ArticleAmbio2023
Nature, smells, and human wellbeing.
Article in Ambio, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 60 citations in OpenAlex.
- Restorative Effects of Biophilic Workplace and Nature Exposure during Working Time: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Spending time in a forest vs. a virtual forest simulation: qualitative and quantitative effects on stress perception and psychological wellbeing in a randomized cross-over trial of highly sensitive persons.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Trial
- Forest soundscapes improve mood, restoration and cognition, but not physiological stress or immunity, relative to industrial soundscapes.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Understanding the nature-wellbeing relationship in adults: a qualitative metasynthesis review.Wellbeing, space and society · 2026Review
- An experimental study of the acute effects of visual and olfactory nature stimuli on task performance.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Beyond microbial exposure and colonization: multisensory shaping of the gut microbiome.mSystems · 2025Review
- Spatio-temporal variability in forest biodiversity associated with human well-being across socio-economic deprivation gradients.Nature ecology & evolution · 2025Article
- Ocean for Health: A Transdisciplinary Framework to Accelerate Research on Ocean-Human Health Connections.Environmental science & technology · 2025Review
- Harnessing the therapeutic effects of nature for chronic Pain: A role for immersive virtual reality? A narrative review.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2025Review
- How factors connected to the natural environment shape football fans' eudaimonic and hedonic well-being.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Nature and human well-being: The olfactory pathway.Science advances · 2024Review
- The impact of small-scale green infrastructure on the affective wellbeing associated with urban sites.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Odor Perception and Descriptions of Rose-Scented GeraniumMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Artificial Olfactory Biohybrid System: An Evolving Sense of Smell.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2023Review
- Sensehacking the guest's multisensory hotel experience.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The link between nature and human wellbeing is well established. However, few studies go beyond considering the visual and auditory underpinnings of this relationship, even though engaging with nature is a multisensory experience. While research linking smell to wellbeing exists, it focuses predominantly on smells as a source of nuisance/offence. Smells clearly have a prominent influence, but a significant knowledge gap remains in the nexus of nature, smell, and wellbeing. Here, we examine how smells experienced in woodlands contribute to wellbeing across four seasons. We show that smells are associated with multiple wellbeing domains, both positively and negatively. They are linked to memories, and specific ecological characteristics and processes over space/time. By making the link between the spatiotemporal variability in biodiversity and wellbeing explicit, we unearth a new line of enquiry. Overall, the multisensory experience must be considered by researchers, practitioners, policy-makers and planners looking to improve wellbeing through nature.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.