Differences in Public Perceptions of Recovery in Different Urban Forests Based on Birdsong

Urban forests are important public recreation sites and play an important function in urban biodiversity conservation. Recent studies have found that urban forests have a beneficial effect on public physiological and psychological health. Birdsong in urban forests has good physiological and psychological recovery benefits and is also the most frequent natural sound. In this paper, a blank group, visual perception, and audiovisual perception were studied by investigating birds in five kinds of urban forests and simulating their birdsong environment. The results showed the following: (1) The visual perception and audiovisual perception of urban forests are restorative to the public’s physiology and psychology. Forests and urban parks with higher natural elements have relatively strong physiological and psychological recovery benefits, and roadside green spaces with higher artificial elements have relatively weak recovery benefits. However, both natural and artificial urban forests can show better recovery. (2) Birdsong perception preference has a mediating effect on the recovery benefit of heart rate and a moderating effect on the recovery benefit of skin conductance, which can affect the recovery benefits of urban forests on public physiology and psychology. (3) Because people’s perceptions of the timbre of birdsong vary, the benefits of birdsong on recovery are not always favorable. The richness and pleasantness of birdsong in the forest environment are significant contributors to the recovery advantages and the likability and comfort of birdsong in the rest of the setting. Based on differences in the composition of birds in different urban forest environments, this study simulated the birdsong environment with birds based on field research and studied the public perception recovery of the urban forest visual environment and the urban forest and birdsong audiovisual environment in order to explore the influence of birdsong on the public health recovery properties of urban forests. This study provides an optimal strategy for the selection and construction of forest healing functions and promotes the development of urban ecosystems and biodiversity.