Testing the BIO-WELL scale in situ: measuring human wellbeing responses to biodiversity within forests

The benefits of nature for human health and wellbeing are well documented. However, nature is not homogenous, and there remains a gap in our understanding of the role biodiversity (the diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems) plays specifically. BIO-WELL, a psychometric scale, asks people to consider themselves in a forest (ex situ), measuring human wellbeing across five domains for 17 biodiversity metric and attribute stem questions. Here, we adapt and validate BIO-WELL for use in situ with 510 participants in British forests during spring and summer. We found good internal consistency, and exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses reaffirmed 1-factor structures for most stem questions (construct validity); variability in model fit statistics for some of the biodiversity stem questions indicates uncertainty in how they were conceived by participants. We found strong concurrent validity, meaning the scale is suitable and reliable for use in situ. Perceived variety of sounds, smells, and colours were positively associated with BIO-WELL scores. People who felt visiting the outdoors was an important of their life also scored higher. Participants reported higher BIO-WELL scores in relation to the diversity of, and interactions between, species in spring compared to summer, which is perhaps attributable to seasonal differences in ecological processes. There was no difference in BIO-WELL scores between people who reported sensory impairments. The scale can be deployed to generate empirical evidence to support policy and practice decision-making for planning and managing natural environments for both biodiversity conservation and human wellbeing.