Human perception of soundscapes in protected natural areas like national parks is crucial for their protection. At popular scenic spots, visitors themselves often contribute to noise pollution. Decibel-based systems (such as LAeq or Lden) do not fully explain human reactions to this phenomenon, necessitating a more holistic approach to allow for an effective management strategy. A mixed-methods soundscape approach based on the ISO 12913 series, developed mostly in urban soundscape studies, was tested in four protected natural ex-urban areas in the Dolomites (Italy) and Cairngorms (United Kingdom). During five soundwalks (7-12 km long), conducted by adopting the Method A of ISO/TS 12913-2, a total of 443 questionnaire responses were gathered across 28 evaluation points, alongside corresponding binaural measurements. A range of acoustic environments as quiet as LAeq = 31 dBA and as loud as LAeq = 76 dBA were observed, eliciting perceptions ranging from very calm to chaotic. A Linear Mixed-Effects Model was computed to analyse the impact of sound source dominance, psychoacoustic and environmental acoustic indices on perception. Presence of human sounds proved to be a major factor driving the perception of chaotic soundscapes.
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March 2024
March 01 2024
Towards soundscape management of protected natural areas using the ISO 12913: A field study
Tin Oberman;
Tin Oberman
Inst. for Environ. Design and Eng., Univ. College London, Central House, 14 Upper Woburn, London,
United Kingdom
, t.oberman@ucl.ac.uk
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Simone Torresin;
Simone Torresin
Dept. of Civil Environ. and Mech. Eng., Univ. of Trento, Trento,
Italy
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Arianna Latini;
Arianna Latini
Dept. of Construction, Civil Eng. and Architecture, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona,
Italy
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Giacomo Gozzi;
Giacomo Gozzi
Silenzi in Quota, Trento,
Italy
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Francesco Aletta;
Francesco Aletta
Univ. College London, London,
United Kingdom
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Jian Kang
Jian Kang
Inst. for Environ. Design and Eng., Univ. College London, London,
United Kingdom
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J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 155, A154 (2024)
Citation
Tin Oberman, Simone Torresin, Arianna Latini, Giacomo Gozzi, Francesco Aletta, Jian Kang; Towards soundscape management of protected natural areas using the ISO 12913: A field study. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 1 March 2024; 155 (3_Supplement): A154. https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0027138
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