Research & reports

Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.

4 results

• Environmental performance and methodological challenges of Rooftop Greenhouses: An introductory paper

  2026

  Yizhi Zhang · · Global

  This report systematically reviews the environmental performance of rooftop greenhouses, focusing on life cycle assessment (LCA) approaches. The review found that existing studies are limited, often case-specific, and use diverse methodologies, hindering comparisons. Environmental performance is highly context-dependent and influenced by methodological assumptions, with conventional LCA often failing to capture dynamic interactions between greenhouse operations, crop growth, and host buildings, leading to an incomplete representation of environmental performance.

  Methodological critiqueClimate changeEconomicsDigital agriculture
  Read source →DOI: 10.54612/a.b4vcjkedmk

• Hydrogel Application in Urban Farming: Potentials and Limitations—A Review

  2022

  Swarna Devi Palanivelu, Nur Amira Zainul Armir, Amalia Zulkifli, Ainul Hafiza Abdul Hair, Kushairi Mohd Salleh, Keith Lindsey, Muhamad Hafiz Che Othman, Sarani Zakaria · Polymers · Global

  This review discusses the potentials and limitations of hydrogel in urban agriculture. While hydrogel has been introduced in urban agriculture over the past few decades, its application is still being explored regarding hydrogel types, structure, physical and chemical properties, changes due to external factors, and suitability for different plant species. The study presents the current state of knowledge on hydrogel production methods, characteristics, advantages, and limitations.

  Methodological critiqueDigital agricultureClimate changeFood sovereignty & justice
  Read source →DOI: 10.3390/polym14132590

• A Systematic Review of Knowledge Representation Techniques in Smart Agriculture (Urban)

  2022

  Bikram Pratim Bhuyan, Ravi Tomar, Amar Ramdane-Chérif · Sustainability · Global

  An extensive systematic review of knowledge representation techniques used in smart agriculture, specifically in the urban agricultural domain, was conducted. The review found that spatial-temporal characteristics were rarely approached, a generalized representation technique to include all agricultural domains remains an issue, and a proper validation technique was missing in such ontologies.

  Methodological critiqueDigital agriculture
  Read source →DOI: 10.3390/su142215249

• On the sustainability of aquaponics

  2016

  Bettina König, Ranka Junge, András Bittsánszky, Morris Villarroel, Tamás Kőmíves · Ecocycles · Global

  A literature review was conducted on the social, environmental, and economic impacts of aquaponics. The technology has potential applications in various settings, including commercial or community-based urban food production, industrial-scale production, small-scale farming, and educational systems. However, it is concluded that due to the complexity within markets, value chains, communities, infrastructure, and policy settings, further research and data acquisition are needed to fully assess all sustainability aspects.

  Methodological critiqueDigital agricultureEconomicsClimate changeCommunity
  Read source →DOI: 10.19040/ecocycles.v2i1.50