Quantifying urban park use in the USA at scale: empirical estimates of realised park usage using smartphone location data.

BACKGROUND: A large body of evidence connects access to greenspace with substantial benefits to physical and mental health. In urban settings where access to greenspace can be limited, park access and use have been associated with higher levels of physical activity, improved physical health, and lower levels of markers of mental distress. Despite the potential health benefits of urban parks, little is known about how park usage varies across locations (between or within cities) or over time. METHODS: We estimated park usage among urban residents (identified as residents of urban census tracts) in 498 US cities from 2019 to 2021 from aggregated and anonymised opted-in smartphone location history data. We used descriptive statistics to quantify differences in park usage over time, between cities, and across census tracts within cities, and used generalised linear models to estimate the associations between park usage and census tract level descriptors. FINDINGS: In spring (March 1 to May 31) 2019, 18·9% of urban residents visited a park at least once per week, with average use higher in northwest and southwest USA, and lowest in the southeast. Park usage varied substantially both within and between cities; was unequally distributed across census tract-level markers of race, ethnicity, income, and social vulnerability; and was only moderately correlated with established markers of census tract greenspace. In spring 2019, a doubling of walking time to parks was associated with a 10·1% (95% CI 5·6-14·3) lower average weekly park usage, adjusting for city and social vulnerability index. The median decline in park usage from spring 2019 to spring 2020 was 38·0% (IQR 28·4-46·5), coincident with the onset of physical distancing policies across much of the country. We estimated that the COVID-19-related decline in park usage was more pronounced for those living further from a park and those living in areas of higher social vulnerability. INTERPRETATION: These estimates provide novel insights into the patterns and correlates of park use and could enable new studies of the health benefits of urban greenspace. In addition, the availability of an empirical park usage metric that varies over time could be a useful tool for assessing the effectiveness of policies intended to increase such activities. FUNDING: Google.

Where and how to invest in greenspace for optimal health benefits: a systematic review of greenspace morphology and human health relationships.

Research on the relationship between greenspace morphology and health is a growing field that informs the spatial design of greenspace to enhance health outcomes. This study reviews the current progress, methodologies, and knowledge gaps in this area. From a database search of 272 940 English articles and 39 053 Chinese articles up to April 18, 2024, we identified 22 and 7 studies on the topic for further evaluation. Predominantly cross-sectional and neighbourhood-scale analyses were conducted using land cover maps ranging from 0·25 to 100 meters in resolution. Six primary characteristics of greenspace morphology have been studied, including size, shape, fragmentation, connectedness, aggregation, and diversity. While associations between greenspace morphology and health outcomes have been observed, both their reliability and generalisability remain suggestive due to ecological study designs and heterogeneity among studies. Future research should prioritise individual-level prospective cohorts and intervention studies. Exploring mechanisms linking greenspace morphology and health, determining optimal map resolution, and distinguishing it from greenness magnitude in statistical analysis is essential. This evidence is crucial for health-promoting greenspace planning and should be routinely integrated into urban epidemiological research.

Metagenomics reveals the potential transmission risk of resistomes from urban park environment to human.

Urban parks play a significant role in urban ecosystems and are strongly associated with human health. Nevertheless, the biological contamination of urban parks - opportunistic pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) - has been poorly reported. Here, metagenomic and 16 S rRNA sequencing methods were used to study the distribution and assembly of opportunistic pathogens and ARGs in soil and water from nine parks in Lanzhou city, and further compared them with local human gut microbiomes to investigate the potential transmission risk. Our results revealed that the most important type of drug resistance in urban parks was multidrug resistance, with various resistance mechanisms. Approximately half of ARGs were shared between human gut and park environment, and it was noteworthy that cross-species transmission might exist among some high-risk ARGs, such as mepA and mdtE, with a significant enrichment in human gut. Metagenomic binning uncovered several bacterial genomes carrying adjacent ARGs, MGEs, and virulence genes, indicating a possibility that these genes may jointly transfer among different environments, particularly from park environment to human. Our results provided a reference point for the management of environmental pollutants in urban parks.

Changes in urban green space configuration and connectivity using spatial graph-based metrics in Ardabil developing city, Iran.

