Research & reports

Kulesh Bhandari · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · India

This press release reports on the field progress and community engagement of the Wild Food Forests in Tribal Jharkhand initiative in India, led by biodiversity researcher Kulesh Bhandari (M.Sc. Zoology, Godda College, SKMU) with support from The Pollination Project Foundation (USA). The project spans multiple tribal villages, including Bodiya Panchayat, Fhagu Tola, Rajapathar, Mandal Chak, Silthiya B Panchayat (Basdhuma Upar Tola, Niche Tola, Debri), Salaipahari, and Gardiapahari (Gopikandar Range). It aims to restore diversity of wild edible and medicinal plants such as Dumar, Dova, Mahua, Koha, and Bel by combining traditional knowledge with scientific monitoring.

Johanna Bock, Márcio Zamboni Neske, Martin Krauß, Andrea Dombrowski, Jörg Oehlmann · Environmental Sciences Europe · Europe

Focusing on small water bodies in private urban gardens, this study examined whether chemical pollution limits insect diversity, given that gardens make up a significant share of urban green area and can serve as important habitats and stepping stones for insects, while pesticides, fertilizers and chemical run-off from building materials can strongly affect habitat quality and insect biodiversity. Garden pond toxicity was assessed using in vitro and in vivo methods and chemical screening. Of 17 ponds examined, only one water sample and one sediment sample were found non-toxic in a bioluminescence assay with Aliivibrio fischeri. Enhanced dioxin-like activity was measured in seven water and ten sediment samples using a reporter gene assay with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and most water extracts showed mutagenic potential in the Ames fluctuation assay (Salmonella typhimurium strains YG1041 and YG1042), while most sediment extracts were not mutagenic. Increased larval mortality of Chironomus riparius occurred in five water-sediment systems built from pond samples, correlating positively with in vitro water toxicity and with concentrations of benzothiazole derivatives measured by LC-HRMS, likely originating from EPDM rubber pond liners. Substance composition differed significantly between house and allotment gardens, with higher concentrations measured in allotment ponds. The study concludes that chemical pollution in private urban gardens may have been underestimated to date, and that pond toxicity can severely affect insect populations, warranting further study.

Bethaney Turner · · Australia

Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in community gardens in Canberra, Australia, this chapter examines how community gardens support future-focused, more-than-human heritage making, preservation and transmission. It shows that everyday, food-based informal economies of participation are capable of nourishing soil, gardeners' well-being, and broader human and non-human communities, and it proposes a concept termed ecological belonging that attunes gardeners to multispecies relations extending beyond the temporal and spatial boundaries of contemporary gardening sites.

Motohiro Kawanishi · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan

A survey of the flora growing in the gardens of seven elementary schools on Okinoerabujima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, catalogued the vascular plants present as basic reference material for educational use. A total of 480 vascular plant species were recorded, of which 211 were native to Okinoerabujima Island, 100 were exotic, and 157 were cultivated. The school gardens hosted a large number of plants characterized by a high proportion of native species, including rare plants such as endangered herbaceous species. The survey sites were found to have high potential for use in teaching about the island's nature.

Bharti Gautam, Neha Negi, J. Mohan, Babita Bharti, Amit Kumar, Ridhima Arya · International Journal of Advanced Biochemistry Research · Global

A review paper surveying sustainable urban agriculture and gardening practices against a backdrop of rapid urbanization linked to climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. It covers composting, rainwater harvesting, rooftop gardening, hydroponics, aquaponics, and vertical farming, and discusses the role of integrated pest management, smart irrigation systems, and urban agroforestry. The review states that integrating nature-based solutions — urban farms, vertical gardens, and green roofs — into the urban landscape can lessen environmental problems such as poor air quality, flooding, and the urban heat island effect, and that urban horticulture plays an important role in food security, biodiversity, and environmental sustainability.

Bal Krishna Joshi · Genetics Plant Breeding and Seed Science · Global

A paper documenting good practices for food systems transformation using a ROSE (review, observation, survey, and experience) approach, framing the food system as encompassing six key components: crops, livestock, agro-insects, agro-microbes, forages, and aquatic agricultural genetic resources (AGRs). It notes that efforts to increase yield have relied on developing and expanding mono genotypes — single uniform genotypes across large areas — of a few crops such as rice, wheat, and maize with chemical inputs, but that as agriculture has advanced, many localized AGR-based food systems and farmers' rights have been neglected. Promoting and maximizing genetic diversity and localized food systems is described as crucial for food, nutrition, health, business, and environmental security. Effective food systems are characterized by site-specific staple foods, diverse genotypes, product diversification, incentives, circular and inclusive agriculture, waste reuse and recycling, and urban agriculture. The paper suggests that respecting every aspect of farmers' contributions — treating a farmer's household as a "shop" — would be a beneficial strategy.

