Benefits of Plants: Research on Human Issues in Horticulture 

Selected information from our studies on the effects of plants on people

• A multicultural survey of the influence of childhood environmental experiences on adult sensitivities to urban and community forests The goal of this project, which was funded by the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council, was to determine the relationship between childhood contact with nature and adult attitudes towards urban forests. Two thousand adults in the largest metropolitan areas across the U.S. were surveyed by telephone.  We found that the more interaction that people had with nature as children, the more they valued plants as adults.
  

• Tree canopy colors  - People have strong responses to a range of tree colors, varying in hue and intensity, and respond most positively to green trees.

• Human responses to tree forms - Humans feel better when viewing trees rather than inanimate objects, and the response is magnified when the tree has a spreading form.

• Impact of interior plants on human stress and productivity - Indoor plants help people relax and increase speed on computer tasks involving mental concentration.

• Impact of interior plants on air quality - Indoor plants reduce dust and increase relative humidity.

• Plants and reducing physical discomfort - Indoor plants reduce physical discomfort and do more than just give you something to focus on other than pain.
  

Summary:  People have always known that plants provide us food. This is essential for our survival. Plants also provide fibers for clothing, materials for buildings, and chemicals for medicines. The value of these tangible products can be easily appreciated. What is not so well known is that plants also produce a wide range of intangible effects on people. For example, plants calm us, reduce stress, increase pain tolerance, and speed recovery from illnesses. They also improve mental functioning in children and reduce domestic violence. In short, plants make us better, more civil people.

Virginia Lohr (E-mail Dr. Lohr ) 
Caroline H. Pearson-Mims (E-mail Ms. Pearson-Mims )
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
Washington State University
Pullman, Washington 99164-6414 U.S.A.
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