Urban planning is essential for managing the diverse impacts of urban green spaces, such as public access, stormwater control, urban life quality, and landscape aesthetics, promoting sustainable urban development and urban residents' well-being by integrating green space considerations into city planning. The aim of this study is to use graph-based metrics to calculate the connectivity of UGS across the main municipal zones of Ardabil city over consecutive periods under different population growth rates. Another objective of this study is to compare the connectivity values of UGS in the four municipal zones and to evaluate changes in the connectivity indices at various distance thresholds of UGS patches. After identifying UGS in different periods, the changes in graph-based connectivity indices at various distance thresholds of UGS patches were analyzed. Additionally, the changes in connectivity indices over different periods and across various municipal zones were compared and analyzed. The findings reveal that UGS areas were larger in the past but have recently had smaller patch sizes. Connectivity between UGS nodes (dNL) decreased at various distances over the study years, showing a declining trend in different connectivity indices. UGS connectivity decreased in municipal zones 1, 2, and 3 but increased in recent years after a decline until 2012 across all four zones of Ardabil city. Zone 4 had the highest UGS connectivity due to newly developed urban areas and well-allocated UGSs. Integrating the ecological impacts of UGS connectivity in urban development and design will enhance trade-offs between conservation, public health, and social equity. New urban areas should allocate sufficient land for UGS and parks, ensuring accessibility to support health and leisure through municipal planning. The study highlights the need for sustainable urban development policies that prioritize the allocation and maintenance of UGSs.

Towards understanding climate change impacts: monitoring the vegetation dynamics of terrestrial national parks in Indonesia.

Monitoring vegetation dynamics in terrestrial national parks (TNPs) is crucial for ensuring sustainable environmental management and mitigating the potential negative impacts of short- and long-term disturbances understanding the effect of climate change within natural and protected areas. This study aims to monitor the vegetation dynamics of TNPs in Indonesia by first categorizing them into the regions of Sumatra, Jawa, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Eastern Indonesia and then applying ready-to-use MODIS EVI time-series imageries (MOD13Q1) taken from 2000 to 2022 on the GEE cloud-computing platform. Specifically, this research investigates the greening and browning fraction trends using Sen's slope, considers seasonality by analyzing the maximum and minimum EVI values, and assesses anomalous years by comparing the annual time series and long-term median EVI value. The findings reveal significantly increasing greening trends in most TNPs, except Danau Sentarum, from 2000 to 2022. The seasonality analysis shows that most TNPs exhibit peak and trough greenness at the end of the rainy and dry seasons, respectively, as the vegetation response to precipitation increases and decreases. Anomalies in seasonality that is affected by climate change was detected in all of the regions. To increase TNPs resilience, suggested measures include active reforestation and implementation of Assisted Natural Regeneration, strengthen the enforcement of fundamental managerial task, and forest fire management.

Ecological space management and control zoning of Giant Panda National Park from the perspective of ecosystem services and land use.

Since China proposed building a national park system in 2017, the establishment of a planning system for nature reserves, with national parks as the main body, is being actively promoted around the country. Among them, scientific ecological space management and control zoning (ESMCZ) is an important link in maintaining the ecological stability of national parks. How to zone national parks and how to improve the precision of zoning has become a new task for national parks. Therefore, this study takes the Giant Panda National Park as the study area, takes ecosystem services and land use/cover change as the research perspective, integrates the InVEST model, PLUS model and bayes belief network (BBN) model, and builds a set of ecological space management and control zoning (ESMCZ) spatial zoning framework based on raster scale, dividing the study area into strictly protected zone, ecological buffer zone, ecological control zone and controlled development zone. The results showed that: (1) The study area showed an increasing trend in water conservation, soil conservation and carbon storage from 2005 to 2020, and the habitat quality index was generally high. The spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem services in the study area was significant, and the effect of a single factor on ecosystem services was most pronounced. (2) Large variation in area for different land uses under natural development scenarios and ecological protection scenarios. In both scenarios, the area of cultivated land, the area of grassland and the area of unused land decrease relative to 2020, and the area of forested land, the area of water and the area of constructed land increase relative to 2020. (3) The Giant Panda National Park is divided into strictly protected zone, ecological buffer zone, ecological control zone and control development zone, of which the strictly protected zone have the largest area and the best ecosystem background condition, and the control development zone have the smallest area and the worst ecosystem background condition. (4) The ecological space management and control zoning (ESMCZ) framework provides a more refined method for the secondary zoning of nature reserves such as the Giant Panda National Park, which is valuable for the implementation of zoning and categorization management for ecological conservation in the Giant Panda National Park.

