When nature sounds like home: Mental wellbeing effects of acoustic diversity differ for local and non-local forest soundscapes

Biodiversity can foster mental well-being. Little is known, however, about mental well-being effects of acoustic diversity, and relationships between soundscapes and a person's sense of place. To test this, we conducted an experimental study with 195 students residing in Germany, who listened to two forest soundscapes with low or high vocalising animal richness (actual acoustic diversity). As a manipulation of a sense of place, recordings were either from local, temperate forests or non-local tropical forests. Although actual acoustic diversity was correlated with perceived animal richness and overall acoustic complexity, well-being responses diverged. Higher objective animal richness elicited greater awe when recordings came from familiar temperate forests. In contrast, perceived animal richness was associated with more favourable affect—higher affect balance and reduced negative emotion — and greater subjective attention. Conversely, perceived overall acoustic diversity was negatively associated with affect balance and positive emotion, suggesting that complexity that is not interpreted as wildlife richness may impede comfort. Recordings from local (temperate) forests were more familiar and pleasant to participants compared to non-local (tropical) forest recordings. Listening to local forest soundscapes further resulted in greater feelings of awe, and they were perceived as more restorative. Overall, forest soundscapes with higher animal species richness were associated with greater mental well-being. Participants also showed greater well-being responses for local soundscapes probably through feeling more attached to familiar environments. These findings indicate that acoustic diversity is not uniformly beneficial as its effects depend on interpretation and environmental familiarity. We highlight the need to consider place-based meaning and perceptual framing when assessing the psychological benefits of natural soundscapes. We recommend managing forests to provide sufficient niches for a variety of vocalising animal species. Conservation of local species communities may thereby foster both biodiversity and human mental health. • Local forest soundscapes elicit greater mental wellbeing effects compared to non-local forest soundscapes. • Well-being effects differ for actual and perceived acoustic diversity. • Greater animal species richness is associated with more feelings of awe for those participants who listened to local forest soundscapes. • Perceived animal species richness increased mental well-being. • Perceived overall acoustic diversity, including perceptions of other sounds, decreased mental wellbeing.