Chapter 6. Forest Therapy Concept Implementation in the Sandy Soil Heath Forest Area for Potential Healthcare Enhancements

$39.50

Nursyafica Nadia Johari¹, Rashidi Othman¹, Qurratu Aini Mat Ali² and Ainaa Eliah Abu Bakar³
¹Herbarium Unit, Department of Landscape Architecture, Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design, IIUM, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
²Intitute of Islam Hadhari, The National University of Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
³International Institute for Halal Research and Training, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Part of the book: Advantages and Disadvantages of Sandy Soils

Abstract

Forest therapy is also referred to as Shinrin-Yoku and is considered natural therapy. It works by providing natural stimuli that trigger relaxation at the physiological level. This form of therapy is used to improve users’ wellness through therapeutic recreational aspects. Heath forest primarily has flat surfaces with sandy soil; added strength is not needed. Individuals can use such landforms for recreational purposes like casual exercise and strolling. Users can move quickly after the implementation of an uncomplicated landform structure. Landform triggers individuals to think of the forest as the eyes perceive the scene. Flat landforms are expected to broaden the vision, and better perceive the natural environment. Forests also provide several health benefits and enhance life quality and well-being. Developing a recreational space comprising sandy soil is expected to improve individuals’ health and well-being. Nevertheless, the forest must be handled sustainably to preserve its natural condition. Soil is critical for all life aspects, including recreation. Soil health is directly associated with healthy water, air, animals, and plants that help humans relish their surroundings and remain healthy.

Keywords: sandy soil, heath forest, forest therapy, elderly, healthcare, Shinrin-Yoku


