Research & reports

Bárbara Ribeiro, David E. Pattemore, A. B. Morris, Leo Baldwin-Ramult, Daniel Exeter · Journal of Urbanism International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability · New Zealand

An action research project in Waharoa, New Zealand, transformed a former bowling green into a public, edible landscape. This 400 m2 Living Lab (LL) involved multi-stakeholder cooperation (government, community, and academia), and participants perceived benefits as transition pathways to more nutritious dietary choices, health education, and reduced criminality in a socially deprived region. Analyses of interviews, observations, and pollinator surveys conducted at the LL confirmed that 14 visiting species were drawn to the site, leading to an approach to regenerative placemaking that combines human health and biodiversity benefits.

Carmen K. Blubaugh, R. Chesnut, Katherine Hagan · Journal of Applied Ecology · Global

This study investigated how organic composts mediate the effects of plant diversity across trophic levels over two field seasons, conducting 18 experiments in school gardens. Vermicompost strengthened a positive relationship between flower richness and foliar-feeding omnivores, but predators increased with flower richness and were not affected by vermicompost. The net outcomes of vermicompost and plant diversity were neutral for herbivores.

Rossi Rotondi B. · Urban Ecosystems · Cordoba, Argentina

Surveying bees and blooms across 13 gardens in Cordoba, Argentina, the study found floral species evenness to be the strongest driver of bee abundance, diversity and functional trait diversity.

María José Ludewig, Patricia Landaverde‐González, Klaus‐Peter Götz, Frank‐M. Chmielewski · Journal of Insect Conservation · Global

This study assessed bee visits to experimental blueberry and cherry orchards in an urban landscape to understand how air temperature affects the pollination contribution of honey bees and wild bees. Bumble bees and honey bees were the most important floral visitors, followed by Anthophora plumipes. Honey bees' potential contribution to pollination services decreased with air temperature changes, but this was offset by the niche complementarity of bumble bees.

Lisandra Hernández-Guanche, Yoerlandy Santana Baños, Yusniel Dago-Dueñas, Ramón Hernández Carballo, Armando Del Busto-Concepción · Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Agrícolas · Cuba

This study identified the beneficial entomofauna associated with arboreal species in urban agriculture settings in Pinar del Río, Cuba. Between September 2019 and March 2020, a floristic inventory of arboreal biodiversity was conducted, and samples of bioregulators were collected. Twenty-three arboreal species were inventoried, with 65% being fruit trees. The highest species richness was detected in the orders Diptera, Mesostigmata, Hymenoptera, and Araneae. The most frequent bioregulators were Condylostylus sp., Ocyptamus costatus, and Phytoseiulus sp., while the arboreal species with the highest proportion of associated arthropods were Persea americana, Citrus limon, Morinda citrifolia, and Psidium guajava.

Michael Hardman, Katherine C. R. Baldock, Stuart Connop, Kenny Taylor, Ross Stirling · · Global

Against a backdrop of high interest in blue-green infrastructure (BGI), this chapter examines how developers, planners, engineers, architects, and other actors are incorporating BGI into urban and rural environments. It notes that evidence shows approaches are often basic, relying on traditional landscaping methods that fail to explore BGI's possibilities, and reflects on advances in more radical approaches. The chapter begins with a review of how pollinator biodiversity can be enhanced through innovative BGI systems, then addresses incorporating food growing into BGI strategies and co-benefits with low-carbon energy.

Jean Pascal · Biodiversity online journal. · Global

Noting that insects constitute most of the biodiversity on Earth and provide a wide range of services to society while being threatened by human activities such as habitat destruction and urbanization, this article assesses advances in understanding the impact of insects on sustainable food production in low-income countries. It focuses on two research topics that have emerged in recent years: entomophagy combined with the creation of small household farms rearing insects for sale (the Thai example), and the use of insects to improve soil fertility and nutrient availability (the Zai example). The article advocates considering the diversity of solutions and adaptations found in nature, arguing that the ways local communities and ethnic groups use natural resources are vast and should be seen as a source of inspiration for scientists developing sustainable food systems.

Joan Casanelles‐Abella, Simone Fontana, Bertrand Fournier, David Frey, Marco Moretti · Ecological Applications · Switzerland (Zurich)

This study in 23 urban gardens in Zurich, Switzerland, examined feeding niche partitioning between wild bees and honeybees. Researchers found that feeding niche partitioning increased with wild bee species richness and in sites with lower landscape-scale resource availability, which also had lower honeybee abundances. However, beekeeping intensity at local and landscape scales did not directly influence community feeding niche partitioning or wild bee species richness, suggesting direct competition for resources was not a main driver for the wild bee community.

