indicates several ways of bridging this gap between theory and practice.

This paper investigates the role of cultural ecosystem services in heritage planning by examining daily working processes at the municipal and county planning levels. The focus was on the cultural ecosystem service dimensions of cultural heritage, place identity, and aesthetic and existential values. Cultural ecosystem service dimensions are currently inadequately represented in research and application of the ecosystem service concept. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with public officials with formal assignments directly related to heritage planning. The results show that cultural ecosystem services are indeed considered in the planning processes, even though the respondents did not actually use the ecosystem service approach. Despite institutional and methodological constraints, respondents were found to aim for a broad planning approach involving dimensions of the landscape such as historic time depth, human use of the landscape, place identity, landscape views, and a strong integration between culture and nature. Thus, the results indicate a potential for integration of cultural ecosystem service dimensions into the ecosystem service approach by utilizing existing knowledge and practices within heritage planning at the local and regional levels. © 2019, © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Fjällområdet är ett kulturlandskap där människor bott och verkat under tusentals år. Naturen har satt gränsen för människans livsvillkor och möjlighet att överleva. Här har växt- och djurliv slipats och formats och det är bara arter med hög grad av anpassning som överlevt. 

Vi ser fysiska lämningar efter mänskliga aktiviteter, men det finns också minnen, berättelser och kunskap som förs vidare från generation till generation.

Denna skrift är en sammanfattning av resultaten från projektet Fjällandskap: betydelsen av kulturella ekosystemtjänster som har varit ett samarbetsprojekt mellan Göteborgs universitet, Högskolan i Gävle, Länsstyrelsen i Jämtlands län, Fjällmuseet i Funäsdalen och Gaaltije, sydsamiskt kulturcentrum. Projektet är en del av forskningsprogrammet Storslagen fjällmiljö.

Four urban public spaces, representing various designs and microclimates, were investigated in Gothenburg, Sweden, in order to estimate how weather and microclimate affect people in urban outdoor environments. The research strategy was both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary and included scientists from three disciplines: architecture, climatology and psychology. The project is based on common case studies carried out during four seasons, including measurements of meteorological variables, interviews and observations of human activity at each place. Multiple regression analysis of meteorological and behavioural data showed that air temperature, wind speed and clearness index (cloud cover) have a significant influence on people's assessments of the weather, place perceptions and place-related attendance. The results support the arguments in favour of employing climate sensitive planning in future urban design and planning projects, as the physical component of a place can be designed to influence the site-specific microclimate and consequently people's place-related attendance, perceptions and emotions.

This paper focuses on the management of an industrial heritage site in Sweden, which local stakeholders and heritage planners have claimed to be successful. This status of excellence is investigated in relation to the general, county-wide applied heritage planning. The results show that key factors for successful management of the industrial heritage site are not related only to conservation work, but also to personal engagement, sense of responsibility, and well-being among participants. However, heritage planners generally lack methods to address immaterial values and socio-economic benefits of engaging in heritage activities, resulting in a separation between physical and communal aspects of heritage planning. The results highlight the issue of professional legitimacy and the challenges for heritage planners to address regional policy objectives, such as finding ways to utilise historic landscapes in destination-driven strategies and to simultaneously support civil engagement in heritage-related issues. © 2017 Landscape Research Group Ltd

Green space in cities contributes to the quality of life for city dwellers, e.g., by increasing the opportunity for recreation. However, perception of urban green space is influenced by multiple factors. We investigated effects of biodiversity and environment-related attitudes on visual and auditory perceptions of urban green space. Field measurements of biodiversity were conducted in six sites across an urban gradient in Gothenburg, Sweden, and three categories of biodiversity—high, medium, low—were established. Households were sent a survey on aesthetic perception of urban green space, sound perception and the importance of trees and plants for the perception of bird species. Each respondent focused on the site that was located nearby. The environment-related attitudes comprised “Nature-oriented” and “Urban-oriented” persons and were based on participants’ own attitude estimations. It was shown that participants’ “subjective” aesthetic and sound-related perception of urban greenery were in line with the “objectively” measured subdivisions of high, medium and low biodiversity. So also were their estimations of the importance of trees and plants for perception of bird species in urban greenery, although differing only between high and medium/low biodiversity conditions. Persons rating themselves as highly nature-oriented were shown to give higher scores to urban green space aesthetics and to value greenery-related sounds higher, and to attach greater importance to trees and plants in their perception of bird species in urban greenery, than less nature-oriented persons. Highly urban-oriented persons compared to less urban-oriented persons did the same, but only regarding urban greenery-related aesthetics and sounds of nature. We conclude that environment-related attitudes influence perceptions of green space. Moreover, our findings support the idea that biodiversity per se also influences perceptions; people value green space significantly more with high than with low measured biodiversity. Urban planning needs to provide city inhabitants with green spaces that are species-rich, lush, varied and rich with natural sounds.