References


Barton, J., and Pretty, J. (2010). What is the best dose of nature and green exercise for
improving mental health? A multi-study analysis. Environmental Science and
Technology, 44, 3947-3955.
Barton, J., Hine, R., and Pretty, J. (2009). The health benefits of walking in greenspaces of
high natural and heritage value. Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences, 6,
261-278.
Bragg, R., Wood, C., and Pretty, J. (2016). Green Exercise. J. Barton (Ed.). Abingdon, UK:
Routledge.
Chen, K. Y., and Zhong, Y. D. (2010). The feasibility analysis of introducing the
psychological health function to forest tourism. Journal of Central South University
of forestry and Technology, 48-50, 57
de Vries, S. (2010). Nearby nature and human health: looking at mechanisms and their
implications. In: Innovative approaches to researching landscape and health (pp. 77-96).
Gallis, C., Sangster., M., Tellness., G., Sanesi, G., Brien, L. O., Holmbom, B., and Rawden,
K. B. (2013). Forest and human health – recent trends in China, Forest Medicine.
Nova Science Publishers, Inc, Chapter 22.
Gerrard, J. (2014). Fundamentals of soils. Routledge.
Goodrick, D. (2014). Comparative Case Studies, Methodological Briefs: Impact
Evaluation 9, UNICEF Office of Research, Florence.
Hansen, M. M., Jones, R., and Tocchini, K. (2017). Shinrin-yoku (Forest bathing) and
nature therapy: A state-of-the-art review. International Journal of Environmental
Research and Public Health, 14(8).
Hollweck, T. (2015). Case study research design and methods, Robert K. Yin. The
Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, 30(1), 108.
Hussein, M. K., and Nooriza, M. (2007). Wetland landscape conservation and ecotourism
in Malaysia. Pertanika Journal Social Science & Humanities, 5(2), 159-168.
Hussein, M. K. (2014). Recreational Forest Landscape Development: A Strategy for
Managing Forest Resources in Sustainable Manner in Malaysia. Journal of
International Scientific Publications: Ecology and Safety, 8, 31–43.
Hussein, M. K. (2012). Persepsi pihak berkepentingan terhadap pembangunan dan
pengurusan landskap hutan rekreasi di Selangor (Stakeholders’ perception of the
development and management of recreational forest landscape in Selangor),
Malaysia. Unpublished PhD. thesis. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia.
Kuo, F. E., and Taylor, A. F. (2004). A potential treatment for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Evidence from a national study, Am. Journal Public
Health, 94(9), 1580-15686.
Lee, J., Park, B. J., Tsunetsugu, Y., Ohira, T., Kagawa, T., and Miyazaki, Y. (2011). Effect
of forest bathing on physiological and psychological responses in young Japanese
male subjects. Public health, 125(2), 93-100.
Lee, J., Park., B. J., Tsunetsugu, Y., and Miyazaki, Y. (2013). Forest and Human Health –
Recent Trends in Japan., Forest Medicine, Nova Science Publishers, Inc., Chapter 19.
Lawrence, L. S. (2003). Health and nature—new challenges for health promotion. Health
Promotion International, 18(3), 173–175.
Loukaitou-Sideris, A., Brozen, M., and Levy-Storms, L. (2014). Placemaking for an aging
population: Guidelines for senior-friendly parks.
Maas, J., Verheiji, R. A., Gronewegen, P. P., de Vries, S., and Spreeuwenberg, P. (2006).
Green Space, urbanity, and health: how strong is the relation, Journal Epidemiol,
community Health, 60, 587-592.
Malaysia Timber Council (2016). Malaysia: Forest and environment; Facts and Figures.
Ministry of Plantation Industries & Commodities, Malaysia.
Maller, C., Townsend, M., Pryor, A., Brown, P., and St Leger, L. (2006). Healthy nature
healthy people:’contact with nature’as an upstream health promotion intervention for
populations. Health promotion international, 21(1), 45-54.
Meng, M., Yu, Y., and Xue, Q. (2013). Forest and human health – recent trends in China,
Forest Medicine, Nova Science Publishers, Inc., Chapter 21.
Mitchell, R., and Popham, F. (2008). Effect of exposure to natural environment on health
inequalities: an observational population study. The lancet, 372(9650), 1655-1660.
Miyazaki, Y. (2009). Shinrinyoku kara Shinrinigaku he [From forest bathing to bitterness].
In Shinrinigaku II, Ooi, G., Miyazaki, Y., Hirano, H., Eds.; Asakurashoten: Tokyo,
Japan, pp. 23–32. (In Japanese).
Miyazaki, Y., Park, B. J., and Lee, J. (2011). Nature therapy. Designing our future: Local
Perspectives on bioproduction, ecosystems and humanity, 10, 407-412.
Mohamed, I., Othman, F., Ibrahim, A. I., Alaa-Eldin, M. E., and Yunus, R. M. (2015).
Assessment of water quality parameters using multivariate analysis for Klang River
basin, Malaysia. Environmental monitoring and assessment, 187(1), 1-12.
Mohapatra, S. K., and Mohanty, M. N. (2018, September). Analysis of resampling method
for arrhythmia classification using random forest classifier with selected features. In
2018 2nd International Conference on Data Science and Business Analytics (ICDSBA)
(pp. 495-499). IEEE.
Myers, S. (2016). Birds of Borneo. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Ochiai, H., Ikei, H., Song, C., Kobayashi, M., Takamatsu, A., Miura, T., … Miyazaki, Y.
(2015). Physiological and psychological effects of forest therapy on middle-aged
males with high-normal blood pressure. International Journal of Environmental
Research and Public Health, 12(3), 2532–2542.
Othman, R., Daud, W. M. W., Ramya, R., Johari, N. N., and Baharuddin, Z. M. (2019,
November). Study on Heath Forest Species Melaleuca cajuputi as Potential Natural
Herbicides Agent to Suppress Weed Growth in Landscape Management. In IOP
Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 380, No. 1, p. 012015).
IOP Publishing.
Park, B. J., Tsunetsugu, Y., Kasetani, T., Hirano, H., Kagawa, T., Sato, M., and Miyazaki,
Y. (2007). Physiological effects of shinrin-yoku (taking in the atmosphere of the
forest)—using salivary cortisol and cerebral activity as indicators—. Journal of
physiological anthropology, 26(2), 123-128.
Pretty, J., Peacock, J., Hine, R., Sellens, M., South, N., and Griffin, M. (2007). Green
exercise in the UK countryside: Effects on health and psychological well-being, and
implications for policy and planning. Journal of environmental planning and
management, 50(2), 211-231.
Qing Li. (2013). Forest Medicine, Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Rashidi, O., and Ruzaimi, M. R. (2013). Hutan heath Khazanah landskap dan warisan
ekologi Negara [The heath forest is a national landscape and ecological heritage
treasure]. Yamani Angle Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur.
Saw, L. G. (2010). Vegetation of peninsular Malaysia. Flora of Peninsular Malaysia, Serie
II. Seed plants, 1, 21-45.
Shin, W. S. (2013), Forest and human health – recent trends in Korea, Forest Medicine,
Nova Science Publishers, Inc., Chapter 20.
Shin, W. S., Yeoun, P. S., Yoo, R. W., and Shin, C. S. (2010). Forest experience and
psychological health benefits: the state of the art and future prospect in Korea.
Environmental health and preventive medicine, 15(1), 38–47.
Stephankova, R., Bihunova, M., and Kabai, R. (2012). Design principles of public and
recreational areas in the urban environment. QEDU, SUA in Nitra.
Sugiyama, T., Thompson, C. W., and Alves, S. (2009). Associations between neighborhood
open space attributes and quality of life for older people in Britain. Environment and
behavior, 41(1), 3-21.
Syuharni, A. W., Hakeem, K. R., Faridah-Hanum, I., Alias, M. S., and Ozturk, M. (2014).
Ecology of the Coastal Heath Forest flora-A case study from Terengganu, Malaysia.
Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture, 1114-1123.
Takano, T., Nakamura, K., and Wattanabe, M. (2002). Urban residential environments and
senior cetizens longetivity in megacity areas: the importance of walkable green spaces,
Journal Epidomio, Community Health, 56, 913-918.
Tsunetsugu, Y., Park B. J., and Miyazaki, Y. (2013). Physiological effects of visual,
olfactory, auditory, and tactile factors of forest environment, Forest Medicine, Nova
Science Publishers, Inc., Chapter 14.
Walliman, N. (2010). Research methods: The basics. Routledge.
Zhu, B. W., Zhang, J. R., Tzeng, G. H., Huang, S. L., and Xiong, L. (2017). Public open
space development for elderly people by using the DANP-V model to establish
continuous improvement strategies toward a sustainable and healthy aging society.
Sustainability, 9(3), 420.

Category:

Publish with Nova Science Publishers

We publish over 800 titles annually by leading researchers from around the world. Submit a Book Proposal Now!