Human sounds and associated tonality disrupting perceived soundscapes in protected natural areas.

ABSTRACT: In protected natural areas (PNAs), at popular scenic spots, visitors often contribute to noise pollution through their behaviour. The decibel-focused monitoring doesn't capture the quality of an acoustic environment, human behaviour and perception. A mixed-methods framework, based on the ISO 12913 series, was tested in four European PNAs to address this gap. During five soundwalks (7-12 km long) organised by the Silenzi in Quota initiative, 443 questionnaires were gathered across 28 evaluation points, alongside corresponding binaural measurements. Acoustic environments as silent as L_Aeq = 31 dB and as loud as L_Aeq = 76 dB were observed, eliciting perceptions from very calm to chaotic. Psychophysical measures (loudness, sharpness, roughness, fluctuation strength and to

SUBMITTER: Oberman T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12328657 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature