ENTS:

From time to time ENTS discussion about the feelings you get from the  woods.
 Below are links to a couple of recent articles and studies that  some
members might find of interest.  

Russ

Agenda item: Recent findings on Forest Health and No child
Left  Inside. Non-native invasive species would give off
fewer kinds of aromas and  other characteristics of biological
diversity which appear to be a cause of  the health benefits.

On page 20-21 of The Wilderness Society magazine  that I received
as a member in October 2008 there is an article, Breathing  Trees
by Jennifer Ackerman, about recent scientific studies that showed  
reduction in blood pressure, diabetes and cancer by walking in
old  growth broad leaf forest:

"In their experiments, the Japanese scientists  uncovered hard
evidence that walking in the forest decreases the blood  glucose
levels of diabetic patients and that people who view forest  
scenery for 20 minutes have a 13 percent lower blood concentration
of  the stress hormone cortisol than people viewing urban settings.
They have  revealed that forest walking compared with city walking
boosts the activity  of natural killer cells, immune cells that
fight cancer- an effect that may  last for as long as 30 days.
And in 2008, they reported that people living  in areas with a
higher percentage of forest cover had lower mortality rates  for
cancers of the lung, breast, uterus, prostate, kidney, and colon,  
compared with people living in areas with lighter forest cover,
even  after factoring in socioeconomic status."

The article is now available  on the www.wilderness.org
<http://www.wilderness.org>  website  (blog, page 2).
English translation of the research.  
Journal of  PHYSIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Vol. 26 (2007) , No. 2 pp.123-128  

Physiological Effects of Shinrin-yoku
(Taking in the Atmosphere of  the. Forest)—
Using Salivary Cortisol and Cerebral Activity
as  Indicators—. Bum-Jin Park  ...
joi.jlc.jst.go.jp/JST.JSTAGE/jpa2/26.123?from=Google