Forests Make Us Healthier

For more information about forest coverage maps and analysis of the Northeast, view Sources.

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Fact Sheet Sources: Forests Make Us Healthier

1. Li, Q. (2010). Effect of Forest Bathing Trips on Human Immune Function. Environmental Health and Preventative Medicine. 15(1): 9-17
2. Louv, R. (2007, July 01). The Powerful Link Between Conserving Land and Preserving Human Health.
3. Deborah Cohen et al., “Proximity of Parks and Schools Is Associated with Physical Activity in Adolescent Girls” (paper presented at the Active Living Research Conference, San Diego, February 2005).
4. Dr. Deborah Cohen, RAND Corporation, telephone interview with Elva Yañez and Wendy Muzzy (21 March 2005), cited in Elva Yañez and Wendy Muzzy, “Healthy Parks and Healthy Communities: Addressing Health Disparities and Park Inequities through Public Financing of Parks, Playgrounds, and Other Physical Activity Settings” (San Francisco: The Trust for Public Land, October 2005).
5. Hansmann, R., S.M. Hug, and K. Seeland. 2007. Restoration and Stress Relief Through Physical Activities in Forests and Parks. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 6, 4:213-225.
6. Louv, R. (2007, July 01). The Powerful Link Between Conserving Land and Preserving Human Health.
7. Yuen, H. K., & Jenkins, G. R. (2019). Factors associated with changes in subjective well-being immediately after urban park visit. International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 30(2), 134-145. doi:10.1080/09603123.2019.1577368
8. Meyer, S.R., J.E. Anderson, K. Gilstad-Hayden, C. Murphy-Dunning, J. Ickovics. Access to Protected Open Space Mitigates Health Care Costs of Chronic Diseases across Urban-Rural Gradient. (Forthcoming) Yale Center for Business and the Environment. New Haven, CT.
9.  Meyer, S.R., J.E. Anderson, K. Gilstad-Hayden, C. Murphy-Dunning, J. Ickovics. Access to Protected Open Space Mitigates Health Care Costs of Chronic Diseases across Urban-Rural Gradient. (Forthcoming) Yale Center for Business and the Environment. New Haven, CT.
10.  Li Q, Kobayashi M, Wakayama Y,Inagaki H, Katsumata M, Hirata Y, Hirata K, Shimizu T, Kawada T, Park BJ, Ohira T, Kagawa T, Miyazaki Y. (2009).Effect of Phytoncide from Trees on Human Natural Killer Cell Function. International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology. 22(4):951-959.
11.  Lee, J., Park, B.-J., Tsunetsugu, Y., Kagawa, T., Miyazaki, Y. (2009). Restorative Effects of Viewing Real Forest Landscapes, Based on a Comparison with Urban Landscapes. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research. 24(3): 227-234.
12. Ohira, H., S. Takagi, K. Masui, M. Oishi, and A. Obata. 1999. Effects of Shinrin-Yoku (Forest-Air Bathing and Walking) on Mental and Physical Health. Bulletin of Tokai Women’s University 19:217-232.
13. Ohira, H., S. Takagi, K. Masui, M. Oishi, and A. Obata. 1999. Effects of Shinrin-Yoku (Forest-Air Bathing and Walking) on Mental and Physical Health. Bulletin of Tokai Women’s University 19:217-232.
14. Andrea Faber Taylor* and Frances E. (Ming) Kuo University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. Could Exposure to Everyday Green Spaces Help Treat ADHD? Evidence from Children’s Play Settings APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY: HEALTH AND WELL-BEING, 2011, 3 (3), 281–303
15. Taylor, A. F., Kuo, F. E. (2009). Children with Attention Deficits Concentrate Better After a Walk in the Park. Journal of Attention Disorders. 12(5): 402-409.
16. Donovan, G.H., Y.L. Michael, D.T. Butry, A.D. Sullivan, and J.M. Chase. 2011. Urban Trees and the Risk of Poor Birth Outcomes. Health & Place 17, 1:390-93.
17. Claudia Boyd-Barrett (2019). People of Color and the Poor Disproportionately Exposed to Air Pollution, Study Finds 
18. Rao, M., George, L., Rosenstiel, T., Shandas, V., and Dinno, A. (2014). Assessing the relationship among urban trees, nitrogen dioxide, and respiratory health. Environmental Pollution. Vol 194. pp. 96-104. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2014.07.011
19.  Dwyer, J.F., E.G. McPherson, H.W. Schroeder, and R.A. Rowntree. 1992. Assessing the benefits and costs of urban forests. Journal of Arboriculture. 18(5):227-234.
20.  Nowak, D. J., S. Hirabayashi, A. Bodine, and E. Greenfield. 2014. Tree and forest effects on air quality and human health in the United States. Environmental Pollution 193:119–129. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2014.05.028
21. Highstead Foundation. (2018). Protecting New England’s Forests An Investment in Clean Water, Public Health, and Disaster Mitigation [Brochure]. Redding, CT.
22.  Nowak, D. J., S. Hirabayashi, A. Bodine, and E. Greenfield. 2014. Tree and forest effects on air quality and human health in the United States. Environmental Pollution 193:119–129. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2014.05.028
23. Anderson, T. et al. 2015. Looking to the Future – Massachusetts Land and Parks Conservation and Their Future. Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. 21 pp.
24. Gartner, T., Mulligan, J., Schmidt, R., Gunn, J. Natural Infrastructure – Investing in Forested Landscapes for Source Water Protection in the United States. World Resources Institute.
25. USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 2017. Carbon Sequestration.
26. Hong-Hanh, C., et al. 2018. Global Warming Solutions Act: 10-Year Progress Report. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 77 pp. (iTree Landscape. Economic value of avoided runoff = (The difference between runoff with existing vegetative cover by Land Use Data minus the runoff where impervious surface replaces vegetative cover) * value of runoff (Hirabayashim 2015))
27. Horton, R., and G. Yohe. 2014. Northeast region. In: U.S. Global Research Program. 2014. 2014 National Climate Assessment.(accessed July 15, 2014).
28.  Hong-Hanh, C., et al. 2018. Global Warming Solutions Act: 10-Year Progress Report. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 77 pp.
29.  Hong-Hanh, C., et al. 2018. Global Warming Solutions Act: 10-Year Progress Report. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 77 pp.