Models for Quantifying the Nature Deficit

Giavanna Gast

Lehigh University

Introduction:

My research project focused on the nature deficit, a theory developed by Richard Louv that

states that the ever-growing gap between people in industrialized societies and nature is causing

negative effects on the physical, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing of people in industrialized

societies (Louv).

My research focused on testing out two models to study the nature deficit from a quantitative

point of view. The models tested were a survey of industrialized society and a comparative analysis of

plant knowledge in indigenous and industrialized countries.

The first model, the general survey, was used to assess a baseline from which straightforward

quantitative analysis of the nature deficit is possible. The second model is referred to as the

knowledge model, and it’s objective was to gain insights on the nature deficit by comparing plant

knowledge in indigenous and industrialized communities.

Justification:

This research project is of importance as it is quantizing a field that has been primarily

referenced in qualitative terms. Quantitative research in ethnobotany is especially important as it

increases scientific rigor and can often lead to new discoveries.

Additionally, the nature deficit is important to me personally as time in nature is necessary

for my mental health.

Methods:

General Survey:

The general survey was administered within the US through a Google Form. This survey was

composed of a series of questions regarding habitual plant interaction in people’s lives and was

completely anonymous. The survey was distributed through social media platforms with an emphasis

on not posting to topic-relevant forums (such as naturalist forums) to decrease bias. The sample size

was 213 informants. Demographic information on the informants from the general survey can be

found in Chart 1 and Chart 2 in the Appendix.

The Knowledge Model:

The methodology used for the knowledge model included the synthesization of plant

knowledge data from prior ethnobotanical research conducted in indigenous communities and

collected free-list data in an industrial community.

It was decided that plant knowledge would be studied in three categories: medicinal, wild

edible plants (WEPs), and other daily life uses. This is because these categories are comparable across

traditional and industrial communities and there is ample literature available.

Data of traditional plant knowledge was synthesized from a total of 37 articles from databases

and ethnobotanical journals. Of the papers sourced, 15 focused on medicinal knowledge, 13 on WEP

knowledge, and 9 on other daily life use knowledge. Articles were sourced from communities around

the world.

The free-listing exercise was administered to a sample of 8 Lehigh student-informants. Before

the exercise was completed, informants were prompted to read the informed consent form and

provide a virtual signature to denote agreement with the clauses stated. Data was not accepted if the

informed consent form was not signed.

Statistical analysis was then performed with the data collected. The statistics used were the

summation of unique plant species (or genera) listed divided by the number of informants in the

study.

= ∑ Unique Plant Species = ∑ Unique Plant Genera

_________________________ And _________________________

Number of Informants Number of Informants

Next, a simple comparative analysis of plant species knowledge between indigenous and

industrialized communities was performed. From the data collected in the industrialized sample, a

comparative analysis was completed between plant species and genera knowledge. The plant genera

knowledge collected in this study was not comparable across indigenous and industrialized

communities and was therefore not included in the results.

Results:

General Survey:

Results from the general survey give insight into the daily people-plant interactions in

industrialized society.

Informants were first asked to rank how much they interact with plants/nature in their daily

lives from one (infrequently) to five (very frequently). The distribution of responses is shown in

Figure 1 below. Next, informants were asked: “If applicable, what are these interactions?”. The most

frequently-listed interactions were caring for houseplants, gardening, hiking, walking, running, and

sitting outside. The responses collected demonstrate that the majority of these interactions are

hobbies or relaxing activities.

The idea of nature being relaxing is further exemplified from the responses to the question

“How would you rate the importance of nature in your daily life?”. Again, respondents were asked to

rank from one (not important) to five (extremely important). While only 23% of informants

responded very frequent daily interactions with nature, 42% of informants responded that nature was

“extremely important” in their daily life. The full distribution of responses to this question is found in

Figure 2.

Again, respondents were asked in open-answer form: “If applicable, what is this importance?”.

In response, many people stated that nature is “relaxing,” “therapeutic,” and alleviates anxiety. Some

quotes from respondents that exemplify this are: “[plants] give me such peace and grounding” &

“plants nourish my mental health.” One of my favorite quotes was one that simply stated, “it’s there.”

This quote exemplifies how even though people may not have extensive interactions with nature in

their daily lives, comfort is found in knowing that nature simply exists.

Figure 1

Frequency of Respondent Interactions with Plants/Nature in Daily Life

Note: Infrequently (1); Very Frequently (5)

Next, informants were asked: “When did you last spend time in nature/take a nature break?”

and “Where did this nature break occur?”. From this, it was found that 81% of respondents had taken

a nature break in the past week and 62% had taken a nature break in the past several days. A full

breakdown of respondent percentages can be found in Figure 3 below.

