Research & reports

Sexton A., Conitz F., Sturm U., Egerer M. · Ecology and Evolution · Germany (Berlin, Munich)

Using four years of plant community data from 30+ community gardens in Berlin and Munich, found no support for urban biotic homogenization—wild plant species instead showed increased biotic differentiation with urbanization.

· Sustainability · Warsaw, Poland

A survey of 44 plots in Warsaw finds turf-dominated allotments have the lowest plant species diversity (lowest Shannon index among use types) and provide only limited regulatory ecosystem services such as cooling and PM2.5 retention, showing garden management choices can undercut ecological function.

Pierluigi Siano, Isam Shahrour, Silvano Vergura · Journal of Urban Development and Smart Cities · Germany

This study presents a participatory Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) framework for evaluating urban agriculture in compact cities, based on a two-stage German case design. A European expert survey (35 responses) identified priority sub-criteria, and a German stakeholder survey (141 responses) weighted these criteria. The AHP structure prioritized the environmental dimension (42%), with biodiversity receiving the highest priority and food quality and safety the lowest.

Daniel Fischer · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Europe

Homegardens, also known as forest gardens or food forests, are a diverse and sustainable agroforestry model that mimics natural ecosystems by combining trees, shrubs, and other useful plants or small livestock. These systems are gaining popularity in Europe, particularly in Germany, the Netherlands, and Ireland, due to their high productivity and the wide range of benefits they offer on limited space. The FAO defines these systems as agrisilvopasture.

Juliane Forßmann, Simon Goebel · Zeitschrift für Flüchtlingsforschung · Germany

An urban gardening project in a residential facility for up to 230 refugees in Germany aims to counteract precarious living conditions. While the garden offers a low-threshold space for knowledge exchange on resource-saving cultivation, biodiversity, and health promotion, this paper also reflects on the project's limits.

Silvia Barbero, Federica Larcher · · Italy (Turin)

This chapter explores the role of the Turin Living Lab in testing nature-based solutions (NBS) in the Mirafiori Sud district of Italy. Local schools play a significant role in testing these solutions. Seven NBS types have been implemented, including new soil, urban horticulture, aquaponics, green roofs and walls, and green corridors.

Hugo Rochard, Céline Clauzel, Nathalie Blanc · Urban Ecosystems · France (Paris)

The impact of civic-led hedgerow planting on landscape connectivity was assessed in the southern Paris periurban context. A graph modeling methodology was applied to 94 hedgerow sites, revealing that these sites strengthen landscape connectivity. This quantitative assessment was coupled with qualitative data collected from local civic leaders regarding their perception of social-ecological functions associated with hedgerow planting.

Mais Jafari, Rolf Morgenstern, Jonas Runte · · Germany

This chapter analyzed the co-creation pathway of Nature-based Solutions (NBS) in the Dortmund Living Lab, focusing on urban gardening, food forests, and biodiversity. It critically illustrated missing dimensions that hinder innovation, such as business opportunities, legal frameworks, and planning conditions. These identified gaps indicate challenges in governance and implementation for social innovation through NBS.

Fereday, George, Tang, Bo · London Met Repository (London Metropolitan University) · United Kingdom

This case study examined the integration of regenerative pedagogy in undergraduate architectural education through annual timber structures workshops at Mudchute City Farm, London, over a six-year period. Second-year students learned regenerative design principles focused on climate change, local ecology, and adaptive timber reuse, fostering circular and regenerative design skills. The program prepares students for future architectural challenges, including reducing carbon emissions and increasing biodiversity.

Magdalena Roszczynialska · Przestrzenie Teorii · Poland

This article characterizes the edible landscape, a non-visual approach to landscape, by identifying landscapes where the cultural component is weakened in favor of the environmental one. The author develops a typology of edible landscapes in 21st-century Polish prose, including consumption landscapes, edible mnemotopos, terroir, and urban gardens, interpreting them as practices of "hacking the Anthropocene" and interventions for socio-environmental justice. The edible landscape is presented as a way of literary manifestation of nature and a means of survival in the face of ecological catastrophe.

Julián Briz Escribano, Isabel de Felipe Boente · Revista española de estudios agrosociales y pesqueros/Revista española de estudios agrosociales y pesqueros · Spain

This study addresses various climate change-related functions and climate issues, particularly in urban areas. A holistic analytical method for green infrastructure is proposed as a nature-based solution, based on its structure, behavior, and functioning. Dimensions emerging with climate change and Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), such as urban agriculture and agrifitness, are identified, and the situation in Spain is described.

Javier Rodrigo-Ilarri, Claudia P. Romero-Hernández, Sergio Salazar-Galán, María-Elena Rodrigo-Clavero · Sustainability · Spain (Valencia)

This article analyzes the impact of urban sprawl on the Valencia Plain aquifer system from 1990 to 2018 using the Weighted Environmental Index (WEI). Results show urban surfaces expanded by 70% and rainfed agricultural areas declined by over 59%, leading to a 9.2% reduction in environmental value (WEI decreased from 44.80 to 40.68). These changes threaten ecosystem sustainability and reduce the capacity to deliver ecosystem services.