“Min plats i biosfären” är en skrift som presenterar forskningsresultat om vilken roll kulturmiljön och de kulturella ekosystemtjänsterna kulturarv och platsidentitet har för människors välbefinnande och för hållbar landskapsförvaltning inom Biosfärområde Vänerskärgården med Kinnekulle. Resultaten i skriften baseras på forskningsprojektet “Kulturmiljö och kulturarv som en del av hållbar landskapsförvaltning” och har genomförts av forskare vid Göteborgs universitet och Högskolan i Gävle.

Changes in the landscape affect not only people’s well-being but also how people perceive and use the landscape. An increasing number of policies have highlighted the importance of conserving a landscape’s recreational and aesthetical values. This study develops and evaluates a model that links people’s perceptions of a mountain landscape to physical monitoring data. Using a questionnaire, we revealed how respondents working with the Swedish mountains characterise the Magnificent Mountain landscape (as defined by Swedish policy objectives) and translated these characteristics into data from the National Inventory of Landscapes in Sweden (NILS). We found 14 potential indicators that could be derived from the existing NILS physical monitoring data and which could be used to monitor changes in the landscape values as perceived by people. Based on the results, we suggest how to simultaneously utilise field sampling of physical data and field photos to provide temporal information about landscape perception.

Although stress is an increasing global health problem in cities, urban green spaces can provide health benefits. There is, however, a lack of understanding of the link between physiological mechanisms and qualities of urban green spaces. Here, we compare the effects of visual stimuli (360 degree virtual photos of an urban environment, forest, and park) to the effects of congruent olfactory stimuli (nature and city odours) and auditory stimuli (bird songs and noise) on physiological stress recovery. Participants (N = 154) were pseudo-randomised into participating in one of the three environments and subsequently exposed to stress (operationalised by skin conductance levels). The park and forest, but not the urban area, provided significant stress reduction. High pleasantness ratings of the environment were linked to low physiological stress responses for olfactory and to some extent for auditory, but not for visual stimuli. This result indicates that olfactory stimuli may be better at facilitating stress reduction than visual stimuli. Currently, urban planners prioritise visual stimuli when planning open green spaces, but urban planners should also consider multisensory qualities.

Noise from city traffic is one of the most significant environmental stressors. Natural soundscapes, such as bird songs, have been suggested to potentially mitigate or mask noise. All previous studies on masking noise use self-evaluation data rather than physiological data. In this study, while respondents (n = 117) watched a 360 degrees virtual reality (VR) photograph of a park, they were exposed to different soundscapes and mild electrical shocks. The soundscapesbird song, bird song and traffic noise, and traffic noisewere played during a 10 min recovery period while their skin conductance levels were assessed as a measure of arousal/stress. No significant difference in stress recovery was found between the soundscapes although a tendency for less stress in bird song and more stress in traffic noise was noted. All three soundscapes, however, significantly reduced stress. This result could be attributed to the stress-reducing effect of the visual VR environment, to the noise levels being higher than 47 dBA (a level known to make masking ineffective), or to the respondents finding bird songs stressful. Reduction of stress in cities using masking with natural sounds requires further studies with not only larger samples but also sufficient methods to detect potential sex differences.

Humans are increasingly becoming urbanized. Because a number of bird species readily live in urban areas and birds are relatively easily observed, birds are becoming the largest everyday encounter with wild fauna people will have, globally. Despite, few studies have been made on how visual (or acoustic) bird encounter affects humans. The few existing studies show that birds provide humans with increased self-evaluated well-being when seeing and hearing them. These values provided by birds can be recognized as a cultural ecosystems service. Here we review extant literature to consider why certain species fascinate humans more than others, and some can increase well-being and provide ecosystem services, while others offer disservices through unappealing characteristics. We particularly highlight indications of links between species diversity and well-being. Finally, we discuss possible reasons for variations in our responses to birds and birdsong associated with age, gender, childhood, contact with nature, and the biophilia theory. If interaction with birds truly increases quality of life, then this value should be considered in the planning of sustainable cities. Both conservation and proper management of existing urban green areas are needed to increase possibilities to encounter many bird species. © Springer International Publishing AG 2017.

Most humans now live in cities and their main experience of nature is through urban greenery. An increasing number of studies show the importance of urban green spaces for wellbeing, although most of them are based on visual perception. A questionnaire examining people’s evaluations of natural sounds was answered by 1326 individuals living near one of six urban green areas of varying naturalness in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden. Women and the elderly reported greater calmness when hearing bird song and rustling leaves (and placed a higher importance on the richness of bird species) than did men, younger and middle-aged individuals. Independent of age and gender, urban woodlands (high naturalness) had higher evaluations than parks (low naturalness). Our results suggest that to increase positive experiences of urban green areas, demographic variables of gender and age should be taken into account, and settings that mimic nature should be prioritized in planning.

This study renews the classical concept of subliminal perception (Peirce & Jastrow, 1884) by investigating the impact of subliminal flicker from fluorescent lighting on affect and cognitive performance. It was predicted that low compared to high frequency lighting (latter compared to former emits non-flickering light) would evoke larger changes in affective states and also impair cognitive performance. Subjects reported high rather than low frequency lighting to be more pleasant, which, in turn, enhanced their problem solving performance. This suggests that sensory processing can take place outside of conscious awareness resulting in conscious emotional consequences; indicating a role of affect in subliminal/implicit perception, and that positive affect may facilitate cognitive task performance. 

