How the landscape pattern and landscape elements affect the source-based soundscape diversity

Abstract

In urban green space (UGS), diverse acoustic resources are essential for enhancing the public’s well-being, as different sound sources can bring distinct auditory experiences. However, there is a lack of research on the sources-based soundscapes diversity (SSD). In this study, we fill this gap by exploring the characteristics of SSD in different recreational areas of UGSs across three urban gradients in Fuzhou City, China. Additionally, we investigated the relationship between SSD, landscape elements (LEs), and landscape patterns (LPs) at various spatial scales. Our findings identified 53 types of sound sources, predominantly biological sound and anthrophony. The alpha and beta diversity indices effectively characterized SSD in UGSs and captured the differences in three levels of urbanization. Our results showed that urbanization gradients significantly impact soundscape diversity, especially in terms of animal sounds and mechanical sounds. For LEs, we found that trees play a crucial role in enhancing the diversity of animal and recreation sounds, whereas the proportion of buildings negatively correlates with animal sounds. Our analysis between LPs and SSDs revealed a strong correlation between the built environment (mainly roads) and lawn with traffic sound. In contrast, a higher percentage of forest land was associated with more animal sounds and fewer recreational and mechanical sounds. Characterizing urbanization gradients and the factors affecting SSD can be used to guide the development and enhancement of soundscapes in UGS.