Plant landscapes and student health: In-depth impact analysis and strategic design proposal

With the growing prevalence of psychological stress among university students, optimizing campus environments to promote health has become increasingly important. However, existing campus plant landscapes often emphasize spatial function while neglecting health-oriented design. This study quantitatively evaluated how different plant community structures and colors influence students’ physiological and psychological wellbeing. Twenty-seven plots across four universities in Beijing were classified into nine structural types, and both field perception and color vision experiments were conducted to measure blood pressure, heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, and psychological responses. Results showed that multi-layered communities (arbor–shrub–grassland) produced the greatest reductions in systolic and diastolic pressure and heart rate, and the highest increase in blood oxygen saturation compared with single-layer or hardscape sites. Participants also exhibited significantly higher remoteness, coherence and fascination scores, suggesting enhanced environmental restorativeness. Regarding color, white, pink, purple, and blue flowers and green and yellow leaves most effectively reduced physiological stress and promoted positive emotions, while warm hues (red, orange, yellow) alleviated sadness and tension. This study proposes health-oriented campus planting models integrating community structure and color composition. The findings demonstrate that enriching plant community hierarchy and color diversity can effectively enhance students’ physiological relaxation and psychological restoration, offering a scientific basis for restorative campus landscape design.