Environmental factors affecting phenology and distribution of Tentyria species (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) in Doñana National Park (Southern Iberian Peninsula).

This research focuses on the effect of environmental factors on the phenology and distribution of the Tentyria species (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) from Doñana National Park (SW Iberian Peninsula). Data are derived from the results of a project carried out 20 years ago, aimed at inventorying the coleopteran of the park. This information provides a framework for comparison with current or future states since the time elapsed is long enough to detect variations. As the classification of Tentyria species is complex and controversial, the first aspect to be addressed was the taxonomical verification of the species. Indeed, they were T. platyceps Steven., T. subcostata Solier., T. bifida Bujalance, Cárdenas, Ferrer and Gallardo, and T. donanensis Bujalance, Cárdenas, Ferrer and Gallardo. Sampling consisted of 2 years of monthly pitfall trapping, encompassing the surface of the park and adjacent areas. Data on adult seasonal activity and spatial distribution of the species were obtained from the specific abundance in each sampling plot. Phenologically, the 4 species were mainly summer species, with unimodal or bimodal curves depending on the species. The distribution of the species was quite uneven: while T. donanensis was ubiquitous, T. subcostata was restricted to the southern coastal area of the park, and T. platyceps and T. bifida were recorded in the northern half, in marshes or inland forests, respectively. Our results also suggest that extreme temperatures may impose major constraints on the spatial distribution of Tentyria species, which could affect Doñana's biodiversity in the future scenery of thermal rise linked to climate change.

Comparing mapped park and greenspace boundaries in Philadelphia: implications for exposure assessment in health studies.

An important consideration in studies of the relationship between greenspace exposure and health is the use of mapped data to assign geographic exposures to participants. Previous studies have used validated data from municipal park departments to describe the boundaries of public greenspaces. However, this approach assumes that these data accurately describe park boundaries, that formal parks fully capture the park and greenspace exposure of residents, and (for studies that use personal GPS traces to assign participant exposures) that time spent within these boundaries represents time spent in greenspace. These assumptions are tested using a comparison and ground-truthing of four sources of mapped park and greenspace data in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: PAD-US-AR, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, and Open Street Maps. We find several important differences and tradeoffs in these data: the incorporation of highways and building lots within park boundaries, the inclusion or exclusion of formal park spaces (federal, state, and nonprofit), the exclusion of informal parks and greenspaces, and inconsistent boundaries for a linear park. Health researchers may wish to consider these issues when conducting studies using boundary data to assign park exposure.

Health Risk Assessment of Employees Exposed to Chlorination By-products of Recreational Water in Large Amusement Parks in Shanghai.

Objective: Chlorination is often used to disinfect recreational water in large amusement parks; however, the health hazards of chlorination disinfection by-products (DBPs) to occupational populations are unknown. This study aimed to assess the exposure status of chlorinated DBPs in recreational water and the health risks to employees of large amusement parks. Methods: Exposure parameters of employees of three large amusement parks in Shanghai were investigated using a questionnaire. Seven typical chlorinated DBPs in recreational water and spray samples were quantified by gas chromatography, and the health risks to amusement park employees exposed to chlorinated DBPs were evaluated according to the WHO's risk assessment framework. Results: Trichloroacetic acid, dibromochloromethane, bromodichloromethane, and dichloroacetic acid were detected predominantly in recreational water. The carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of the five DBPs did not exceed the risk thresholds. In addition, the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of mixed exposure to DBPs were within the acceptable risk limits. Conclusion: Typical DBPs were widely detected in recreational water collected from three large amusement parks in Shanghai; however, the health risks of DBPs and their mixtures were within acceptable limits.

Preschool children's physical activity in the home, childcare and neighbourhood environment: A latent profile analysis using device-based measures.

