Diverse biotic components in urban green spaces not only provide fundamental conditions for environmental adaptation but also confer substantial benefits to human health. However, few studies have explored the health benefits of biodiversity in pocket parks—a specific type of urban green space—from the perspective of audio–visual interaction. This study adopted plant diversity (high, medium, and low) as the visual independent variable and bird diversity (high and low) as the auditory independent variable within the biodiversity framework, and constructed six virtual biodiversity scenarios in pocket parks. A total of 60 participants were recruited, and each participant was randomly assigned to experience two distinct biodiversity scenarios. Heart rate variability and psychological scales, including the Profile of Mood States, Perceived Restorativeness Scale, and Perceived Biodiversity Scale, were measured to examine the restorative effects of different types and levels of biodiversity in pocket parks. The results indicate that: 1) rich plant and bird diversity exerts significant positive effects on human health; 2) the combined perception of high plant diversity and high bird diversity produces the strongest restorative benefits; 3) perceived plant diversity as the primary mediating pathway in the impact of biodiversity on mental health; and 4) individuals with higher nature connectedness gain greater restorative benefits in environments with higher biodiversity. Therefore, in the optimal design of pocket parks, improvements should be made to enhance plant and bird diversity, create suitable habitats, implement soundscape compensation, and adopt differentiated intervention strategies to leverage the health promoting effects of green spaces. The study provides a reference for enhancing plant and bird diversity in pocket parks and contribute significantly to improving the health promoting capacity of urban green spaces.
Sun et al. (Thu,) studied this question.