Research & reports

Karina Corada, Caroline Nash, Prashant Kumar, Stuart Connop, Laura Wendling · Nature-Based Solutions · Global

A synthesis paper on the largely unexplored role of domestic gardens in influencing local air quality. While gardens are widely recognized for cultural and health benefits, particularly mental well-being and everyday contact with nature, the paper states few studies have examined air quality dynamics within residential garden settings. It notes that general urban green infrastructure research suggests vegetation structure, plant traits, and spatial configuration shape pollutant capture, but these findings have not been tested in domestic gardens, where microclimates and spatial constraints differ markedly. Evidence from food-growing gardens and allotments further suggests edible crops cultivated near roads may accumulate airborne pollutants, particularly metals, underscoring the need for research on exposure pathways and allotment locations. The paper identifies a significant gap in current green infrastructure and air-pollution research: the lack of empirical evidence on how domestic gardens function as socio-ecological systems with implications for air-quality regulation.

Ayhan Horuz, Güney Akınoğlu · · Turkey

A Turkish book chapter arguing that agriculture-derived air pollution, compounded by growing industrial and urban pollutant loads, is threatening food production, product quality, and food security by directly and indirectly impairing plant growth and development. It notes that population growth, energy production, transportation, waste management, and biomass burning have substantially increased atmospheric organic and inorganic pollutants, pushing air quality beyond acceptable limits in many regions. The first part evaluates the effects on agroecosystems of tropospheric (ground-level) ozone, PM2.5 and PM10, nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), agricultural ammonia (NH3), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), detailing how tropospheric ozone suppresses photosynthesis causing yield losses in staple crops such as wheat and soybean, and how particulate matter directly and indirectly affects soil and plant health, alongside the effects of acid rain and nitrogen deposition on soil fertility, water quality, and ecosystem balance, assessed against the four pillars of food security—availability, access, utilization, and stability. The second part discusses integrated policy approaches, industrial emission control technologies, and low-emission transport systems at the macro level, alongside agricultural strategies such as precision farming, improved fertilizer management, and innovative production techniques, and the role of green infrastructure in urban planning.

Subin Babu Neupane, Pedro F S Toledo, Katerina Velasco-Graham, Felipe N. Soto‐Adames, Arash Kheirodin · Journal of Integrated Pest Management · United States

This is the first report documenting the invasive thrips species Thrips parvispinus, native to Southeast Asia, in Texas, USA. Samples collected from 12 locations across Texas -- including greenhouse facilities, large retail outlets and community gardens -- from plants showing foliage injury confirmed the species' presence in November 2025, and detections across multiple counties suggest it has been introduced to multiple locations and may be widely distributed in the state.

Jackson Borges de Carvalho, Murilo Couto Lacerda, Linia Dayana Lopes Machado, Rejaine Silva Guimarães · Contribuciones a las Ciencias Sociales · Brazil

A documentary literature study examined urban agriculture in Gurupi, Tocantins, Brazil, where 288 productive units exist despite the municipal master plan and local legislation not explicitly addressing the practice, focusing on the need for municipal regulation. Drawing on federal, state, and municipal legislation, academic studies, territorial diagnostics, and empirical survey data from Primo et al. (2014), the study found that urban agriculture holds socio-environmental, food, and community relevance but faces a lack of technical assistance, legal insecurity, and scarce institutional support.

Hedwig Ajeng Grahani · GeoEco · Indonesia

A 2024 systematic survey of 217 urban farming households in Yogyakarta City, Indonesia, used Stata 19 for hypothesis testing and SPSS 27 for descriptive statistics, running a multiple linear regression of net urban farming income against 22 variables covering sociodemographics, farm structure, input management, biotic stress and institutional support (R2 = 0.7448). Eleven variables had a significant effect, with farm size the most favorable factor, followed by financial support, seed subsidies and technical aid; gender and family size also showed positive effects. Crop type correlated negatively with income, and biotic stress — particularly pest type and severity — substantially reduced income, while training and market access were not statistically significant.

Abdullah Abdullah, Abdul Haris, Andi Wisneni, Annas Boceng, Maemuna Nontji, Anwar Robbo, Muhammad Munawir Syarif · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Indonesia (Makassar)

A study in Makassar City, Indonesia, evaluated the multidimensional sustainability of urban agriculture (UA) through expert discussions and semi-structured interviews with 23 purposively selected stakeholders including academics, practitioners, urban planners, legislators and government officials. A Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) approach compared sustainability indices from two previous studies, supplemented by prospective and interdependence analyses to identify key leverage factors. Results showed the overall sustainability status of UA in Makassar during 2016-2020 remained "less sustainable," with a multidimensional sustainability index of 43.02%; the ecological (51.84%) and technological (65.09%) dimensions improved to moderately sustainable status, while the economic (46.15%), social (49.81%) and institutional (39.20%) dimensions showed declining sustainability performance. The study proposes three policy directions: strengthening UA planning and management systems, improving institutional coordination among stakeholders, and expanding UA's socio-economic and environmental functions.