 The purpose of the present exploratory study was to investigate operations and contents of a naturally occurring reminiscence for physical places in 26 Swedish participants. Using Conway and Pleydell-Pearce's (2000) model of autobiographical memory as a framework, two main questions were examined. First, in what sense are physical places ingredients of our selves-that is, of our self-knowledge-and, if so, how are they and their characteristics organised in the autobiographical knowledge base? Second, what form do personal memories for places take and what kinds of meanings and emotional contents do we bind to this type of reminiscence? The results showed that the Swedish participants' most important places in their lives were mainly childhood- and cottage-related rural types of milieus, and mostly categorised as summarised events; that is, frequently revisited. The personal recollections of the place-related event-specific knowledge were mostly of the generic imagery type, comprising semantic, perceptual, and emotional contents related to the "self'', "others'', and the "environment''. The memories mainly reflected on the participants' growth period and feelings of activation and pleasantness. This was more pronounced in older (M = 59) than in younger (M = 35) participants. All this indicates that physical places can serve as thematic pathways guiding reminiscence and self-knowing consciousness as we recollect details of perceptual, semantic, and emotional characters of periods in our lives.

Knez (1995a) reported two experiments on the indirect, non-visual, psychological effects of the office lighting which varied correlated colour temperature (CCT), colour rendering index (CRI), illuminance and gender ?in a factorial, between-subject, experimental design (Kirk, 1968). The separate analyses of these experiments did not, however, enable a conclusive interpretation of the CRI parameter?s impact on subjects? emotional state. As a follow-up analysis, the present paper synthesised statistically the experiments reported in Knez (1995a) into one experiment. This revealed several new results, showing a combined impact of the CCT, CRI and illuminance parameters on females? and males? positive and negative mood.

Is there a hierarchical order among the hypotheses about functional rules in probabilistic inference tasks, i.e. what is the construction and the procedure of the "hypothesis sampling mechanism" employed by the subjects in this kind of task? According to the hypothesis sampling model initially proposed by Brehmer ( 1974) there should be a hierarchical order among the hypotheses in the subject's hypothesis pools. The procedures of hypothesis sampling and testing ought to follow this strict data independent order (see e.g. Sniezek, 1986; Brehmer, 1987). Knez (199]a,b) showed, however, that this assumption may be incorrect. As a follow up to these results the question regarding the construction of the subject's hypothesis pools was reapproached in the present study. The results indicated a consistency with the hierarchical assumption (Brehmer, 1974) only regarding the relation between the linear and nonlinear rules but not within these types of rules.

The idea that concerns for and emotional reactions to climate change may be due to environment-related egoism and altruism was tested. Participants assessed as “high” on egoism were shown to be more concerned for myself-related issues and afraid of the climate change impact on their local environment, indicating a self-benefit goal motive. Participants assessed as “high” on altruism were those more concerned for issues related to others and nature and more afraid and less hopeful for the whole world, indicating a pro-social goal motive in this group of individuals. This indicates that environment-related value orientations of egoism and altruism may prompt concerns and convey feelings differently about the climate change issue. Accordingly, when encouraging sustainable development, policy and pro-environmental actions, we have to bear in mind people’s world views grounded in environment-related selfishness vs. unselfishness; indicating different goal-directed motives in climate change decision making.

Do value orientations of egoism and altruism affect pro-environmental behaviour? The answer is “yes”, according to the results obtained. Corresponding to the self-benefit goal hypothesis, egoistic individuals (rated “high” on egoism) were shown to perceive having less control; that is, they believed that it was too difficult as well as pointless to do much about environmental issues. They were also less willing to pay higher taxes and prices as well as cut their standard of living for environmental protection. In contrast, and along the lines of empathy-altruism hypothesis, altruistic individuals (rated “high” on altruism) were shown to perceive having more control and showed a greater willingness to make sacrifices. Egoistic compared to altruistic individuals were also shown to be less prepared not to drive their car for environmental reasons. This suggests that a deontic proposition of “we should behave pro-environmentally” is recognized as a moral issue by the altruistic individuals, but not by the egoistic ones. Accordingly, when promoting sustainable policy and “ethical” decision making, it is important to take into account imperatives of egoism and altruism involved in climate-change-related decision making.

The aim of this study was to investigate effects of gender and age in emerging (M = 22 years of age) versus entering (M = 28 years of age) adulthood on participants’ ratings of life goals, self-defining life-goal memories, and goal-related mental time travel, as well as the relations within the goal category (i.e., home, work/education, money, social life, close relationships, health/fitness, and emotions/feelings). Life goals in the present age cohort were predominantly about health/fitness, and the self-defining life-goal memories were mostly about emotions/feelings, close relationships, work/education, and social life containing mostly the phenomenology of emotional intensity and coherence. Age effects on life-goal ratings and goal-related mental time travel showed that life goals and mental monitoring of personal future may vary across the psychosocial maturation periods of emerging and entering adulthood. No effects of gender were obtained, probably due to similar concerns shared by males and females in terms of goals and aspirations in the age cohort assessed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)