While Experiencing a Forest Trail, Variation in Landscape Is Just as Important as Content: A Virtual Reality Experiment of Cross-Country Skiing in Estonia
It has long been understood that diversity is a key aspect of what makes a landscape attractive but to what degree of diversity and how is it experienced? Many forest landscapes are generally monotonous in character or are broken up by forest management activities such as clear cutting, which may ne...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Land |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/2/422 |
| _version_ | 1797619877457952768 |
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| author | Peeter Vassiljev Simon Bell |
| author_facet | Peeter Vassiljev Simon Bell |
| author_sort | Peeter Vassiljev |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It has long been understood that diversity is a key aspect of what makes a landscape attractive but to what degree of diversity and how is it experienced? Many forest landscapes are generally monotonous in character or are broken up by forest management activities such as clear cutting, which may negatively impact their potential for recreation and psychological well-being benefits. We conducted a virtual reality experiment where people were taken on a trip along a simulated cross country skiing track in an Estonian forest. Participants followed a route at simulated speeds typical of cross-country skiing. The route was long enough to experience several minutes passing through one type of forest landscape with a series of small variations in character followed by several minutes passing through a notably different forest landscape. The restorative experience obtained by the visit was measured periodically in each version of the landscape. Univariate general linear modelling analysis was statistically significant (<i>r</i><sup>2</sup> = 0.651, <i>F</i>(198, 965) = 9.108, <i>p</i> < 0.001) and showed that while respondents preferred less-dense forest in general (<i>B</i> = 0.189, <i>p</i> = 0.001)—an expected result—a comparable amount of positive restorative response could also be attributed to prominent changes in forest character, regardless of the type of forest (<i>B</i> = 0.401, <i>p</i> < 0.001). We hypothesise that respondents were reacting favourably to sudden changes in forest appearance after prolonged exposure to one forest type—that diversity is important in maintaining interest, reducing boredom, and in providing a restorative experience. The implications are, firstly, that a virtual experience can detect restorative effects and, secondly, that recreational trails should be designed to pass through varied landscapes offering continually changing diverse experiences—the impact of which can be tested in the virtual setting because there is control of all variables. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:33:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0fc4a86009634430b14a19854ec834a1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:33:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-0fc4a86009634430b14a19854ec834a12023-11-16T21:37:08ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2023-02-0112242210.3390/land12020422While Experiencing a Forest Trail, Variation in Landscape Is Just as Important as Content: A Virtual Reality Experiment of Cross-Country Skiing in EstoniaPeeter Vassiljev0Simon Bell1Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 1, 51006 Tartu, EstoniaInstitute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 1, 51006 Tartu, EstoniaIt has long been understood that diversity is a key aspect of what makes a landscape attractive but to what degree of diversity and how is it experienced? Many forest landscapes are generally monotonous in character or are broken up by forest management activities such as clear cutting, which may negatively impact their potential for recreation and psychological well-being benefits. We conducted a virtual reality experiment where people were taken on a trip along a simulated cross country skiing track in an Estonian forest. Participants followed a route at simulated speeds typical of cross-country skiing. The route was long enough to experience several minutes passing through one type of forest landscape with a series of small variations in character followed by several minutes passing through a notably different forest landscape. The restorative experience obtained by the visit was measured periodically in each version of the landscape. Univariate general linear modelling analysis was statistically significant (<i>r</i><sup>2</sup> = 0.651, <i>F</i>(198, 965) = 9.108, <i>p</i> < 0.001) and showed that while respondents preferred less-dense forest in general (<i>B</i> = 0.189, <i>p</i> = 0.001)—an expected result—a comparable amount of positive restorative response could also be attributed to prominent changes in forest character, regardless of the type of forest (<i>B</i> = 0.401, <i>p</i> < 0.001). We hypothesise that respondents were reacting favourably to sudden changes in forest appearance after prolonged exposure to one forest type—that diversity is important in maintaining interest, reducing boredom, and in providing a restorative experience. The implications are, firstly, that a virtual experience can detect restorative effects and, secondly, that recreational trails should be designed to pass through varied landscapes offering continually changing diverse experiences—the impact of which can be tested in the virtual setting because there is control of all variables.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/2/422landscape perceptionrestorative experiencelandscape simulationlocomotionvariation |
| spellingShingle | Peeter Vassiljev Simon Bell While Experiencing a Forest Trail, Variation in Landscape Is Just as Important as Content: A Virtual Reality Experiment of Cross-Country Skiing in Estonia Land landscape perception restorative experience landscape simulation locomotion variation |
| title | While Experiencing a Forest Trail, Variation in Landscape Is Just as Important as Content: A Virtual Reality Experiment of Cross-Country Skiing in Estonia |
| title_full | While Experiencing a Forest Trail, Variation in Landscape Is Just as Important as Content: A Virtual Reality Experiment of Cross-Country Skiing in Estonia |
| title_fullStr | While Experiencing a Forest Trail, Variation in Landscape Is Just as Important as Content: A Virtual Reality Experiment of Cross-Country Skiing in Estonia |
| title_full_unstemmed | While Experiencing a Forest Trail, Variation in Landscape Is Just as Important as Content: A Virtual Reality Experiment of Cross-Country Skiing in Estonia |
| title_short | While Experiencing a Forest Trail, Variation in Landscape Is Just as Important as Content: A Virtual Reality Experiment of Cross-Country Skiing in Estonia |
| title_sort | while experiencing a forest trail variation in landscape is just as important as content a virtual reality experiment of cross country skiing in estonia |
| topic | landscape perception restorative experience landscape simulation locomotion variation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/2/422 |
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