Mugabo Kalisa G. · Idosr Journal of Computer and Applied Sciences. · Sub-Saharan Africa

A review article addresses how, in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where malaria transmission is increasing in urban and peri-urban areas due to rapid urbanization and inadequate infrastructure, urban agriculture — a vital livelihood strategy in peri-urban SSA — often intersects with poor water management practices, creating favorable breeding grounds for malaria vectors, particularly Anopheles mosquitoes. It examines the complex relationship between urban agriculture, water management and mosquito breeding in peri-urban areas, including how irrigation systems, water storage and waste management contribute to malaria transmission, and discusses the implications for malaria control. It also reviews emerging technologies such as remote sensing, GIS and mobile health platforms that can enhance mosquito surveillance and community involvement, and calls for a multi-sectoral approach spanning urban planning, vector control and community-based interventions, along with sustainable urban agricultural practices to mitigate malaria risks in SSA.

Adnan Sirage Ali · Discover Public Health · Ethiopia

A comparative cross-sectional study of 315 urban vegetable-farming households along the Akaki Rivers in Ethiopia used structured questionnaires, multivariable logistic regression, multilevel mixed-effects models and bootstrapped mediation analysis. Two-week diarrhea prevalence was 11.4% (36/315) among children and 8.7% among adults; in this cross-sectional design, which cannot establish causality, wastewater irrigation was associated with more than double the odds of diarrhea (AOR=2.10, 95% CI 1.30-3.40), frequent contact with irrigation water with 80% higher odds (AOR=1.80), and regular raw-vegetable consumption with 60% higher odds (AOR=1.60). Handwashing with soap (57% risk reduction), bathing after farm work (41% reduction) and household water treatment (45% reduction, AOR=0.55) were protective, clustering by irrigation site was modest (ICC about 6%), and hygiene practices mediated 28% of the exposure-outcome relationship.

R. E. Molenaar, Marcel Pleijte · · Netherlands

A Wageningen University Science Shop report examines measures to improve water management for the "duinlandjes", centuries-old allotment gardens in the dunes near Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands, that form part of the Zeesdorpenlandschap cultural heritage. Commissioned by the Duinlandjesvereniging de Noord association, it investigated sustainable solutions from sociocultural, hydrological and ecological perspectives. The duinlandjes are currently experiencing flooding that makes cultivation very challenging. A stakeholder analysis found that while collaboration between the association and drinking water company PWN has advanced, interactions among stakeholders remain fragmented, and it calls for the province of Noord-Holland to take an active coordinating role. The hydrological analysis identifies winter precipitation surplus as the main driver of rising groundwater, projecting that climate change will bring wetter winters and drier summers with greater groundwater fluctuation, though long-term groundwater trends remain uncertain while winter/spring water excess will probably continue. The ecological risk assessment highlights the vulnerability of surrounding dune habitats, noting that draining and diverting excess rainwater can cause habitat degradation and increased drought stress.

Joan Casanelles-Abella, Monika Egerer · Frontiers in Sustainable Cities · Global

A perspective article discusses biodiversity conservation in cities as often afflicted by "suboptimal" situations where human needs and nature's needs are imbalanced or in conflict. In human-dominated landscapes, land use intensification often replaces large habitat patches critical for metapopulation stability with smaller, isolated patches, a pattern Island Biogeography Theory predicts will reduce biodiversity; this may be most extreme in cities experiencing rapid population growth and infrastructure densification, where small urban green spaces, balconies, home and allotment gardens, small forest patches and green walls, become the primary compensatory interventions for retaining habitat. However, under certain conservation frameworks (land-sparing vs. land-sharing, the SLOSS debate), such small, scattered urban green spaces may be predicted to produce suboptimal or even detrimental biodiversity outcomes if their size and isolation prevent them from sustaining viable population sizes. The article notes this "ecology of suboptimals" framing risks a futile perspective on nature conservation in densifying cities, while also considering how rethinking urban environments in light of this situation might be approached.

