Rooting plant awareness: development of a tool to explore human-plant relationships

Background Although plants play a crucial role in ecosystems and human well-being, public awareness of their ecological significance remains limited. Furthermore, no validated construct or instrument currently exists to systematically assess plant awareness. Methods This study presents an operationalisation and statistical validation of the plant awareness construct through a newly-developed assessment tool. Using confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) on data from 858 Austrian students across three school types and an expert group (botanists), this study is the first to validate plant awareness as a measurable psychological construct with distinct dimensions. Results Results provide evidence for the proposed construct’s dimensionality and show internal consistency within its dimensions (attention, knowledge, attitudes). Comparing the dimensions, we found that attitudes towards plants were generally positive, knowledge varied depending on educational exposure, and attention tended to be low. Conclusion Both the construct and the assessment tool offer initial insights into the structure of individual relationships with plants. By reliably distinguishing between individuals with varying levels of plant awareness, the tool demonstrates its applicability in research and education. The findings of this study provide a step towards a better understanding of human–plant relationships and pave the way for further research into connections with nature.