Alan Dorin, Tim Taylor, Adrian G. Dyer · PLOS Sustainability and Transformation · Global

This study used an agent-based model to explore the impact of insect flower constancy, heterospecific pollen transfer, and crop patch size on pollination in urban farms. It found that highly constant pollinators were most effective in the smallest patches, while less constant insects performed better in intermediate-sized areas. The model identified an optimal "Goldilocks zone" for pollination around 11m x 11m, suggesting that collaborative management to increase single-crop patch size could improve pollination in community farms.

Pierre Michard Beaujour, Frank Cézilly · Caribbean Journal of Science · Haiti (Port-au-Prince)

This survey assessed the distribution of pollinating insect orders in 16 urban green sites in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, from January to April 2018. Researchers collected 2,747 pollinating insects and found that insect order richness was significantly higher at agroforestry plantations compared to unexploited forest remnants. Site area, elevation, and built area percentage had no significant influence on the total number of insects collected.

Philip Donkersley, Sammy Witchalls, Elias H. Bloom, David W. Crowder · Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment · Global

A meta-analysis of 31 studies and a 5-year study on small pollinator habitats (30 m²) at community gardens and farms (150,000 m²) assessed the effect of pollinator planting interventions. Pollinator conservation interventions increased species richness and abundance in almost all studies, with greatest increases from hedgerows (40 m²) and herbaceous interventions (500 m²). Small interventions (∼500 m²) can significantly benefit pollinators, but only when densely distributed at a landscape level, and future research is needed on their cumulative effects.

Ehsan Rahimi, Shahindokht Barghjelveh, Pinliang Dong · Agriculture & Food Security · Global

This study reviewed 87 articles on the presence of bees in urban gardens and urban farms, summarizing bee diversity, host plant attractiveness, and the effects of landscape variables. Urban environments, especially urban gardens, contained a high diversity of bees, with honeybees and bumblebees being the most dominant species. Native plants were more attractive to bees than non-native plants, and while urbanization negatively impacted bee presence, the presence of green spaces or other farms and gardens positively affected pollinators.

Marek Hekrle · Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Water · Global

A systematic review of 153 scientific publications examined data collection techniques and well-being perspectives used to elicit preferences toward multiple ecosystem services (ES) provided by nature-based solutions (NBS). Ecosystem services from urban parks, urban trees and community gardens were the most commonly examined, with questionnaire surveys the dominant data collection technique followed by semi-structured interviews and workshops, while only a limited number of studies used revealed- or stated-preference methods such as choice experiments or contingent valuation; the review defines three distinct well-being perspectives — individual, community and society — that it finds are rarely discussed explicitly in existing NBS literature.

Sponsler D. B. · People and Nature · Global (review)

A socioecological perspective on urban apiculture examining whether urban beekeeping serves cities, bees, or beekeepers, and its implications for wild pollinator conservation and management.

Sarah Taylor Lovell, John Taylor · · Global

This paper discusses urban agroforestry (UAF) as a strategy to integrate fruit and nut production into urban settings, emphasizing the inclusion of agroecological principles for improved design. It suggests that UAF can be intentionally integrated into urban landscapes, considering synergies with adjacent land uses. Guidelines for planting design can draw from multi-strata systems found in permaculture and food forest literature.

Fernanda Rodrigues Vieira, Daniel Caixeta Andrade, Francis Lee Ribeiro · Revista Ibero-Americana de Ciências Ambientais · Global

This systematic review analyzed 45 publications from Web of Science up to September 2020 to examine the benefits of bee pollination through the Ecosystem Services Approach. The review found a significant increase in publications over the last two decades, with 84.44% associating pollination with rural agricultural productivity, 8.88% with wild plant reproduction, and 6.66% with urban agriculture. Only 7 of the 45 studies conducted economic valuation of pollination.

Kit Prendergast, Amelie M. Vanderstock, Heather Neilly, Catherine E. Ross, Vanessa Pirotta, Patrick Tegart · Austral Ecology · Australia

A reflection on a citizen science project in which five early-career and PhD female researchers guided school-age children across five schools to build artificial flowers, install them on school ovals, and record over repeated 10-minute observations how flower colour (yellow vs. blue) and configuration (isolated, clumped adjacent, clumped mixed-colour, clumped single-colour) affected the number and taxa of visiting insects. The project achieved a low-cost, engaging format and exposure to female STEM role models, but the authors report constraints including having to run it in a season made suboptimal by fixed school curricula, confounding of results caused by the children's own observations, and an inability to verify the collected data.