Yu Huan, Steffen Nijhuis, Nico Tillie · Journal of Cleaner Production · Europe

Using Rotterdam as a case study, researchers combined machine-learning suitability modeling (XGBoost with SHAP), deep-learning land-use simulation, and monetary ecosystem-service valuation to compare three scenarios for 2030 and 2050: business-as-usual, suitability-based autonomous transformation, and a suitability-based landscape-approach transformation. Suitability-guided scenarios outperformed business-as-usual, with the landscape-approach scenario producing the most stable multi-decadal outcomes for regulating and cultural services, but provisioning services could plateau or decline when ecological protection constraints limited intensive production.

Janine Opitz, Monika Egerer · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · Germany

An online survey of 111 responding projects from Germany's urban community gardening network examined the presence and diversity of nut tree species and the motivations and challenges for adopting and expanding them. Nut trees existed in almost half of the responding projects, but in small numbers with low yields, hindered by limited space, local laws and regulations, and interaction with other garden species, and only 50% of projects planned to incorporate more nut tree species in the future.

Wen‐Pei Sung, Ming-Cheng Liao, Hsian-Ling Peng, Chung-Tien Huang, Yun-Jung Chuang, J Wang · Sustainability · Global

Against a backdrop of intensifying urban heat island effects and residents' mental health problems amid urbanization, this study examined the impact of an Urban Food Forest Program on urban environmental comfort, heat island mitigation, and the mental health of middle-aged and elderly residents. Using on-site field measurements and questionnaire surveys, it analyzed the environmental comfort of green spaces in urban heat island hotspots and assessed participants' mental health. The Urban Food Forest Program significantly reduced surrounding environmental temperature, with an average cooling effect of 2.4°C particularly in soil areas, and reduced heat island intensity in the surrounding area by 15%. In the mental health survey, male participants scored significantly higher than female participants (p = 0.017), and middle-aged and elderly participants who took part more than five times per week scored 17% higher, significantly better, than low-frequency participants. The study notes that its relatively small sample size and limited observation period may affect the generalizability of its findings, and that it focused on one specific urban area that may not represent the broader urban context.

Ermias Debie · City and Environment Interactions · Ethiopia

A study in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia examined the integration of urban agriculture (UA) and green infrastructure (GI) through surveys and interviews with 99 stakeholders, supplemented by participatory observation. The main barriers to integration, based on multiple-response data, were a lack of supportive policies and regulatory frameworks (87%), limited awareness (57%), and space constraints (51%). Multicriteria decision analysis ranked integrated practices as the most effective strategy (score 16.81), followed by edible tree planting at garden centers (16.18), small gardens (13.83), and fence-edge greening (11.46). Structural equation modeling identified thermal regulation and access to fresh food as critical factors for planning sustainable urban systems.

Jannatul Nayma Bona, Md. Zaki Faisal, Durjoy Hur, Saniya Afrin Swarna, Md. Muntaseer Al Mamun · Agriculture Archives. · Asia

In the Dhanmondi and Mohammadpur areas of Dhaka, Bangladesh, a mixed-methods study of 100 randomly selected rooftop gardeners drawn from a target population of 250 used structured interviews, focus group discussions and key informant interviews between March and May 2024 to examine the environmental and nutritional benefits of rooftop gardening (RTG). 49% of respondents perceived moderate environmental benefits and 25% perceived high benefits, with increased rooftop vegetation (mean perception index 245), reduced indoor temperatures and improved biodiversity as ecological outcomes. On nutrition, 65% reported significant benefits, 63% reported healthier dietary habits and 75% reported meeting a substantial share of their vegetable needs through rooftop cultivation; both environmental and nutritional benefits correlated positively with respondents' education level (r=0.628 and r=0.544) and gardening experience (r=0.946 and r=0.532) at the 1% significance level. Over half of participants, however, cited limited technical knowledge (perception index 231), seasonal water scarcity, high input costs and pest management difficulties as challenges.