Mellania Rima Fajaryah, Hafid Aditya Pradesa, Teni Listiani, Edah Jubaedah · Academia Open · Indonesia (Bandung)

A study of agricultural extension workers in Bandung's "Buruan SAE" urban farming program, Indonesia, examining how competencies align with role demands across job levels. It found consistent gaps where competency achievement fell below importance ratings, particularly in agribusiness management, agro-processing, commercialization, institutional development and technology facilitation, while communication and leadership competencies remained comparatively strong. The gaps grew more complex at higher job levels. Importance-Performance Analysis was used to prioritize competencies, and the study proposes a competency-development framework based on a 70:20:10 learning model.

Candice M. Duncan, Fatemeh Ghezelsofla, Hlengilizwe Nyoni, Jazmin Escobar, Odette Mina · Toxics · United States

A study measuring per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in irrigation water at two organic farms in Maryland, USA, with no known direct PFAS input, and assessing health risk via a Hazard Index (HI). At agricultural site 1 (AG1), the most abundant compounds were PFBS (37 ng/L), PFBA (24 ng/L) and PFHxA (22 ng/L); the HI showed compliance for branched PFHxS (0.39) but non-compliance for linear PFHxS (1.51). At agricultural site 2 (AG2), despite no known industrial or PFAS-related facilities nearby, HFPO-DA (GenX) was detected at 28 ng/L, and the HI exceeded the compliance threshold (HI = 2.83), with GenX accounting for most of the calculated risk. The findings show HI exceedances occurring at small farm sites with no identifiable contamination source.

Xiaoya Lin, Jiajun Xu, Ting Wang, Randy A. Dahlgren, Lanyue Feng, Wenli Qin, Qinglong Liang, Zhixia Qin, Zengling Ma, Liyin Qu · Environmental Technology & Innovation · Global

A two-year monthly investigation of water quality and dissolved organic matter (DOM) optical properties (absorbance and fluorescence) in a eutrophic, urban-agricultural wetland. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) increased from spring to summer in both years and correlated significantly with trophic level index (TLI), total nitrogen, COD, and chlorophyll a, indicating that eutrophication added to the organic carbon pool through both sewage inputs and algal production. Loss of protein-like component C3, together with a significant negative correlation between microbial humic-like component C2 and dissolved oxygen, suggested that microbial deoxygenation converted bio-labile DOM into recalcitrant DOM (RDOM) during summer. In winter, lower temperatures limited microbial transformation, and continuous sewage inputs increased protein-like C3, while RDOM removal via particle adsorption-sedimentation and photodegradation exceeded its accumulation. Machine learning analysis found microbial transformation explained 39.1-41.2% of variation in humic-like components, more than terrestrial inputs, sewage sources, and algal production combined (2.1-31.6%), identifying microbial transformation as the dominant driver of wetland RDOM formation. Eutrophication is stated to have negative effects on wetland ecosystems, though the study also notes that, if sewage and algae are effectively managed, the same process could enhance carbon sequestration.

Dorothee Benkowitz · International explorations in outdoor and environmental education · Global

A book chapter on biodiversity education centered on seeds and plant life cycles. It states that industrial agriculture has reduced genetic diversity through monocultures and patented hybrid varieties, making small farmers dependent on large seed companies. F1 hybrids, while high-yielding, are not seed-proof — saved seed from them does not reproduce the parent traits — and this contributes to genetic erosion, limiting plants' ability to adapt to climate change and disease. The chapter notes that many people lack an in-depth understanding of plant cycles, and that studies show deficits among students specifically in classifying and explaining seeds and their role in a plant's life cycle. Hands-on experiences such as those in school gardens are said to foster better understanding and a sustainable connection to nature. Knowledge of biodiversity and plant cycles is described as crucial for topics such as healthy diets, regionality, and climate adaptation, and integrating this content into education is presented as contributing to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) goals.

Julija Bakunowitsch · Urban Planning · Germany

This qualitative study examines a publicly funded urban gardening project in Dortmund, Germany, implemented as a labor-market activation measure on temporarily available land targeting employable welfare recipients. Drawing on interviews, participant observation, and document analysis, it combines the concept of "food justice" with valuation studies to analyze how labor, land, and exchange are valued in everyday practice. The findings reveal tensions between empowerment and dependency, care and control, and social recognition and material precarity: while participants experienced gardening as meaningful work and a source of social participation and belonging, these valuations remained bounded by welfare regulations, temporary land tenure, and charity-based food distribution. The study concludes that such temporary urban gardening projects function as sites of plural, negotiated valuation where justice is enacted only provisionally, through everyday practice, within the limits of welfare governance.

