Research & reports

Erin Anzalone · Digital Commons - USU (Utah State University) · United States

This paper outlines plans for a subsidized Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program at Sugar Grove Farm, part of the Indian Creek Nature Center (ICNC) in Linn County, Iowa, using agroecology and restorative agriculture to grow food crops and make affordable produce available to low-income households, describing the intended logistics and reasoning for the program, which the paper states was set to launch in 2018. It does not report outcomes.

Isaac Kwadwo Mpanga, Ursula K. Schuch, Jeff Schalau · Current Research in Environmental Sustainability · United States

A study in north-central Arizona, United States, investigated land use and farm practices among small-scale growers and their role in resilient, sustainable local food production. Amid rising pressure from population growth and extreme climate on agricultural land, Arizona's average farm size fell 57% while the number of farms rose 127% between 1997 and 2017, and family farms under 10 acres now make up 50% of the state's farmer population. The study found that 52% of the surveyed small farms were family operations, with regenerative and sustainable practices predominating — cover cropping (27%), compost use (26%), crop rotation (23%), animal or green manure (22%), no-till (21%), and reduced tillage (18%) — while conventional practices such as intensive tillage (5%) and synthetic fertilizers (13%) were less common. For pest, weed, and disease control, 95% of growers used biological, cultural, or mechanical methods versus 5% using conventional synthetic chemicals, and for irrigation, 78% used water-saving methods (drip, subsurface, sprinkler) while 11% used open flood irrigation.

· 農林水産省（2021年5月策定） · Japan

MAFF's 2021 strategy for a sustainable food system, setting 2050 KPIs including a 50% cut in chemical pesticide use (risk-weighted), a 30% cut in chemical fertiliser use, and expanding organic farming to one million hectares — 25% of Japan's cultivated land.

農林水産省 · 農林水産省（みどりの食料システム戦略本部） · Japan

The official portal for MAFF's 'Strategy for Sustainable Food Systems, MeaDRI' (Midori Strategy), decided May 12, 2021. It aims to reconcile productivity growth with sustainability in Japan's food and agriculture sector through innovation, targeting development of key technologies by 2040 and full social implementation by 2050. Interim 2030 KPI targets were decided June 21, 2022.

CGTN · CGTN (China Global Television Network) · China

Beijing implemented compulsory four-category household waste sorting for 21 million residents starting May 1, 2020. One year in, daily waste collection fell from 27,700 tonnes (2019) to 20,600 tonnes (early 2021), the recycling rate reached 37.5%, and separated food-waste volume rose to nearly 11.6 times the pre-regulation level.

星野高徳 · 社会経済史学 87巻2号 · Japan

This paper, published in Socio-Economic History vol. 87 no. 2 (2021), examines the transformation of postwar Japan's human-waste (night soil) treatment policy, addressing the coexistence of persistent unsanitary disposal methods and the advance of sewage treatment.

Sovová L., Veen E.J. · Sustainability (MDPI), 12(12):5134 · Europe

A comparative study of food self-provisioning in allotment gardens in the Netherlands and Czechia, drawing on social practice theory. It argues self-provisioning is neither merely a poverty response nor a trend, holding significant potential for food provisioning that can be supported within alternative food networks and urban sustainability frameworks.

日本経済新聞 · 日本経済新聞（Nikkei） · Japan

A Nikkei report on Nomura Real Estate partnering with JA Setagaya-Meguro to launch, in November 2020, a monthly subscription 'urban experience farm' for home gardening on over 2,000 sqm of productive green land in Setagaya. With about 200 plots of 3.6 sqm where residents and citizens take part from planting to harvest, it highlights how supported rental farming links the preservation of shrinking urban farmland with citizen participation in agriculture.

Shrestha P., Small G.E., Kay A. · PLOS ONE, 15(4):e0230996 · United States

A study measuring and quantifying nutrient recovery efficiency and loss from compost application in urban gardens. It shows compost often supplies phosphorus far in excess of crop demand, and surplus P can be lost to waterways. The work argues that closing the food-waste-to-compost loop in urban agriculture must be designed for sustainable nutrient management, not just diversion.

Savanah St. Clair, Maryam Saraylou, Daila Melendez, Norman Senn, Serina Reitz, Destini Kananipour, Angelo Alvarez · Applied and Environmental Soil Science · United States (Los Angeles)

This research characterized the arable soils at Los Angeles Pierce College to address health and food-security challenges, using soil physical/chemical measurements, microbial cultivation, and 16S rDNA sequencing on a citizen-science platform. It found plant-growth-promoting, antibiotic-producing and bioremediating bacteria—including abundant Streptomyces, Bacillus and Methylobacteria—across fields with distinct microclimates, and tests indicated that plant-based oils could control antibiotic-resistant bacteria more effectively than common antibiotics. The authors say the results can guide future trials and product development by identifying target soil microorganisms and the most viable fields.

Richter S., Haase D., Thestorf K., Makki M. · Urban Forestry & Urban Greening · Germany (Berlin)

First study combining soil and tree carbon stocks for Berlin to estimate its carbon storage potential, finding soils account for more than two-thirds of the city's stored organic carbon.

· Agronomy · United Kingdom

Assesses waste almond shells and a recycled plastic drainage plank as sustainable hydroponic media alternatives to perlite, evaluating physicochemical properties and lettuce germination and greenhouse growth.

· Recycling · Global

Monitors a prototype room over a year with walls of soil-filled PET bottles and a roof of multiple reused-material layers, including a green roof of waste materials, soil and endemic plants, demonstrating good thermal performance.