The physical environment of the nature break was asked to gather a more complete

understanding of the characteristics of people’s time with nature. For example, a walk occurring in a

suburban neighborhood has extremely different biodiversity and people-plant interactions than a

hike through the forest. It was found that 43% of reported nature breaks occurred within a

neighborhood or backyard setting. This is enlightening information on daily life interactions as well

as respondent definition of “nature.” It can be seen that the respondents were not equating “nature”

with “the wild” since plants in neighborhoods are usually planted and well-manicured. This

distinction is of great importance in understanding how people in industrialized societies view

nature, as this conceptualization is a direct reflection of interactions. The full distribution of nature

break settings is found in Figure 4.

Figure 2

Frequency of Responded Importance of Nature in Daily Life

Note: Not Important (1); Extremely Important (5)

Figure 3

Distribution of Time Since Last Nature Break in Respondents

Figure 4

Distribution of the Nature Break Physical Environment

Knowledge Model:

Analysis of plant knowledge data was analyzed in three categories: medicinal, wild edible

plants (WEPs), and other daily life uses. Plant species knowledge in these categories was compared

between traditional and industrial communities. Figures 5, 6, & 7 correspond to this data and are

shown below.

In regards to medicinal plant knowledge, an average knowledge of 1.6 unique species per

person was found. In the industrialized sample, an average knowledge of 1.7 unique species per

person (with an error of 0.2 species per person) was found. This error occurred as a result of

uncertainty in how to count species due to colloquial botanical names. For example, informants listed

thyme and oregano as medicinal plants. This may have been in reference to the genera or the most

used species, which are commonly referred to by the broader genera names.

Within the category of WEPs, the literature indicated an average knowledge of 0.82 species

per person. Within the industrialized sample, there was an average knowledge of 1.875 species per

person.

The category of other daily life uses included plants used for construction, cosmetic, spiritual,

decorative, and other purposes. It was found that in indigenous communities, there was an average

knowledge of 2.23 species per person. In the industrialized sample, there was an average knowledge

of 0.75 species per person.

While species referenced as being used in the daily lives of traditional people had almost

exclusively utilitarian purposes, more than 25% of species listed from the free-list exercise were used

for decorative purposes. This illuminates a fundamental difference in the roles of plants in

indigenous and industrial societies. Further research on this topic specifically may provide a

fascinating and useful analysis of the nature deficit.

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

In addition to a comparative analysis between plant knowledge in indigenous and

industrialized communities, the free-listing exercise provided some unexpected, yet informative data

on the distribution of plant knowledge within the industrialized community.

In the free-listing exercise, an abundance of informants listed a significant amount of plant

genera instead of particular plant species. As such, analysis within the sample was completed between

the listed unique genera and species per person. The results were analyzed by category and are shown

in Figures 8, 9, & 10.

This data indicates that in the industrialized sample, there was more general plant knowledge

than specific plant knowledge. In other words, while there is a general understanding of plants,

specific knowledge and familiarity necessary for effective use may be lacking. This is exemplified by

one informant listing “mushrooms” as a WEP. This shows that while the informant knows some

mushrooms are edible, they lack the specific knowledge of which mushrooms are edible.

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Analysis & Conclusion:

The general survey has many benefits within the realm of the nature deficit. As exemplified

by the results, this survey gives specific information surrounding daily people-plant interactions. This

approach was also successful in serving as a baseline from which areas within the nature deficit could

be explored further. One drawback is that a comparative analysis between levels of industrialization

would be very difficult with this approach. Devising a survey to obtain helpful data on the nature

deficit in both indigenous and industrialized communities would be challenging, if not impossible.

Therefore, if a comparative analysis is wanted, other methods would be preferable. Overall, the

general survey is extremely successful in collecting desired data from a large population in a time and

cost-efficient manner.

While the knowledge model has benefits, the test of the model exemplified that it is

inherently vulnerable to confounding variables. For example, I was particularly worried about the

differences in methodology being used in the ethnobotanical literature. Several times, I decided to

not include an otherwise helpful article because the researcher stated that several local experts were

interviewed in the field of interest. This decision was sensible in the scope of their experiments, but it

leads to a conundrum within the context of assessing plant knowledge as those statistics may not be

representative of the general public. I intentionally worked to decrease bias due to this, but such

analysis is time-intensive and not foolproof. Therefore, to minimize confounding variables, I believe

that research on plant knowledge in indigenous and industrialized communities should be conducted

by the same researcher.

The knowledge model, while having its difficulties, has several redeeming qualities. In

particular, it allows for analysis between communities of all levels of industrialization, from

completely traditional to extremely urban populations. As such, this model has prospects for

understanding changes in plant knowledge with respect to increasing industrialization. Additionally,

this sort of statistic has potential applicability to other topics, making it a very alluring model to be

improved upon.

Ultimately, analysis of the nature deficit from a quantitative perspective is possible using

both the general survey and knowledge model. The methods yield a wide variety of data from which

several aspects of the nature deficit can be explored. In essence, both methods have pros and cons,

with the survey approach seeming to be more direct and time-efficient.

Appendix: Chart 1: Residence/Locality Distribution of Respondents (General Survey)

Chart 2: Age Distribution of Respondents (General Survey)

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