Rabia Admin, Malka Shahzadi, Malika Shahzadi, Muhammed Faisal Rasheed · Social Sciences Spectrum · Pakistan

This study examines women's involvement and empowerment in agricultural activities in Lahore Cantonment, Punjab, Pakistan, based on data from 118 women engaged in agriculture, analyzed using mixed methods including descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, correlation, and multiple regression. The results show that while participation rates among women are high, women are not yet empowered, owing to existing socio-cultural and resource-based obstacles. Significant associations were found between land ownership and women's decision-making, between education and participation, and between access to credit and extension services and involvement in agricultural activities; the correlation matrix showed positive relationships among key variables, and regression analysis identified land ownership, education, and access to credit as significant predictors of women's empowerment. The paper states that changes to law, access to resources, and social support are needed to improve women's agency in peri-urban agriculture, and proposes policy measures including land rights reform, targeted educational initiatives, and improved access to resources.

Mohssen Elbagory, Hassan M. El-Zahaby, EL-Shafeey E. I. EL-Shafeey, Nagwa EL-Khateeb, Alaa El-Dein Omara, Sahar El-Nahrawy, Amal Zayed, Pankaj Kumar, Jogendra Singh · Scientific Reports · India

A field-based comparative study in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, India, compared soil properties, the growth response of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L. Czern.), and tissue accumulation of cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, manganese and zinc under irrigation with paper mill effluent (PME) versus borewell water as a control. PME irrigation significantly raised soil pH (8.79), electrical conductivity (4.73 dS/cm), organic matter (3.94%) and all six heavy metals (p<0.001); vegetative growth increased, but heavy metal accumulation was pronounced in roots, with bioaccumulation factors for iron and manganese exceeding the hyperaccumulation threshold and root enrichment factors reaching 226.50 for copper and 40.51 for chromium. Dietary risk modeling found that the health risk index from chromium in leaves exceeded the safety threshold in children (HRI=1.05) and approached risk levels for cadmium and chromium in adults, whereas the borewell-irrigated control soil remained within safe agricultural ranges, marking a clear contrast with the contaminated PME-irrigated soil.

Nwanaforo E., Obasi C. N., Akande I. O., Nduka J. K., Offor C. C., Abdulai P. M., Udom G. J., Orisakwe O. E. · Biological Trace Element Research · ナイジェリア（オウェリ・アバ・ポートハーコート）

A study of lead, cadmium and copper in urban agricultural systems in three industrial-area Nigerian cities (Owerri, Aba and Port Harcourt), assessing spatial distribution, bioaccumulation and health risks using both deterministic and stochastic (Monte Carlo) approaches. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry found soil concentrations following Pb > Cu > Cd in Owerri and Port Harcourt but Pb > Cd > Cu in Aba, while fish and vegetables followed Pb > Cd > Cu at all three sites. The deterministic assessment found cadmium's incremental lifetime cancer risk exceeded the US EPA acceptable threshold of 1×10⁻⁶ at every site for every sample examined, identifying cadmium as the metal of greatest concern.

Akhil S Anand, Hannes Pravida, Fredrik Fossan-Waage, Tormod Skorpe Skjolden, Giulia Robbiani, Younes Zahraoui, Emil Wolff Anthony, Jayaprakash Rajasekharan, Sissel Torre, Knut Asbjørn Solhaug, Sebastien Gros · Frontiers in Horticulture · Global

A paper on vertical farming — a controlled-environment agriculture system — examines its potential integration with energy markets. It states that vertical farming's economic viability is constrained by high capital and operational costs, a substantial share of which is energy expenditure, and explores how vertical farms could participate in day-ahead, balancing, and flexibility energy markets by adjusting lighting and climate-control energy use in response to market signals, potentially reducing costs and generating additional revenue. It identifies gaps in understanding of plant responses to variable lighting as a critical barrier to implementation and illustrates these integration challenges through small-scale laboratory experiments.

Quinton J, Nesbitt L, Connolly JJT, Wyly E · Urban Studies · カナダ（バンクーバー・カルガリー）

Green gentrification describes how greening a neighbourhood — with parks, community gardens and the like — can draw in higher-income households and displace or exclude marginalised residents; the authors note this has rarely been tested empirically, and that the literature has focused almost exclusively on urban neighbourhoods even though the desire for green space is often cited as a reason households move to suburbs. Surveying 104 households in gentrified downtown Vancouver and suburban Calgary new-build neighbourhoods, the study finds green factors were of similar importance to non-green factors such as safety, scenic views and ambience (and, in Vancouver, proximity to entertainment and transit). Proximity to green space mattered more than overall neighbourhood greenness, and private green space mattered more in the suburbs. Greening, in other words, is not the sole driver, and green-gentrification research needs to widen its geography beyond dense city environments.

