Rapid global urbanization has transformed land use patterns, degraded natural habitats, and increased impervious surface areas, thereby altering the structure and functioning of urban ecosystems. Urban green spaces serve as residual habitats within su...
Rapid global urbanization has transformed land use patterns, degraded natural habitats, and increased impervious surface areas, thereby altering the structure and functioning of urban ecosystems. Urban green spaces serve as residual habitats within such disturbed environments but are continually exposed to anthropogenic pressures, including traffic noise, artificial lighting, and high human density. Vocal communication of birds and insects is highly sensitive to these disturbances and is therefore widely used as an ecological indicator. Many animal species regulate their behavior according to circadian rhythms, and the intensity and temporal patterns of their acoustic activity can be modified by urban noise and the degree of urbanization.
In this study, we conducted a soundscape-based analysis of four green spaces in Seoul using acoustic indices and sound pressure level (SPL) measurements. The study sites—Changgyeonggung Palace, Samcheong Park, Hongneung Forest, and traffic islands (Cheongnyangni Transfer Center and Jongno 4-ga)—represent different categories of urban green spaces, including historical parks, neighborhood parks, urban natural park zones, and highly urbanized built-up areas. Continuous acoustic data were collected for 120 hours using the Song Meter Mini from May 12 to May 16, 2023. The recordings were analyzed to compute SPL and several acoustic indices, including the Normalized Difference Soundscape Index (NDSI), Bioacoustic Index (BI), Acoustic Complexity Index (ACI).
The diel pattern analysis revealed pronounced differences during dawn. Changgyeonggung, Samcheong Park, and Hongneung Forest exhibited clear circadian variation within the 2000–8,000 Hz frequency range and displayed high levels of biophony, resulting in elevated NDSI values. In contrast, the traffic-island green spaces showed no distinct diel pattern, exhibited minimal biophonic activity, and had a high proportion of anthropogenic noise, leading to consistently low NDSI values. PERMANOVA (Permutational analysis of varance) and PCoA (Principal Coordinates Analysis) revealed statistically significant differences among sites.
Overall, this study highlights that maintaining structural complexity and ecological connectivity within urban green spaces is essential for supporting diverse biophonic activity from birds and insects and sustaining ecologically healthy urban soundscapes.