Cassandra Tytler · · Global

A book chapter examines the intersection of place-based art practices, ecological attunement and relational wellbeing through Think Like a Worm, a project using multisensory, embodied approaches that transformed a community garden into a sensory art space. Drawing on feminist and anti-colonial scholarship, it argues for a "politics of location" that acknowledges inequities in environmental impacts and knowledge production.

Diana Dushkova, Maria Ignatieva · Diversity · Global

Ongoing urbanization, biodiversity decline, and intensifying climate change are increasingly challenging the sustainability of urban green spaces dominated by conventional, intensively maintained lawns, which are criticized for their low biodiversity value and high resource demands. This paper explores nature-based solutions (NBS) as alternatives for enhancing the resilience and multifunctionality of urban lawns, conceptualizing lawns as intertwined ecological, design, and socio-cultural systems and evaluating strategies for their transformation. Drawing on case studies from ten Eurasian cities, a narrative literature review, and the authors' inter- and transdisciplinary research experience, it develops a typology of NBS alternatives including urban species-rich meadows, semi-natural grasslands, naturalistic herbaceous perennial plantings, mixed-vegetation groundcovers, edible lawns, pictorial (annual) meadows, and rewilded lawns, with key interventions including reduced mowing, multifunctional green spaces, adaptive management, and community engagement. The paper finds that these approaches can enhance biodiversity, ecosystem services, and climate resilience, but that their success depends on local ecological conditions, landscape design, and public perceptions of urban nature; it recommends using native, drought- and trampling-resistant plants with context-sensitive design that respects cultural traditions of urban greening and fosters social acceptance.

Pires M. J. F. C. D. S., Ribeiro S. A., Ferreira L. S., Antunes L. F. S., Uzeda M. C., Correia M. E. F. · Environmental Monitoring and Assessment · ブラジル・リオデジャネイロ市

A survey testing whether agroecological urban agriculture plots — described as remnants of biodiversity that also provide ecosystem services, food security and income — can shelter soil fauna in an urban setting. Fifteen areas forming a gradient from different plantations to forest were selected in the Campo Grande and Vargem Grande neighbourhoods of western Rio de Janeiro. At each area a transect of three sampling points 5 m apart was established; soil mesofauna was sampled with a specific auger from the litter layer down to 10 cm, and earthworms by the TSBF method at 0–10 cm. Soil fertility and texture were analysed at each point, landscape features were measured within buffers around each site, and multivariate techniques including principal component analysis were used to identify which soil attributes and landscape features most affect the occurrence and abundance of soil invertebrates.

Diego López-Collar, Pietro Agostini, Francisco J Cabrero-Sañudo · DIGITAL.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) · Europe

This study reports the first records of two non-native ant species, Monomorium carbonarium (1858) and Cardiocondyla mauritanica (1890), within the urban area of Madrid, Spain, along with updated occurrence records for the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile). These detections are mostly associated with irrigated green spaces—public parks, private gardens, urban orchards, and landscaped medians—and confirm that Mo. carbonarium and C. mauritanica are established in the city, extending their known Iberian distributions beyond coastal areas into the interior, while new Li. humile records point to its persistent, patchy distribution across Madrid.

Kelley AT, Boger R · EcoHealth · 米国・ニューヨーク市ブルックリン

A survey of mosquito larval abundance and genera across 22 community gardens in Brooklyn, New York. The authors frame these gardens as social spaces providing food sovereignty to many New Yorkers, while the arrival of Aedes albopictus and the longtime presence of Culex pipiens make socialising in them more dangerous — Ae. albopictus is associated with dengue, Zika and chikungunya, and Cx. pipiens is a longstanding West Nile virus vector. Because both breed in human-made plastic containers, knowing their preferred container types and locations can inform gardeners' best management practices. Non-purposeful container types and lower total volumes of water were significant predictors of higher mosquito densities, though these variables did not predict egg-laying preference.

· Wikipedia (italiano) · Italy

An Italian Wikipedia article on marcite, a traditional Lombard irrigated-meadow technique combining supply and drainage channels on gently and evenly sloped land to keep grass growing through winter under a thin flowing water layer. While ordinary meadows are cut 4-5 times a year, marcite could be harvested 7 or more times, often 9, with the third cutting in late May (maggengo) alone accounting for roughly 25% of annual yield. Origins are uncertain, though Cistercian monks from France are credited with spreading the technique in northern Italy; it was largely replaced by maize cultivation in the 20th century, and today 41 marcite are protected within Parco Agricolo Sud Milano.