Based on the socioecological conceptual model, the physical environment within the home, childcare and neighbourhood domains are key factors that influence preschool children's physical activity; however, the relative importance of each of these domains for preschool children's physical activity is unclear. We explored the physical environment characteristics within three latent profiles of 115 preschool children aged 2-5 years based on where they accumulated moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) across five GPS-derived environmental domains. The three profiles were "Active at home" (n = 41), "Active except close to home" (n = 61), and "Active except in local neighbourhood" (n = 13). Compared to other profiles, "Active at home" had fewer parks and playgrounds within their 500-1600 m neighbourhood. Findings suggest preschool children's MVPA profiles are reflections of their physical environmental opportunities.

A study of spatial distribution and dynamic change in monthly FVC of urban parks.

The study on the spatial distribution and dynamic change in monthly Fractional Vegetation Cover (FVC) of parks provides a scientific basis for vegetation management and optimization in urban parks. This research focuses on two comprehensive parks located in Xinxiang, China-People's Park and Harmony Park, using multi-spectral Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) images as the data source and considering monthly periods. Monthly FVC data was obtained using the method of Dimidiate Pixel Model based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The dynamic changes of monthly FVC at regional scale were described through the dynamic changes in the monthly FVC mean and in the FVC areas at various scales, and the dynamic changes in the monthly FVC were analyzed using the coefficient of variation and curve change trends. Furthermore, the dynamic changes in FVC areas at various scales in the parks were analyzed using standard deviation and curve change trends. Subsequently, the differential method was used to analyze the monthly FVC dynamic changes at pixel scale. The results indicate: (1) In terms of the spatial distribution characteristics in monthly FVC of urban parks, both parks exhibit the highest ratio of bare area in January and February. The proportions of FVC for People's Park are 59.17% and 64.46%, while for Harmony Park they are 69.10% and 51.92%, showing the most distinct spatial distribution characteristics. The high and very high coverage areas in each month are mainly distributed on the outskirts of the park, while the medium, medium-low, and low coverage areas are mainly located in the central and middle parts of the park. The overall FVC of the park shows a trend of high coverage on the periphery and low coverage in the center. (2) In the spatial-temporal dynamic change in FVC at regional scale, the average monthly FVC changes exhibit an overall "∩" -shaped pattern. The peak and minimum FVC values for different parks occur at different times. The peak FVC for People's Park appears in August, while for Harmony Park it appears in June, with corresponding FVC values of 0.46 and 0.50, respectively. The minimum FVC for People's Park occurs in February, and for Harmony Park it occurs in January, with FVC values of 0.17 and 0.15, respectively. Among the dynamic change in FVC areas at various scales, the areas of bare and highest-coverage exhibit the greatest fluctuations, with the ascending and descending changes and rates of bare and highest-coverage areas generally showing opposite trends. (3) In terms of the spatial-temporal dynamic changes in FVC at pixel scale in urban parks, overall, FVC shows moderate improvement from February-August, and moderate degradation from January-February and from August-December. The degradation and improvement are primarily slight. The most significant improvement in monthly FVC occurs in March-April, with a predominant type of significant improvement in FVC changes. People's Park and Harmony Park show the most significant degradation in FVC during September-October and October-November, respectively, with a predominant type of significant degradation in FVC changes. During the periods of most significant improvement and degradation in monthly FVC, the spatial distribution of significant improvement and degradation areas primarily occurs in the periphery and middle parts of the parks. FVC in urban parks decreases from January to February and from August to December, while it increases from February to August, with relatively good conditions from June to August. Vegetation optimization should consider: balancing recreational and ecological functions overall, controlling the proportion of bare land, and enhancing the canopy structure of vegetation in low coverage areas or the coverage of hard surfaces; locally increasing the proportion of evergreen plants and moderately increasing planting density. In addition, parks should strengthen management to reduce the impact of flooding and maintain the health of vegetation.

Nature-based solutions: Assessing the carbon sink potential and influencing factors of urban park plant communities in the temperate monsoon climate zone.