Amado De Santis A. A., Chacoff N. P. · Neotropical Entomology · Yungas, Argentina

Analysing citizen-science plant-flower-visitor interaction data along an urbanization gradient in the northern Argentinian Yungas, the study found urbanization alters community composition rather than species richness of flower visitors.

Kit Prendergast · Pacific Conservation Biology · Australia

The African carder bee, Pseudoanthidium (Immanthidium) repetitum, first recorded in Queensland in 2000, has now been found in Western Australia, marking a significant distribution expansion. Three confirmed and one unconfirmed localities were identified in the Mandurah region, with abundant female specimens observed in one garden. The presence of this introduced species necessitates vigilance due to known negative impacts on native fauna and flora.

Brandon García Rodríguez, José Andrés Martínez Machado, Reinier Lop Herrera, Reina Dayamí Reyna Reyes · Revista Científica Agroecosistemas · Cuba (Cienfuegos)

A study on the use of Meliponinos was conducted in two meliponarios in Cienfuegos province, Cuba, specifically in San Fernando de Camarones and Pueblo Nuevo. Interviews with bee owners and community members identified factors affecting the sustainable development of Meliponicultura within Urban, Suburban, and Family Agriculture systems. Findings indicated a tendency for the Melipona beecheii population to increase in both municipalities, and common factors affecting bees were identified.

Paul Sherfey · Budkavlen · Global

This study explores human-animal relationships, particularly with insects, in collective gardens through observation and digital research. It demonstrates that in collective gardens, cultivating community is as important as cultivating organic produce, and this community includes not only humans but also animal species like insects. The article analyzes why gardeners show interest in building hotels and cafes, sowing meadows, and arranging festivals for insects, especially bees, and contrasts discourses about bees with the lack of similar discourse about wasps, considering how different cultural heritages affect the value placed on species.

Katherine C. R. Baldock · Current Opinion in Insect Science · Global

Urban expansion is a major threat to biodiversity, yet some pollinator groups, particularly bees, can thrive in urban areas. Recent studies indicate that local floral resources and the amount of impervious cover influence pollinator abundance, richness, and community composition. Urban intensification, chemicals, climate change, and increased honey bee colony densities all negatively affect urban pollinators.

Louis Amprako, Kathrin Stenchly, Martin Wiehle, George Nyarko, Andreas Buerkert · Insects · Ghana

In 36 fields around Tamale in Ghana's Northern Region, researchers used 72-hour pitfall and pan trap sampling to examine how different irrigation water sources shaped arthropod communities in urban and peri-urban agricultural systems. Among 14,226 specimens spanning 13 orders, 103 families, 264 genera, and 329 taxa, analyzed with non-metric multidimensional scaling and redundancy analysis, arthropods grouped by irrigation source, with dipterans -- notably the disease-vector eye gnat Hippelates pusio -- dominant under wastewater irrigation, three alien ant species indicating community shifts from invasive species, and seven ant species forming mutualistic relationships with aphids flagging a future risk of aphid pest outbreaks.

Kathleen L. Prudic, J. Keaton Wilson, Michelle C. Toshack, Katharine L. Gerst, Alyssa Rosemartin, Theresa M. Crimmins, Jeffrey C. Oliver · Insects · Global

This study introduced web-based citizen science programs to assist urban growers in managing insect biodiversity on city farms, a complex task given the estimated 30% of the global urban population engaged in food production. The programs aim to connect growers with relevant data and experts for informed insect management decisions. It suggests that combining citizen science volunteers with urban farmers can clarify ecosystem services, reduce insecticide use, and promote non-chemical alternatives.

Uvianeth Castañeda Maldonado · · Colombia (Bogotá)

The recognition and characterization of arvense flora (weeds) found in urban gardens assisted by the Bogotá Botanical Garden in Bogotá, Colombia, were conducted. A catalog of arvense recognition for the Capital District was developed, representing 36 species of weeds belonging to 15 families of the Magnoliopsida class. This catalog includes photographic records, field observations, and information on pollinator presence, serving as an important consultation tool for the district's flora.