Research & reports

Victоria Kryuchkova, Vitaly Donskih, Yuri Gorbunov, Tatiana Aniskina, О. С. Волкова · АгроЭкоИнфо · Russia (Moscow)

This 2011-2022 study at the MBG RAS laboratory in Moscow, Russia, assessed 20 wild apple tree species for their landscaping potential. While Malus baccata, M. neidzwedzkyana, M. x zumi, M. sargentii, and M. mandshurica were identified as promising for urban conditions, M. ioensis showed low frost resistance and M. fusca and M. sievesii were susceptible to scab infestation, limiting their suitability for urban gardening in Moscow.

Iffat Jahan Nur, Motaleb Hossain Sarker, Tanıa Hossain, Tasnia Ferdous, Sazedatur Rahman, Benazir Iqbal, Md. Golam Jilani Helal, Md. Forhad Hossain · Current Research in Environmental Sustainability · Bangladesh (Dhaka)

An experimental survey of twenty rooftop gardens in Mohammadpur and Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh, examined four categories of ecosystem services using a Rapid Assessment Checklist with 47 indicators. The average score for total ecosystem services was 50 ± 12 out of 100, indicating an intermediate performance. Cultural services scored highest at 60 ± 14, while provisioning services scored lowest at 41 ± 13.

Nehiby Alcántara Nieves, Rosa María Larroa Torres · Espiral estudios sobre Estado y sociedad · Mexico (Mexico City)

This article investigates the functions of urban gardens in Mexico City two years after the implementation of the Food Sustainability System and the Urban Garden Law. A qualitative study found that public officials tend to prioritize the environmental functions of urban gardens, while for users, the sociocultural functions are the most relevant. The research suggests that urban gardens possess environmental, economic, and sociocultural multifunctionality.

Felix Hellinger, Dorothee Benkowitz, Petra Lindemann‐Matthies · Education Sciences · Global

Students' knowledge about the growth of food plants and their ideas for school garden design were investigated among 2107 fifth and sixth graders (mean age 12.3 years). About 40% of students believed carrots and radishes grow in underground bunches, and nearly 50% thought kohlrabi also grows underground. Girls performed better than boys, and increasing age and gardening experience had a positive effect on answers.

Amelie M. Vanderstock, Cecilia Grandi-Nagashiro, Gaku Kudo, Tanya Latty, Shoko Nakamura, Thomas E. White, Masashi Soga · Journal of Insect Conservation · Japan

An online survey was conducted with 443 adults in Japan to investigate the association between nature and gardening experiences, demographics, species identification knowledge, and biophilia (liking) and biophobia (dislike, fear, and disgust) towards invertebrates. Frequent gardeners were found to be more likely to express biophilia and perceive invertebrates as beneficial, and generally less likely to express biophobia. The results suggest that gardening can serve as a pathway to foster appreciation for invertebrate biodiversity in urban settings.

Can Wu, Xiaoma Li, Yuqing Tian, Ziniu Deng, Xiaoying Yu, Shenglan Wu, Di Shu, Yulin Peng, Feipeng Sheng, Dexin Gan · Agronomy · China (Changsha)

This study investigated the impact of perceived ecosystem services (ES) and disservices (EDS) on behavioral intention towards urban community gardens (UCGs) among 1142 residents in Changsha, China. While government decision-makers often refuse UCGs, residents' attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms positively impacted their behavioral intention towards UCGs. Perceived ES had a direct positive impact on behavioral intention, whereas perceived EDS had a direct negative impact.

Monika Egerer · Anliegen Natur · Global

A global survey explored the importance of urban gardens during the Covid-19 pandemic. The survey showed that gardening is an effective outdoor strategy for stress relief, food provision, and increasing feelings of safety during uncertain times.