As nature-based solutions, urban park plant communities play a pivotal role in regulating urban carbon cycles, alleviating global climate change, and fostering sustainable urban development. However, the factors influencing the carbon sink efficiency of plant communities in urban parks within temperate monsoon climate zones have not been fully investigated. This study used multivariate heterogeneous data to evaluate plant communities' carbon storage (CS) and annual carbon sequestration (ACS) in 25 urban parks across different biotope types in Jinan, a city located in China's temperate monsoon climate zone. The driving mechanisms affecting carbon sink efficacy were revealed using Spearman correlation, regression, principal component analyses, and structural equation modeling. Results demonstrated that: 1) Closed broadleaf multi-layer green space has significant carbon sink potential compared to other vegetation structures. 2) The carbon sink efficiency of the plant communities negatively correlated with the sky view factor and planting layout density. Three-dimensional green quantity (3DGQ), the ratio of trees and shrubs, species richness, and vertical structures positively correlated with plant communities' carbon storage and sequestration. 3) Whether increasing 3DGQ, the ratio of trees and shrubs, or the total number of individuals of all species, there is a certain threshold bottleneck in enhancing the carbon sink benefits of plant communities. 4) Plant community structure, species composition, and species diversity influenced carbon sink efficiency, collectively forming the first principal component. The 3DGQ affected carbon sink efficiency as the second principal component. Synergistic effects existed among these driving factors, jointly explained 64.3 % and 90.1 % of the CS and ACS of plant communities, respectively. Optimization design strategies for different plant communities in urban parks were proposed.

The role of playgrounds in promoting children's health - a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Active outdoor play is important for children's health and development, and playgrounds provide good places for play. However, the importance of playground use for health and well-being is unclear. Our scoping review aims to create an overview of all research on playground use and health benefits for children. METHODS: Scopus, Web of Science, SportDiscus, and PsycInfo were searched using two search blocks, focusing on 'playground' and 'children' respectively, for publications from 2000 to November 2023. The primary inclusion criterion was examining the relationship between playground use and positive physical, mental, or social health outcomes. Only papers published in English were reviewed. For each publication, we synthesized and condensed the results, categorizing them by playground setting, reported health outcome, participant age group, study design, methodologies, publication's country, year, and 'stage of evidence'. RESULTS: Data from 247 studies were extracted and nearly 80% of these publications were descriptive or exploratory studies. Fifty-two were intervention studies. Adding playground markings to schoolyards led to increased physical activity. Greening schoolyards had mainly positive effects on social and mental health. In Early Childhood Education and Care, renewing play structures had a positive effect on physical activity in three publications. All Public Open Space interventions we found were different, with mixed effects on health outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The existing evidence provides good arguments for policy makers, city planners and school-leaders to invest in adding playground markings in schoolyards as this will likely result in more physical activity. The evidence for the health benefits of investing in new play structures indicated that tailoring the playground to local needs is important as 'one size does not fit all' and playgrounds need to be designed as engaging and interesting places for children's play if they are to generate health benefits. Investing in 'greening' playgrounds is likely to result in social and mental health benefits for children, but does not always result in more physical activity. The research field needs more efficacy and effectiveness studies, and in particular replication and scale-up studies to demonstrate which type of playground interventions are successful. PROTOCOL: The review protocol was registered at Open Science Framework ( https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/UYN2V ).

Private management of African protected areas improves wildlife and tourism outcomes but with security concerns in conflict regions.

Protected areas can conserve wildlife and benefit people when managed effectively. African governments increasingly delegate the management of protected areas to private, nongovernmental organizations, hoping that private organizations' significant resources and technical capacities actualize protected areas' potential. Does private sector management improve outcomes compared to a counterfactual of government management? We leverage the transfer of management authority from governments to African Parks (AP)-the largest private manager of protected areas in Africa-to show that private management significantly improves wildlife outcomes via reduced elephant poaching and increased bird abundances. Our results also suggest that AP's management augments tourism, while the effect on rural wealth is inconclusive. However, AP's management increases the risk of armed groups targeting civilians, which could be an unintended outcome of AP's improved monitoring and enforcement systems. These findings reveal an intricate interplay between conservation, economic development, and security under privately managed protected areas in Africa.

Effects of different natural soundscapes on human psychophysiology in national forest park.

