How forest biodiversity affects human thermal stress mitigation and other health outcomes

摘要: Although life-expectancies are rising, public health still faces a plethora of risk factors that vary in space and time. Across Europe and many other global regions, significant portions of populations are exposed to hazardous levels of heat and air pollutants, are malnourished and suffer from poor mental health. Urban environments aggravate many of these risks and some, especially heat, will worsen in the near future. To some extent, each of these can be mitigated by promoting different forms of contact with nature. So-called nature-based solutions can include anything from green roofs, flower meadows to (urban) forests, and have important ecological co-benefits. Expanding vegetated areas has been associated to improved mental wellbeing, reduced heat stress and even reduced premature mortality levels at the scale of cities. Whereas technological solutions such as air-conditioning or reflective surfaces address single risk factors, nature-based solutions are particularly compelling because they generate many benefits in parallel. Nature nevertheless presents risks as well, such as serving as sources of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases. Yet, the vast differences among and within vegetation types often remain unaccounted for. For instance, low-stature vegetation such as grasslands offer expansive vistas that are conducive to mental restoration, whereas forests provide immersive environments with high air filtration capacity that shelter people from solar radiation. Within forest ecosystems, we also find large variability. Five decades of research on biodiversity’s impact on ecosystem functioning underscores the pivotal role of fine-tuned …