Beyza Aleyna Bayram, Selin ARABULAN · Pamukkale University Journal of Social Sciences Institute · Turkey (Edirne)

This study aimed to identify and evaluate the urban agriculture potential in Edirne, Turkey, based on the hypothesis of transforming passive areas into urban agricultural areas. It conducted a literature review, reported on climate, topography, vegetation cover, and land use conditions, and used SWOT analysis to evaluate potential in technological, economic, demographic, sociological, and ecological contexts. The study determined that urban agriculture practices in Edirne, where the existing structure is quite favorable, can be evaluated as a strategic development tool with proper planning and management.

Renata Jóźwik · Arts · Poland

This article analyzes how biophilic architecture employs immersive strategies to transform buildings into environments that support sensory, behavioral, and social practices. It analyzes projects such as the Rooftop Garden—Warsaw University Library, Musée du quai Branly, and apartment buildings Bosco Verticale, and proposes a Multi-criteria Method for Assessing Architectural Immersiveness (MMAAI). Findings indicate that the integration of nature, technology, and spatial narrative enables architecture to act as a mediator between humans and the environment, generating new qualities of spatial experience in the Anthropocene epoch.

Lourdes Aragón Núñez, Beatriz Erdozain Manzano · Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education · Spain

Diagnostic research using a questionnaire with 45 closed-ended and 9 open-ended questions was conducted in 21 urban schools in Spain that use gardens in early childhood education. The study assessed the resilience level of school gardens across environmental, economic, social, and curriculum dimensions. Results indicate school gardens are valuable for transforming urban environments and creating resilient communities, generally showing a medium level of resilience, with weaknesses identified in environmental and social dimensions.

Blanche Collard, Quentin Dutertre, Emmanuelle Baudry · Landscape and Urban Planning · France

This study investigated the relationship between vegetable growing and biodiversity conservation in domestic gardens in France, using a nationwide online survey and ecological monitoring in a suburban area near Paris. 67% of surveyed gardeners nationwide had a vegetable garden, and no significant conflict was found between vegetable production and biodiversity conservation. Instead, synergies emerged, particularly in the stronger commitment of vegetable gardeners to their gardens, wild species, and nature, and in practices like more frequent planting.

Julia Gobs · GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society · Germany

This study investigated the school-based food forest project at Chestnut School in Northern Germany, using interviews and participatory methods framed by the Whole School Approach. School-based food forests contribute to holistic education for sustainable development by offering interdisciplinary, hands-on learning environments. They promote systemic thinking, agency, and self-efficacy, fostering human-nature connections, critical thinking, and sustainable food practices.

Marina Abrão Ballak Dias · Revista Andaluza de Antropología · France (Paris)

This article explored how different conceptions of human-nature relationships shaped practices in two community gardens in Paris's Goutte d’Or neighborhood. Conceptions grounded in a human–nature divide prevailed, leading to a conservationist approach. Practices stemming from this perspective were found to be in constant tension with garden goals like increasing urban biodiversity and human socialization.

Olaf Ciebiera, Paweł Czechowski, Federico Morelli, Sławomir Rubacha, Leszek Jerzak · Animals · Poland

This study investigated changes in the population size, distribution, and habitat preferences of the Eurasian magpie in Zielona Góra, Poland, over 23 years. A 2022 survey identified 953 magpie pairs, with an average density of 8.8 pairs/km2 across administrative boundaries (excluding forests) and 27.7 pairs/km2 in strictly urbanized zones. The highest densities were observed in the old town (36.5 pairs/km2) and residential blocks (34.5 pairs/km2), while peripheral areas showed significantly lower densities. Nests were predominantly located in coniferous trees, especially spruces, at a mean height of 11.8 m. Proximity to trash bins, water sources, and tall trees were significant predictors of nest density and placement.

Sergi Ventura, J.R. Armengol Miró, David Camacho-Caballero, Enric Casellas, Ricard Segura-Barrero, Alberto Martilli, gara villalba · Urban Climate · Spain (Barcelona)

This study used the Pseudo Global Warming method and WRF model to assess urban heat adaptation strategies in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. Three strategies were evaluated: increasing rooftop albedo, implementing irrigated sedum green roofs, and increasing peri-urban agriculture and urban parks. While increasing rooftop albedo provided the greatest daytime cooling (−1.75 °C), and green roofs and peri-urban agriculture showed moderate regulation, none of the strategies fully counterbalanced the projected 6 °C temperature increase by 2100, indicating a limited capacity of these adaptations under severe warming scenarios.

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.

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.

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.

· 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.