Most of the current soundscape research content is limited to the discussion of the restoration effect of single-element soundscapes, but it is the combination of sounds that is common in outdoor activities, and there is no evidence that the restoration of natural soundscapes is better with multi-element combinations. In this study, the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in China was used as the research object, and the physiological indices of the subjects were collected through electroencephalogram signals, and the POMS short-form psychological scale was used to understand the subjective psychological responses of the subjects to the soundscape. The results showed that (1) The psychophysiological restorative ability of the natural soundscape of the National Forest Park was confirmed, and the subjects' psychological and physiological indices changed significantly and positively after listening to each section of the natural soundscape (p = 0.001). (2) The restorative effect of the multi-natural sound combination was ranked first in the overall ranking of the five natural soundscapes, and the multi-natural sound combination did indeed provide better restorative effects than the single-element sounds. (3) Gender does not usually have a significant effect on the restoration effect, and only Windy Sound among the four single-element nature sound landscapes and one multi-element combination of nature sound landscapes showed a significant gender difference, so in general, the effect of gender on the restoration effect of nature sound landscapes is not significant. In terms of research methodology, this study used cluster analysis to cluster the five types of natural soundscapes according to psychological and physiological recovery ability, and used ridge regression to construct mathematical models of the psychological and physiological recovery of each of the four natural soundscapes. The study of human physiological and psychological recovery from different types of natural soundscapes in China's national forest parks will provide a basis for soundscape planning, design, and policy formulation in national forest parks.

Public safety considerations constraint the conservation of large old trees and their crucial ecological heritage in urban green spaces.

Large old trees in urban public green spaces deliver a diversity of values essential for human well-being, including biodiversity conservation. Yet, the conservation of large old trees bearing key wildlife microhabitats interferes with safety considerations. This intuitive notion, however, is backed by an insufficient and scattered body of evidence. Here, we empirically examined this process using data on 5974 trees across 510 sample plots, organized as quintuplets within 102 sample sites, including urban parks, cemeteries, recreational forests, and historic reserves in the urban agglomeration of Kraków, Poland. Our analyses demonstrate that trees situated in areas frequently visited by people, or those near walking paths, benches, or playgrounds, have elevated accident hazards and, therefore, necessitate intensive tree surgeries (pruning and logging) to remain harmless. Large old trees, which bear the most diverse microhabitats and pose greater risks when they collapse, are especially affected by these measures. Accordingly, we found that the co-occurrence of large trees with elevated accident hazards results in significant losses of dead and sloped trees, and trees with cavities, injuries, crown deadwood, fungal fruiting bodies, or epiphytes, particularly in parks and, to a lesser extent, in recreational forests. Apparently, some tree-related microhabitats, such as injuries, cavities, and microsoils, also emerge in risky spots after pruning. Our findings underscore that the conservation of large old trees and their ecological functions faces significant challenges due to safety considerations. To address conservation challenges and harmonize human coexistence with biodiversity, we recommend enhancing environmental awareness and reevaluating arboricultural and planning policies. This would involve establishing strategic and pocket reserves on city peripheries and interiors, allowing larger older trees to thrive and develop important microhabitats without compromising public safety. Otherwise, we risk losing many large old trees and/or their superior value for wildlife, which will regenerate over decades, if not centuries.

Ecosystem Services Approach in Turnicki National Park Planning: Factors Influencing the Inhabitants' Perspectives on Local Natural Resources and Protected Areas.

Despite changing paradigms in nature conservation, protected areas, such as national parks, remain key tools for nature conservation. Today, protected areas are perceived as socio-ecological systems, therefore using an ecosystem services approach may help in their designation. Here, we focus on the planned Turnicki National Park located in the far eastern part of the Polish Carpathian Mountains and conflict between proponents of the park establishment and local stakeholders. We used an ecosystem services-driven questionnaire survey among local communities to analyze interactions between the perception of ecosystem services and opinions about national parks, and the role of social and economic status in shaping these opinions. We found links between opinions towards national parks and other factors: age, life span in a municipality, level of education, and an average net income. Respondents who perceived benefits from nature were more positive towards national parks in general and the Turnicki National Park specifically; however, those who prioritized provisioning services were more skeptical. Also, we distinguished four Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis models which describe factors shaping opinions on national parks, respectively. The study has shown that the ecosystem services lens perspective can help in exploring the factors crucial while establishing the protected areas in specific social and economic context. The main implication for the study is careful consideration of the role of national park to protect the local environment in harmony with social needs and economic development.