Bergstrand K., Asp H., Hultberg M. · Sustainability · Sweden

Evaluates using nutrient-rich anaerobic digestate from urban food waste as a hydroponic nutrient solution, supporting a closed-loop approach to urban and peri-urban food production.

Chen, L., Robinson, P., Silva, A., Kumar, M. · PLOS ONE · Global

Study across 25 urban gardens in Asia, Africa, and Latin America tracking nutrient cycling. Urban farms recover 60-80% of nutrient inputs through composting versus 10% in conventional agriculture.

Dora Neina, Sibylle Faust, Rainer Georg Joergensen · Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture · Ghana

A study in Ghana investigated the potential agricultural value of charcoal and firewood ashes by examining differences in their chemical and mineralogical compositions and the suitability of various extractants for plant nutrients. Charcoal ash had higher pH, EC, and CCE than firewood ash, while firewood ash contained higher levels of As, Cu, Mg, and Zn, and more Mg-rich minerals. Both ashes contained trace elements, but their bioavailability and plant uptake after field application may differ and may not necessarily lead to plant uptake.

Maha Deeb, Peter M. Groffman, Manuel Blouin, Sara Perl Egendorf, Alan Vergnes, Viacheslav Vasenev, Donna L. Cao, Daniel C. I. Walsh, Tatiana Morin, Geoffroy Séré · SOIL · Global

This review examines the use of Constructed Technosols (CTs), mixtures of organic and mineral waste, for green infrastructure (GI) in urban spaces. While CTs have high potential to provide multiple soil functions and contribute to urban greening, urban soils are often physically, chemically, or biologically unsuitable for GI features. The analysis suggests that the composition and structure of CTs should be adapted to available wastes and by-products, as well as future land use and environmental conditions, highlighting the need for careful design to overcome existing limitations.

Dan Wen, Ni‐Bin Chang, Martin P. Wanielista · Scientific Reports · Global

This study assessed the nutrient removal efficiencies of Iron Filings-based Green Environmental Media (IFGEM) for stormwater runoff, using an isotherm study, a column study of reaction kinetics, and microstructure examination. IFGEM, made from recycled materials like tire crumb and iron filings, demonstrated over 90% nitrate removal and 50-70% total phosphorus removal under most inlet conditions. The ammonia byproduct allows for potential reuse of spent IFGEM as soil amendments in urban farming applications.

Cristiana Peano, Stefano Massaglia, Chiara Ghisalberti, Francesco Sottile · Sustainability · Africa

This work reports case studies from the Slow Food Association in Africa to demonstrate the importance of agroecological models in small-scale agricultural systems. It focuses on the development of school and community gardens in small urban areas across different African countries. These models are presented as a tool for integrating agricultural activities aimed at social resilience and the conservation of ecosystems, aligning with SDG #12 Responsible Production and Consumption.

Marina Portugal Torres, Pedro Henrique Goulart Pinheiro, Daniela Barroso Siste · · Brazil (Belo Horizonte)

This study investigated a homeopathic treatment for a high infestation of Orthezia cochineal on Golden Shrimp plants in the Botanical Garden of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, from November 2018 to February 2019. Orthezia nosode at 12CH potency was applied weekly. Observations showed an improvement in plant health, evidenced by new vigorous shoots, and a significant reduction in cochineal attacks.

Sugeng Triyono, Fadli Afrizki Surya Aditama, Elhamida Rezkia, D Dermiyati, Jamalam Lumbanraja · World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews · Indonesia

This pot experiment in Indonesia investigated the effect of medium size and organic compost dosage on the growth and yield of red lettuce. Red lettuce growth was depressed at 1kg and 3kg medium sizes but grew more freely at 5kg. The study found that the 3kg medium size with 10% compost dose yielded 75.3g per plant, which was considered the most optimum treatment due to using the least medium and compost, despite restricted growth.

Tao Li, Jiequn Fan, Qian ZhenGuan, Guohui Yuan, Dandan Meng, Shuiliang Guo, Weiguang Lv · Weed Science · China

A 5-year experiment (2015-2019) in China compared weed occurrence in a corn–earthworm coculture (CE) system and a corn monoculture (CM). The CE system significantly decreased weed diversity, dominance index, total weed density, and biomass, while increasing the weed evenness index. The 5-year mean number of weed species per plot was 8.4 in CE versus 10.7 in CM, and total weed density and biomass in CE decreased by 59.2% and 66.6% respectively compared to CM.

Karina Leal de Oliveira · · Brazil

This study evaluated terrestrial mollusc diversity and associated nematodes in two horticulture areas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Manguinhos and Jacarepagua). Two collections, in spring and summer, sampled four points in each area. A total of 760 specimens were collected, identifying 16 species across 10 families, with significantly more live specimens collected in summer (363) than in spring (159) (p = 0.0011).

Otávio Augusto Queiroz dos Santos, Eduardo Carvalho da Silva Neto, Andrés Calderín García, Hugo de Souza Fagundes, Yan Vidal de Figueiredo Gomes Diniz, Robert Ferreira, Marcos Gervásio Pereira · Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo · Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)

This study investigated the effect of tillage with plowing and drainage on Histosol properties in three land use systems in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The research focused on areas subjected to different land use systems over the last twenty years, aiming to understand how management practices impact these carbon and nitrogen-rich soils.

Cassia Silva Santos Góes · Revista Integrativa de Inovações Tecnológicas nas Ciências da Saúde · Brazil

This paper documents the presentation of the “School Garden Project in Bahia” at the International Congress on Technological Innovation in Health Sciences, held from November 15 to 18, 2017, at IFBA SAJ. The presentation highlighted the school's experiences with a social community garden, including resistances, advancements, garden care outside school hours, and the teaching of composting and natural fertilizers using organic compounds.