· Wikipedia (Italian) · Italy

Parco Nord Milano is a roughly 640-hectare regional park spanning seven municipalities north of Milan, recognized as a regional park by the Lombardy Region in 1975. It contains over 350 hectares of green space with more than 100 tree species and diverse wildlife, managed by a consortium of the participating municipalities. It serves as an example of large-scale peri-urban green infrastructure.

Bellini, A., Savo, V., Caneva, G., D'Amico, E., Casalini, R., Bartoli, F. · Plants (Basel) · Italy

This study analyzed vegetation on an unmaintained green roof in Rome. Spontaneous colonization produced 62 species across 18 families, with Asteraceae (19 species, 31%) and Poaceae (10 species, 16%) most represented. Therophytes (annuals) dominated the life-form spectrum at 35 species (56%). Geographically, cosmopolitan species made up 25%, Mediterranean species 38%, and alien species 15%. Some originally planted species, such as Thymus, thrived through summer without irrigation.

豊島区 · 豊島区 · Japan

The rooftop garden "Toshima Forest" on the 10th floor of Toshima Ward Office recreates the ward's former Musashino plateau, valley, and cliff-line terrain and vegetation, with tanks and biotopes for observing creatures of the Arakawa river system. The Board of Education runs environmental education programs for children linked to the garden, such as returning medaka fish to their habitat.

European Commission · European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment · Europe

The European Commission's official page on the EU Pollinators Initiative (adopted 2018, revised 2023). It reports that 1 in 3 European bee, butterfly and hoverfly species is in decline and 1 in 10 bee and butterfly species is threatened with extinction, while around 4 out of 5 crop and wild flowering plant species depend on animal pollination. Under Article 10 of the Nature Restoration Regulation (in force since 19 August 2024), Member States face a legally binding target to reverse pollinator decline by 2030. A delegated regulation establishing the EU Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (EU-PoMS) was adopted on 19 September 2025, to be implemented by Member States by 16 December 2026 at the latest.

Bauer W., Titz A. · Nature-Based Solutions · Malawi (Lilongwe)

Urban Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are promoted globally as multifunctional and cost-effective, and municipal interest is growing in cities of the so-called Global South. Yet research remains clearly biased toward the Global North, with particularly few studies on cities in Sub-Saharan Africa — leaving a high risk that maladapted NbS, modelled on examples from elsewhere that do not meet local requirements, get adopted. This article examines the barriers to adopting urban NbS in Malawi's cities and the opportunities for successful implementation, drawing on qualitative data (workshops, narrative expert interviews, group discussions) gathered over five research stays in Lilongwe between 2022 and 2024, and analysing in detail the strategies used by those implementing the Lilongwe Ecological Corridor Initiative (LECI), a large-scale NbS in the capital.

Saputra A., Abdoellah O., Utama G., Wulandari I., Mulyanto D., Suparman Y. · Sustainability · Indonesia

Interviews and a survey examined how residents of Bandung perceive the ecosystem services of homegarden-based urban agriculture. Residents themselves judged the gardens' contribution to overall food security to be only supplementary, even though they supply fresh produce. Their value was widely recognised elsewhere: biodiversity conservation, microclimate regulation, disaster risk reduction, social cohesion and mental well-being. Limited space, lack of knowledge and competing land uses emerged as the barriers, and the authors conclude that education and policy support are the levers for wider uptake.

Alessio Russo · Land Use Policy, 149, 107410 · Global

A conceptual paper extending the ecological-restoration paradigm of rewilding into urban and food contexts, arguing that multispecies-based 'urban rewilding' can simultaneously enhance climate resilience, biodiversity recovery, food-system robustness, water sensitivity and community participation. It also flags trade-offs such as green gentrification and land availability, opening new debate within productive green infrastructure.

Nath T.K., Inoue M., Yim E.W., Takahashi S. · International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability · Japan

Using empirical data from two Japanese GIAHS sites, documents features of traditional agricultural practices and their values, including conservation of local crop varieties and revitalization of discontinued farming for rural livelihoods.