Effects of soundscape on rural landscape evaluations

Landscape preferences differ significantly when influenced by different soundscapes. Generally, the evaluation scores (based on a five-point scale) were higher with natural or musical sounds than those with artificial sounds. Moreover, the difference among different sounds is greater for positive landscapes than that for negative landscapes. Compared with the scores without sound stimuli, the landscape evaluations could be increased by sound stimuli, including natural or artificial soundscape, and for both positive and negative landscapes. • The effects of soundscape on rural landscape evaluations are examined. • Landscape evaluations are significantly influenced by different soundscapes. • Difference among different sounds is greater for positive than negative landscapes. • Ground/vegetation/mountain/sky/water are significant for audiovisual interactions.