BMF CP136: Environmental Awareness and Nature Connectedness in Shaping the Personal Valuation of Soil Ecosystem Services

Minh-Phuong Thi Duong

Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ton Duc Thang University

“Only those who have lived among the birds could truly appreciate the magic of their singing. At daybreak, the bushes and the alley corners would all be drenched in a vibrant chorus of birdsongs. The whole scene is exhilarating, exuding the mysterious vibes of a major orchestra.”

—In “Conductor”; Wild Wise Weird (2025)

1. Project description

This study investigates whether environmental awareness is associated with the perceived personal importance of soil ecosystem services and whether this association is moderated by nature connectedness (INS).

1.1 Main objectives

The current study addresses the following research questions:

• RQ1. How is environmental awareness associated with the perceived personal importance of soil ecosystem services?
• RQ2. How is nature connectedness (INS) associated with the perceived personal importance of soil ecosystem services?
• RQ3. Does nature connectedness moderate the association between environmental awareness and the perceived personal importance of soil ecosystem services?

1.2 Materials

The Bayesian Mindsponge Framework (BMF) will be employed for the conceptual development and statistical analysis of this study [1–4]. The dataset comprises responses from approximately 1,500 German citizens surveyed online in 2021 and includes measures of environmental awareness, nature connectedness (INS), and perceived personal and societal importance of soil ecosystem services [5]. The outcome variable is the average perceived personal importance of four soil ecosystem services: climate regulation, drought protection, flood protection, and clean drinking water. Statistical analyses will be conducted using the bayesvl R package, which employs Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) estimation.

1.3 Main findings (Preliminary)

Results are expected to show that environmental awareness and nature connectedness are both positively associated with the perceived personal importance of soil ecosystem services. The moderation analysis further suggests that the association between environmental awareness and perceived personal importance varies across levels of nature connectedness (INS) (see Figure 1).

The findings suggest that the association between environmental awareness and the perceived personal importance of soil ecosystem services varies according to individuals' level of nature connectedness.



Figure 1: The estimated posterior distributions with HPDI at 95%

If you have further inquiries, please contact us at aisdl_team@mindsponge.info

If you have been invited to join the project by an AISDL member, you are still encouraged to follow the above formal steps. All the resources for conducting and writing the research manuscript will be distributed upon project participation.

Mentor for this project: Minh-Phuong Thi Duong.

Other members who have joined this project: Minh-Hoang Nguyen and Quan-Hoang Vuong.

The research project strictly adheres to scientific integrity standards, including authorship rights and obligations, without incurring an economic burden at participants’ expenses.

References

[1] Vuong QH, Nguyen MH (2025). Developing Bayesian probabilistic reasoning capacity in HSS disciplines: Qualitative evaluation on bayesvl and BMF analytics for ECRs. https://dipot.ulb.ac.be/dspace/bitstream/2013/397326/3/wp25008.pdf

[2] Vuong, Q. H. (2026). The Optimal Retort. http://books.google.com/books/about?id=HhH2EQAAQBAJ

[3] Nguyen, M. H. (2026). The Half-Woven Screen. http://books.google.com/books/about?id=2BD2EQAAQBAJ

[4] Vuong QH, Nguyen MH, La VP. (2022). The mindsponge and BMF analytics for innovative thinking in social sciences and humanities. Walter de Gruyter GmbH. https://books.google.com/books?id=EGeEEAAAQBAJ

[5] Bartkowski B, Massenberg JR, & Lienhoop N. (2022). Data on public preferences for soil-based ecosystem services in Germany. Data in Brief, 43, 108371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2022.108371