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Visitors to vineyards enjoyed their tours more when they heard enhanced sounds of diverse birdsong, new research has found. The findings from the University of East Anglia suggest that outdoor businesses could improve their customer experience by investing in the biodiversity of their sites.

"Increased bird sound diversity in vineyards enhances visitors' tour experience" is published in People and Nature.

Sounds are all around and collectively they form "soundscapes," which play an important role in people's experience of the outside world. However, unprecedented biodiversity declines are silencing natural soundscapes, while the sounds of ever-increasing urbanization are becoming dominant. Together, these changes are decreasing opportunities to engage with nature, which has been linked to poorer mental and physical health.

Lead author Dr. Natalia Zielonka, of UEA's School of Biological Sciences, said, "To understand the direct contributions of sounds to our experience of nature, we studied soundscapes in English vineyards and measured their effect on vineyard visitors' experience of tours.

"Agricultural landscapes are frequently associated with declining wildlife populations, and they are under mounting pressure to protect biodiversity. Our study investigated the wider-reaching benefits that conservation initiatives in vineyards could bring.

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