Birhanu MW, Negussie ZT · The Scientific World Journal · エチオピア

A PRISMA-based review synthesising peer-reviewed articles published between 2015 and 2025 on the status, challenges and opportunities of home and urban vegetable gardening in Ethiopia. It frames urban and home-based gardening as a practical response to food insecurity, malnutrition and environmental degradation in rapidly urbanising areas where the search for better opportunities has driven rising unemployment and limited access to nutritious, affordable food. The barriers it identifies — limited access to land and clean water, gendered barriers to women, limited technical knowledge, inadequate extension services and weak institutional support — all hinder production and sustainability. It further notes that widespread irrigation with untreated wastewater poses significant health and environmental risks through heavy-metal contamination and soil-transmitted infectious disease. Opportunities such as using vacant urban lots, promoting vertical gardening and supporting local seed production remain untapped; government support for urban gardening has grown recently but its implementation remains inconsistent. The review also identifies a significant geographical gap within the existing literature.

Hoque MN, Rana ML, Gilman MAA, Pramanik PK, Islam MS, Punom SA, Rahman R, Hassan J, Rahman MS, Ramasamy S, Schreinemachers P, Oliva R, Rahman MT · Environmental Monitoring and Assessment · バングラデシュ・ダッカ／ガジプール

A shotgun metagenomic study motivated by how little is known about the microbial communities and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles of rooftop and surface garden soils in Bangladesh, and their potential role as reservoirs and disseminators of AMR, despite the growing expansion of urban agriculture. Twenty-seven soil samples were sequenced — 7 from Dhaka rooftop gardens, 6 from Dhaka surface gardens, 8 from Gazipur rooftop gardens and 6 from Gazipur surface gardens. The work identified 88 antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), of which 19 (21.6%) were shared across all sites, and found significant differences in resistome composition by garden type (p = 0.04). Rooftop soils harboured more ARGs (Dhaka 50, Gazipur 48) than surface soils (Dhaka 40, Gazipur 41) and were dominated by glycopeptide resistance genes, collectively 62.43-74.07% of ARGs; rooftop soils were also enriched in efflux pumps (adeF, 45.21% of rooftop ARGs) and the ribosomal-protection oxazolidinone resistance gene O23S (62.13% in Gazipur rooftops). Surface soils instead featured more genes mediating antibiotic inactivation, such as CATA (11.64% in Dhaka surface gardens) and fosBx1 (5.94% of surface ARGs).

Liz Ignowski, John Luis Lagdameo, Liel Gonzalez, Arma Bertuso, Pepijn Schreinemachers · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems 11(1) · Philippines (Quezon City, Metro Manila)

A quantitative survey of 300 urban food producers in Quezon City, one of the 17 cities of Metro Manila, examining who practises urban agriculture, the methods and technologies used, the challenges met and the benefits gained. Production is mainly small-scale and subsistence-oriented, with commercialisation limited except among those with access to agricultural land. Self-produced food does increase access to fruit and vegetables, but participation reflects economic vulnerability rather than food sufficiency, and both scale and commercialisation depend strongly on land access — a structural barrier in dense cities. The authors conclude that urban agriculture in Quezon City acts as a safety net rather than an income source, while also providing enjoyment and stress relief, and that urban food-security policy should be realistic about the limited role of urban food production.

Paul Emile Tchinda, Thi-Thanh-Hiên Pham · Canadian Geographies / Géographies canadiennes 70(3) · Cameroon (one large and one medium-sized city)

Urban agriculture appears in many sustainability agendas yet has been ignored in the public policies of many African countries. Combining multi-scale mapping (city and neighbourhood) with semi-structured interviews in one large and one medium-sized Cameroonian city, this study tests how well those techniques characterise urban agriculture for local decision-making. Mapping from 5-metre SPOT satellite imagery gives a general grasp of the spatial distribution of practices, but crop types, emerging entrepreneurial practices and the temporality of crops are invisible to it and surface only through field mapping and interviews. Echoing critical remote-sensing scholarship, the authors propose a methodological framework for profiling urban agriculture and argue that the choice of research method shapes our understanding of it, so it should be made with each city's specific characteristics in mind.

Evangelista et al. · Agronomy for Sustainable Development · Europe

This 8-year case study tracked tomato cultivation in a rooftop greenhouse. Peak yield reached 49 g plant−1 day−1 in the 2023 cycle, but overall yield declined by 31.2% across the 8 years. Best water use efficiency reached 36.8 g/L under reduced irrigation. Solar transmittance dropped from 50.9% in 2015 to 46.4% in 2023 due to polycarbonate degradation, and life-cycle global warming impact rose from a minimum of 0.54 kg CO2eq to 0.94 kg CO2eq in 2023.