Outdoor businesses and venues could benefit from boosting biodiversity

The findings from the University of East Anglia suggest that outdoor businesses could improve their customer experience by investing in the biodiversity of their sites.

Sounds are all around and collectively they form 'soundscapes', which play an important role in people's experience of the outside world.

However, unprecedented biodiversity declines are silencing natural soundscapes, while the sounds of ever-increasing urbanisation are becoming dominant.

Together, these changes are decreasing opportunities to engage with nature, which has been linked to poorer mental and physical health.

Lead author Dr Natalia Zielonka, of UEA's School of Biological Sciences, said: "To understand the direct contributions of sounds to our experience of nature, we studied soundscapes in English vineyards and measured their effect on vineyard visitors' experience of tours.

"Agricultural landscapes are frequently associated with declining wildlife populations, and they are under mounting pressure to protect biodiversity. Our study investigated the wider-reaching benefits that conservation initiatives in vineyards could bring.

"To mirror what soundscapes with more birdsong may sound like, we hid speakers in vineyards along tour routes. These played additional birdsong to some tour groups, creating 'enhanced soundscapes' that were louder and more diverse.

"At the end of tours, we collected responses from visitors through a survey to measure their tour experience.

"Vineyard visitors who experienced our enhanced soundscapes reported improved tour experience and showed stronger agreement with statements that the sounds in the vineyard were appealing and made them feel engrossed.

"This resulted in our visitors feeling freer from work, routine and responsibility, and being more relaxed and optimistic during the tours."

The researchers characterised the soundscapes across 21 English vineyards using acoustic indices and related them to bird species' richness and abundance.

They found that higher bird species richness, but not abundance, led to more diverse and louder soundscapes.

At three of the study vineyards that run tours, the team measured visitors' experience of the tour in terms of sound enjoyment, soundscape connectedness and tour satisfaction.

What was fascinating was that visitors to vineyards with louder and more diverse baseline soundscapes (without the hidden speakers playing birdsong), also reported improved experience of tours.

This finding was reinforced by the researchers' experimental soundscape enhancement, when respondents reported hearing significantly more bird species during the tour, and they reported significantly higher scores for enjoyment, connectedness and satisfaction than under ambient conditions.

This effect was stronger in visitors who engaged more in pro-environmental behaviours, such as purchasing organic foods, which could indicate higher levels of nature interests and ability to engage with soundscapes.

Essex vineyard Saffron Grange specialises in growing grapes for quality sparkling wine and was one of those which took part in the research, as it is keen to take a holistic approach to supporting its ecosystem through biodiversity.

Vineyard manager Paul Harrison said: "We all benefit from the soundscape of the vineyard daily and maybe when it is so frequent you don't fully realise how that positively impacts well-being when compared to other work conditions.

"Most of us have come from corporate backgrounds and so are able to appreciate being in nature compared to an open plan office.

"What was surprising is the significant impact that birdsong has on people and then the further impact playing recordings then had.

"It goes to show how important nature is for humanity on so many levels and hopefully a study like this supports more investment and help in retaining as well as improving our natural environments."

Dr Zielonka said: "This demonstrates that soundscapes composed of richer birdsong help us have a mindful experience of nature, which benefits our wellbeing, and it highlights the importance of sounds in nature engagement.

"As biodiversity is under threat and human lives become increasingly urban and disconnected from nature, it is more important than ever to conserve biodiversity and to create new and accessible opportunities to experience nature.

"Our findings demonstrate how delivering bird conservation in vineyards could simultaneously enhance our experience of spending time in nature, elicit positive emotions and benefit our wellbeing."

The study was performed in English vineyards, which like other agricultural systems are encouraged to safeguard biodiversity. The researchers say the findings demonstrate how measures to conserve birds could also enhance vineyard visitors' experience of the vineyards, which they hypothesise could in turn benefit the industry.

Co-author Professor Simon Butler, of UEA's School of Biological Sciences, said the findings could potentially be applied to anywhere that has an outdoor space that customers use and that could be managed to enhance biodiversity.

He said: "Gardens or historic halls, cafes and restaurants with outdoor seating, outdoor markets, national and holiday parks could all potentially benefit.

"Moving away from businesses that are run for money, we'd anticipate that the same principles would apply in settings such as schools, care homes or hospitals -- where we'd expect that enhancing nature and soundscapes would help create a more relaxed and mindful atmosphere."

At Saffron Grange, the team is taking advice from the researchers on simple measures to improve biodiversity.

Mr Harrison said: "We spoke with Natalia at length regarding the findings of her bird survey research and what we can do to further improve our habitats.

"For example, we cut our hedges every three years, but we could also be cutting them to a point so like a house roof rather than a flat top which would promote even better habitat.

"We could start incorporating even more diverse grasses and bird seed mixes into our ground cover with a specific view to supporting finches and turtle doves.

"I think the most surprising recommendation was leaving some exposed soil especially under the vines as this is where birds like to consume insects which is a great example of how having a wider understanding of the entire ecosystem provides for better management.

"We have been working towards having no exposed soil to provide a better habitat for soil life, which is easily achieved in and around the vineyard.

"However, under the vine this is more difficult to achieve due to the humidity you then get which can cause fungal disease pressure.

"What it really reiterates is how having a balance to everything is the most important thing to remember, be it out in the vineyard or for our own mental wellbeing."

While the researchers found increased satisfaction of tours when soundscapes were louder and more diverse, they did not directly quantify the impact on businesses in terms of profit from sales following tours, or whether more satisfied visitors returned to the vineyard again.

The research was conducted in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, with support from the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership, the UKRI Natural Environment Research Council, the University of East Anglia and the Sustainable Wine of Great Britain scholarship.

"Increased bird sound diversity in vineyards enhances visitors' tour experience" is published in People and Nature.