Jonathan Stubberfield, Mads Troldborg, E. Louise Ander, N.M.J. Crout, Scott D. Young, Rupert Hough · Agronomy · United Kingdom

This study investigated the influence of gardening routines on health benefits and risks among 120 urban gardeners in the UK. Participants showed a correlation between autumn/winter gardening activity and fruit/vegetable consumption, with higher physical activity levels and lower BMI than average. However, while gardening offers health benefits, the health risks from gardening on soils mildly contaminated with cadmium and lead may outweigh these benefits, requiring formal consideration within a risk management framework.

Ivana Chaloska · South East European Journal of Architecture and Design · Global

This master's thesis conducted qualitative empirical research for the multidisciplinary conceptualization of urban public space, focusing on ecological and social sustainability and socio-spatial relations. Through an inter-contextual analysis and a case study highlighting urban community gardens, the research supports a conceptual design of public space that can function as activism for rethinking existing structures or as a continuous process of socio-spatial relations.

Jorge Godoy Román · Materia Arquitectura · Germany (Berlin)

This interview with Erika Mayr, an entomologist, horticulturist, ecologist, beekeeper, gardener, writer, and caretaker, explores her over 25-year dedication to understanding the importance of bees for other species. It highlights her personal relationship with bees, particularly in Berlin's urban environment, which involved various urban spaces and communities. Now based in Rome, Mayr shares her experiences and current projects in the city.

Setha Low · · Global

This chapter examines environmental sustainability and the greening of public spaces in Paris and New York City, tracing the history and impact of interventions like community gardens, urban agriculture, and sustainable parks. These initiatives contribute to ecological sustainability by fostering stronger communities, supporting social reproduction, and promoting environmental justice. The study highlights how human ecological planning and ecosystem services assessments provide scientific strategies for enhancing sustainability in public space design.

Linh Nguyen Ha, Luyen Nguyen Thi · Journal of Science Educational Science · Global

This theoretical paper addresses the limited use of natural contexts in preschool environmental education, particularly regarding biodiversity in school habitats. It defines the concept and scope of biodiversity knowledge suitable for preschoolers and proposes methods for organizing biodiversity discovery activities in preschool vegetable gardens. The aim is to help preschool teachers maximize the benefits of school gardens for scientific discovery activities.

Anders Blok, Amanda Krog Juvik, Anna Helene Kvist Møller, Jonas Skjold Raaschou-Pedersen, Jakob Laage‐Thomsen · City and Community · Denmark

This study mapped the group styles, spatial intergroup networks, and cultural-political value landscapes of 130 urban green communities across the four largest cities in Denmark using digital methods. The results showed that civic greening groups are neither neighborhood-based endeavors nor hubs of social movement mobilization, but rather geographies of co-engagement that span cities while also forging new senses and practices of place.

Werner Rolf · · Global

This work introduces a typology for spatial planning to integrate peri-urban farmland into Green Infrastructure, aiming to develop multifunctional open space networks. The typology, based on an inter- and transdisciplinary approach and evidence synthesis, suggests that peri-urban farmland has potential to address urban challenges like biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation.

Julia Wójcik-Madej, Barbara Sowińska-Świerkosz · Sustainability · Poland (Lublin)

A case study in Lublin city, Poland, applied objective criteria referring to seven societal challenges to 24 types of pre-existing interventions. All analyzed interventions met at least two challenges, with protecting wetlands, public parks, and allotment gardens showing the greatest challenge-orientation potential, while nesting boxes for bats and insect hotels showed the lowest. Interventions responded most to human health, climate change, and ecosystem degradation, and least to food security and socioeconomic development. The study concluded that the scale of intervention type is too general for challenge-orientation assessment.

Melissa Parks, Hope P. Hershey, Skye Sobzack, Mercedes Tichenor · Kappa Delta Pi Record · Global

This paper describes the benefits of elementary school gardening experiences and offers suggestions on how to nurture positive environmental attitudes among children through garden-based learning activities.

