Does increasing biodiversity in an urban woodland setting promote positive emotional responses in humans? A stress recovery experiment using 360-degree videos of an urban woodland

platforms (Surveyswap.com and Survecircle.com). Data collection took place from July 2021 to December 2021. No incentives or rewards were offered for participating. After being informed about the study procedure, all participants provided anonymous written consent by completing the consent form. None of the authors had access to information that could iden- tify individual participants during or after data collection. The study and the procedure were Table 1. Plant taxa, main flower colour and number of specimens used in conditions 2, 3 and 4. Species/cultivar Flower colour Condition 2 Low plant Diversity (no. of specimens) Conditions 3 and 4 High plant Diversity (no. of specimens) Anchusa capensis cv. Blue Angel blue 2 Achillea cv. Moonshine yellow 2 Bidens ferulifolia cv. Blazing Glory orange 3 Brachyscome multifidi pink 3 Diascia cv. Diamond Fuchsia pink 12 6 Lavandula angustifolia lilac 2 Lobelia cardinalis cv. Queen Victoria red 2 Lysimachia nummularia yellow 2 Nemesia cv. Berries and Cream purple 3 Nemesia cv. Framboise lilac pink 3 Osteospermum cv. Akila Purple purple 2 Osteospermum cv. Akila Yellow Shades yellow 2 Petunia cv. Frenzy Yellow pale yellow 3 Phlox cv. Dwarf Beauty Blue blue 24 3 Phlox cv. Dwarf Beauty Scarlet red 5 Phlox cv. Dwarf Beauty White white 18 3 Salvia nemorosa cv. Caradonna blue 2 Sanvitalia cv. Aztec Gold Hussare Knob yellow 6 3 Tradescantia cv. Blue ‘n’ Gold blue 1 Verbena cv. Showboat Dark Red red 2 Verbena cv. Showboat Midnight deep purple 2 Verbena cv. Showboat Pink pink 2

Verbena cv. Showboat White white 2 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0297179.t001 Fig 1. Photograph of the filming site taken under control conditions (left) and after adding 21 species of plants (right). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0297179.g001 PLOS ONE Does increasing biodiversity in an urban woodland setting, promote positive emotional responses in humans? PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0297179 February 7, 2024 5 / 20