{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T13:31:15Z","timestamp":1787923875113,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787875200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Rapid urbanisation has exacerbated public mental health burdens, and contact with urban green spaces is widely promoted as a low-cost restorative countermeasure. Yet the mechanistic pathways through which multisensory nature perception confers psychological benefit \u2014 and whether these pathways vary systematically across the human lifespan \u2014 remain poorly characterised. Here we report a quasi-experimental interventional field study conducted along three ecologically stratified walking trails in a large urban park in Fuzhou, China (\n                    <jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f=\u202f360; young adults, 18\u201335\u202fyr.; middle-aged adults, 36\u201359\u202fyr.; older adults, \u226560\u202fyr). Using multi-group structural equation modelling (MG-SEM) restricted to the natural trail subsample (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    =\u202f240), we show that nature trails significantly elevated positive affect (\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001), with visual plant complexity and birdsong emerging as the primary correlates of perceived restorativeness. Crucially, the indirect association linking perceived biodiversity to positive affect via PRS exhibited pronounced age-cohort variations, becoming prominent and highly significant specifically within the older adult cohort: young adults \u03b2\u202f=\u202f0.052 (\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f=\u202f0.138); middle-aged adults \u03b2\u202f=\u202f0.219 (\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f=\u202f0.051); older adults \u03b2\u202f=\u202f0.574 (\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001). These findings suggest that older individuals are more profoundly dependent on high-quality multisensory nature experiences to sustain psychological well-being \u2014 a pattern consistent with the cognitive resource depletion hypothesis of ageing. Our results provide actionable evidence for designing age-inclusive therapeutic landscapes and biodiversity-informed urban green infrastructure.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1907289","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T12:52:49Z","timestamp":1787921569000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Restorative effects of urban biodiversity: a study based on age differences using multigroup structural equation modeling"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Rong","family":"Chen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Art and Design, Fuzhou Technology and Business University","place":["Fuzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pei-ying","family":"Weng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University","place":["Fuzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lvlin","family":"Miao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ningde Urban and Rural Planning Institute","place":["Ningde, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zheng","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Art and Design, Fuzhou Technology and Business University","place":["Fuzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xia","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fujian Rongsheng Construction Development Co., Ltd.","place":["Fuzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"872","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ufug.2015.07.005","article-title":"Are urban visitors\u2019 general preferences for green-spaces similar to their preferences when seeking stress relief?","volume":"14","author":"Arnberger","year":"2015","journal-title":"Urban For. Urban Green."},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1207","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-9280.2008.02225.x","article-title":"The cognitive benefits of interacting with nature","volume":"19","author":"Berman","year":"2008","journal-title":"Psychol. Sci."},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"416","DOI":"10.3390\/d16070416","article-title":"Linking perceived biodiversity and restorative benefits in urban parks through place attachment\u2014a case study in Fuzhou, China","volume":"16","author":"Chen","year":"2024","journal-title":"Diversity"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"57","DOI":"10.1038\/s42949-026-00343-y","article-title":"Growing together: how urban green spaces enhance social participation and alleviate loneliness in older adults","volume":"6","author":"Chen","year":"2026","journal-title":"NPJ Urban Sustain."},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"128746","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ufug.2025.128746","article-title":"Perceived constraints for psychological restoration in nearby greenspaces. An exploratory and multi-dimensional approach","volume":"107","author":"Garc\u00eda-Mart\u00edn","year":"2025","journal-title":"Urban For. Urban Green."},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"129230","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ufug.2025.129230","article-title":"From colorful forest trails to restoration: a moderated mediation model linking actual and perceived biodiversity to mental well-being","volume":"116","author":"Jin","year":"2026","journal-title":"Urban For. Urban Green."},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"169","DOI":"10.1016\/0272-4944(95)90001-2","article-title":"The restorative benefits of nature: toward an integrative framework","volume":"15","author":"Kaplan","year":"1995","journal-title":"J. Environ. Psychol."},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"128286","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ufug.2024.128286","article-title":"Landscape and soundscape quality promote stress recovery in nearby urban nature: a multisensory field experiment","volume":"95","author":"Korpilo","year":"2024","journal-title":"Urban For. Urban Green."},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"128840","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ufug.2025.128840","article-title":"The effects of urban forest trail vegetation characteristics on environmental health factors \u2013 a case study of Fuzhou, China","volume":"108","author":"Liu","year":"2025","journal-title":"Urban For. Urban Green."},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"102322","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jenvp.2024.102322","article-title":"Knowing and experiencing the benefits: factors influencing restoration evoked by nature photographs","volume":"96","author":"Menzel","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Environ. Psychol."},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"127030","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ufug.2021.127030","article-title":"Biodiverse urban forests, happy people: experimental evidence linking perceived biodiversity, restoration, and emotional wellbeing","volume":"59","author":"Nghiem","year":"2021","journal-title":"Urban For. Urban Green."},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"20695","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-022-24637-0","article-title":"Features of urban green spaces associated with positive emotions, mindfulness and relaxation","volume":"12","author":"Olszewska-Guizzo","year":"2022","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101879","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jenvp.2022.101879","article-title":"Comparative study on birdsong and its multi-sensory combinational effects on physio-psychological restoration","volume":"83","author":"Qi","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Environ. Psychol."},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"180","DOI":"10.1002\/pan3.10564","article-title":"The more the merrier? Perceived forest biodiversity promotes short-term mental health and well-being\u2014a multicentre study","volume":"6","author":"Rozario","year":"2024","journal-title":"People Nat."},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"756","DOI":"10.1002\/pan3.10215","article-title":"Urban green space soundscapes and their perceived restorativeness","volume":"3","author":"Uebel","year":"2021","journal-title":"People Nat."},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"201","DOI":"10.1016\/S0272-4944(05)80184-7","article-title":"Stress recovery during exposure to natural and urban environments","volume":"11","author":"Ulrich","year":"1991","journal-title":"J. Environ. Psychol."},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2320","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2018.02320","article-title":"Not all green space is created equal: biodiversity predicts psychological restorative benefits from urban green space","volume":"9","author":"Wood","year":"2018","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"126863","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ufug.2020.126863","article-title":"Restorative effects of virtual natural settings on middle-aged and elderly adults","volume":"56","author":"Yu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Urban For. Urban Green."},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2288","DOI":"10.3390\/land14112288","article-title":"How do sense of place and perceived restorativeness affect psychological benefits from urban green spaces for older adults? A cross-sectional study","volume":"14","author":"Zhang","year":"2025","journal-title":"Land"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Psychology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1907289\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T12:52:49Z","timestamp":1787921569000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1907289\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]]},"references-count":19,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1907289"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1907289","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-1078"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-1078","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]]},"article-number":"1907289"}}