H. Piekarska-Boniecka, Marta Rzańska-Wieczorek, Idzi Siatkowski, Tadeusz Barczak · Plant Protection Science · Poland (Poznań)

This study investigated the parasitisation of Yponomeuta malinellus feeding on Crataegus monogyna in the allotment gardens in the city of Poznań, Poland.

Sina Razzaghi Asl, Hamil Pearsall · Land · Global

This systematic review evaluated how different modes of governance support ecosystem services (ES) in small-scale urban green infrastructure (UGI). Governance was assessed in six types of UGI: small parks, community gardens, vacant lands, rain gardens, green roofs, and street trees, examining the characteristics of four governance approaches: adaptive, network, mosaic, and transformative. Each governance mode was found to be potentially effective for managing the ES of certain small-scale UGI. The study highlights knowledge gaps at the intersection between governance arrangements and ES in small-scale UGI.

Monika Egerer, Brenda B. Lin · CABI Reviews · Global

This review evaluated ecosystem services (ES) within urban agriculture (UA) systems and the trade-offs between these services. Urban agriculture provides many benefits and environmental services such as food provision, social cohesion, and climate regulation. However, it was shown that management decisions can create trade-offs between ecosystem services, where an increase in one service may potentially reduce the system's ability to provide another service at a desired level.

Rachel Bechtold, Catherine W. Shoulders, Jennie Popp, Donald M. Johnson, Lisa S. Wood · Natural sciences education · United States

This study evaluated the process and efficacy of installing a demonstration plot along a multiuse trail in Southeast Kansas to educate the community on rehabilitative plots. The greatest perceived challenges for this case study were the allotment of time and money for initial costs of the demonstration plot and addressing methodology for plant blindness in viewers.

Ro'fatul Maulaa, Niken Kusumarini, Dian Triastari Armanda · BIOLOGICA SAMUDRA · Indonesia (Semarang)

The potential and constraints of urban farming development on the railroad border in Bangetayu Wetan Village, Genuk District, Semarang City, Indonesia, were investigated through observation, interviews, and documentation. The approximately 1 to 2-hectare area cultivated crops such as corn, cassava, and sugarcane, with yield predictions sufficient to meet food needs. However, the presence of pests, diseases, and weeds were identified as constraints, indicating challenges for urban farming development.

Demet Ülkü Gülpınar Sekban, Duygu Akyol · Journal of Urban Planning and Development · Turkey (Trabzon)

This study examined the contribution of residential gardens to ecosystem services in Trabzon City, Turkey. It was determined that both spatial needs and ecosystem benefits can be met with the same Green Infrastructure (GI) elements, and landscape value is supported by GI elements such as edible gardens, pollinator gardens, rain gardens, biological ponds, and green roofs. GI elements combining vegetation and water landscape elements have a higher potential for ecosystem services. The study concluded that green areas of residential gardens should be planned and designed through a holistic GI-oriented approach based on the total building parcel.

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.

Grzegorz Kopij · Acta Musei Silesiae. Scientiae Naturales · Poland (Wrocław)

In 2017, a study in Wrocław, SW Poland, recorded 50 breeding bird species in an urban environment (589 ha) dominated by green habitats, including allotment gardens (41.2%). Population densities were estimated for 41 species, with high densities observed for Phoenicurus phoenicurus (9.2 pairs/100 ha) and Sylvia atricapilla (7.3). Allotment gardens showed higher densities for Pica pica (14.5) compared to Corvus cornix (6.5), and for Columba palumbus (2.8) compared to Streptopelia decaocto (1.2).

Nehiby Alcántara Nieves, Rosa María Larroa Torres · Espiral estudios sobre Estado y sociedad · Mexico (Mexico City)

This qualitative study investigated the environmental, economic, and sociocultural functions of urban gardens in Mexico City, two years after the implementation of the Law of Urban Gardens (LHU). Data was collected through interviews and document review. It found that public officials tend to prioritize environmental functions, while users consider sociocultural functions most relevant.