Diet and seed dispersal of bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) in Brasilia National Park.

The dietary ecology of a species can provide information on habitat requirements, food resources, and trophic interactions, important to guide conservation efforts of wildlife populations in endangered habitats. In this study, we investigated the dietary ecology of bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) in Brasilia National Park, in the endangered Cerrado biome of central Brazil. To obtain diet composition and evaluate the role of these primates as seed dispersers of local tree species, fecal sample collections and feeding observations were performed for a 7-month period. To determine whether seeds germinated better after passing through a primate gut, we conducted germination trials with (i) pulped seeds from trees, (ii) depulped seeds from trees, (iii) seeds from feces planted with feces, and (iv) seeds from feces planted without feces. During experimental procedures, 7308 seeds from 8 families and 10 species were planted. We found that S. libidinosus spent more time feeding on fruits than on any other food item and the diet consisted of 33 plant species from 21 families. However, 20% of their diet consisted of anthropic food. Most seeds planted with feces germinated faster compared to seeds in other experimental treatments, suggesting that passing through the gut and being deposited with fecal material is advantageous. The bearded capuchins also defecated many medium- (5 species) and large-sized (2 species) seeds that may be inaccessible to smaller arboreal frugivores. The results obtained emphasize the important role of bearded capuchins as seed dispersers for the maintenance and conservation of the endangered Cerrado biome.

Residual distribution and risk assessment of neonicotinoids in urban green space soils of the pearl river delta, South China: A socioeconomic analysis.

Urban green spaces are the soil component in cities that interacts most closely with humans. This study investigated the residues of seven neonicotinoids (NEOs) in soils from urban green spaces within the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region and analyzed the correlation between the residue characteristics and the region's economic development. Notably, we introduced the Nemerow Index method, a comprehensive approach, to quantify the overall pollution level of NEOs in the soil of urban park green spaces and utilized this to assess the cumulative exposure probability risks for different populations in this scenario. We found that: (1) The soil of urban park green spaces exhibited varying degrees of NEOs contamination (Σ7NEOs: N.D.-137.31; 6.25 µg/kg), with imidacloprid and clothianidin constituting the highest proportions (89.46 % and 83.60 %); (2) The residual levels of NEOs in Children's Park were significantly higher than those in community parks within Guangzhou, with an average value of 13.30 µg/kg compared to 3.30 µg/kg; (3) The residual characteristics of NEOs exhibited a positive correlation with regional economic development; specifically, the per capita GDP well correlated with IMIRPF, a summation of seven NEOs in imidacloprid equivalents via relative potency factors (R2 =0.86). Regions with higher economic development typically exhibited elevated IMIRPF levels; (4) The fitted cumulative probability distributions for average daily exposure doses revealed that children's exposure was an order of magnitude higher than adults'. Despite this, the exposure risks for both groups remained within acceptable limits.

Who Benefits? A Mixed Methods Study Assessing Community Use of a Major Metropolitan Park During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

By providing spaces for recreation, physical activity, social gatherings, and time in nature, urban parks offer physical, mental, and social benefits to users. However, many urban residents face barriers to park use. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced new potential barriers to urban park access and use, including changes to daily life and employment, closure of park amenities and restrictions to public movement, and risk from the coronavirus itself. The mixed-methods PARCS study measured use and perceptions of a large urban park in St. Louis, Missouri before, during, and after local COVID-19 contingency measures and restrictions. We examine data from 1,157 direct observation assessments of park usership, an online survey of park users (n=561), interviews with key stakeholders (n=27), four focus groups (n=30), and a community-based participatory research sub-study (n=66) to comprehensively characterize the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on park use. Park users who felt unsafe from the coronavirus experienced 2.65 higher odds of reducing park use. However, estimated park visits during COVID-19 contingency measures (n=5,023,759) were twice as high as post-contingency (n=2,277,496). Participants reported using the park for physical activity, recreation, time in nature, and socializing during the contingency period. Black, Hispanic/Latino, and young people were less likely to visit the park than others, suggesting an additional, disproportionate impact of the pandemic on minoritized and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. This study highlights the role of public spaces like parks as resources for health and sites where urban health inequities can be alleviated in times of public crisis.