Research & reports

· 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.

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.

Raggi L., Spataro G., Tiranti D., Negri V. · Biodiversity and Conservation 33:2709-2738 · Europe

Reviews the status of on-farm landrace conservation in the EU, including the materials conserved, who maintains them and why, and EU policies governing the commercialization of landrace seeds.

Pernat N., Buchholz S., Schirmel J. · Insect Conservation and Diversity · Germany (Berlin)

Sampled 42 dry grasslands in Berlin along urbanisation and connectivity gradients, finding urbanisation the main driver reducing Orthoptera richness and functional diversity and filtering communities toward mobile species.

· Land · Germany

Presents a national ecosystem-service indicator for Germany to assess and monitor local climate regulation provided by urban green infrastructure.

Ricard Segura, Johannes Langemeyer, Alba Badía, Sergi Ventura, Jaime Vila-Traver, Gara Villalba · The Science of The Total Environment · Spain (Barcelona)

A study in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, Spain, investigated the impacts of peri-urban agricultural expansion on the food-water-climate nexus using urban metabolism and atmospheric-biosphere models across four land-use scenarios. While expansion increased food production and irrigation water requirements, replacing natural non-forested and forest areas for peri-urban agriculture was predicted to reduce net ecosystem productivity by up to 18.5% and total carbon stocks by 3.3%. Irrigated peri-urban agriculture potentially reduced near-surface temperatures by 0.7°C, though reductions in the densest urban areas were minimal.

Monika Egerer, Susan Karlebowski, David Schoo, Ulrike Sturm · Urban forestry & urban greening · Germany

This communication article presents a transdisciplinary research concept focused on developing, implementing, and testing biodiversity conservation interventions in urban community gardens in Berlin and Munich, Germany. The research aims to promote insect diversity with gardeners and neighborhood residents, engaging civil society and city actors to support biodiversity-based urban greening. It outlines participatory methods and experiences in translating research into practice, highlighting the role of city residents in implementing biodiversity interventions.

Ayşe Kaplan Sarısaltık, Ufuk Sarısaltık · Cleaner and Responsible Consumption · Turkey

This qualitative study explored the role of ODTÜ Bostan, a community garden at the Middle East Technical University in Turkey, in promoting sustainability education, ecology, and food consumption practices. Operating for ten years, the garden not only enhances participants' sustainability competencies but also serves as an educational laboratory, demonstrating the potential of community gardens to address global challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss. The research employed autoethnography, thematic analysis of eight semi-structured interviews, and content analysis of archival data.

Astrid E. Neumann, Felix Conitz, Susan Karlebowski, Ulrike Sturm, Julia M. Schmack, Monika Egerer · Basic and Applied Ecology · Germany (Munich)

This study recorded garden features and pollinators in 33 urban community gardens in Munich and Berlin, Germany, over two summer seasons to understand their impact on pollinator abundance. Findings showed that in more urbanized gardens, flower richness and bare substrate were less prevalent. Flower richness positively correlated with overall pollinator abundance, richness, and diversity, while landscape imperviousness negatively correlated with hoverfly and beetle abundances.

Desirée Muscas, Silvia Marrapodi, Chiara Proietti, Luigia Ruga, Fabio Orlandi, Marco Fornaciari · Sustainability · Italy

A study in an urban area of central Italy evaluated the potential productive, ecosystem, and economic contributions of fruit tree species for a food forest. Using a web app for simulation, Ficus carica and Morus nigra showed good potential fruit production of 1300 kg and 865 kg, and CO2 storage of 2.5 and 1.5 tons, respectively. Morus nigra demonstrated the highest economic value over a 50-year period, estimated at approximately 6000 USD with an average price of 7 USD/kg, and edible food forests were found to improve urban ecosystem biodiversity.

Pénélope Duval, Edwige Martin, Laurent Vallon, Pierre Antonelli, Maxime Girard, Aymeric Signoret, Patricia Luis, Danis Abrouk, Laure Wiest, Aurélie Fildier, Christelle Bonnefoy, Patrick Jame, Erik Bonjour, Amélie Cantarel, Jonathan Gervaix, Emmanuelle Vulliet, Rémy Cazabet, Guillaume Minard, Claire Valiente Moro · FEMS Microbiology Ecology · France

A study conducted in French community gardens investigated whether pollution gradients influence the water microbial composition of Aedes albopictus larval habitats. The physicochemical and microbial compositions of noncolonized and colonized waters did not significantly differ, with the exception of N2O and CH4 concentrations, which were higher in noncolonized water samples. The microbial composition of larval habitats covaried differentially along the pollution gradients according to colonization status.

Julia M. Schmack, Monika Egerer, Susan Karlebowski, Astrid E. Neumann, Ulrike Sturm · Journal of Insect Conservation · Germany

A survey was conducted in urban community gardens in Berlin and Munich, Germany, to assess perceptions of social wasps and their ecosystem functions. Gardeners rated wasps as the least beneficial insect for urban gardens among other insect taxa, and predation was perceived as a negative function in insects and spiders. Knowledge of wasp ecology was positively associated with respondents' willingness to share gardens with wasps, suggesting negative perceptions are likely driven by a lack of knowledge and negative emotions.

Catherine Oliver · Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers · United Kingdom (London)

This paper examines urban chicken-keeping in London, where urban spaces are transformed to accommodate chickens. It argues that the human-imposed design of urban barnyards is often impractical for chickens, leading to lawns being torn up, plants demolished, and vegetable patches consumed. Additionally, chickens are vulnerable to local foxes, highlighting that chickens' behaviors and territoriality often overflow their assigned space, challenging human design intentions.

Debra Solomon, Maria Kaïka · Environment and Planning E Nature and Space · Europe

This article explores the extent to which applying embodied, ‘skin in the game’ methods used in infrastructure activism (a contemporary art practice) can expand the toolkit of methods in action research on urban green infrastructure planning. It focuses on two cases of infrastructure activism: the Amsterdam Zuidoost Food Forest (VBAZO) in Amsterdam's South East, and the KRATER project in Ljubljana's city centre. Through discussing these projects, the article explores embodied research practices developed by infrastructure activists to change urban green infrastructures and researcher-actors’ perspectives.

Jon Marín, Teresa Garnatje, Joan Vallès · Sustainability · Spain (Barcelona)

This study investigated whether agro-food supply chains in peri-urban agricultural areas contribute to preserving local biodiversity, using the Baix Llobregat Agrarian Park in Spain as a case study. Analysis of different food retailers revealed variations in plant diversity, origin, and seasonality. Farmers' markets were found to exhibit higher intraspecific diversity, contributing to local agrobiodiversity conservation.

Adriana Flores-Guevara, María de Lourdes Hernández- Rodríguez, María Esther Méndez- Cadena · Revista Investigium IRE Ciencias Sociales y Humanas · Spain (Madrid)

This 2018-2023 study in Madrid, Spain, investigated socio-environmental phenomena in the Community Urban Gardens Network (RedHMad) to understand how they foster sustainable neighborhood development. Researchers conducted open interviews with ten participants, performed participatory observation, and reviewed RedHMad assembly minutes. Findings indicate that community urban gardens generate social cohesion and coexistence, supporting cultural, artistic, experimental, environmental education, and health activities, and facilitating social organization when needed.

Chloé Duffaut, Florence Brondeau, Julien Gasparini · Cybergeo · France (Paris)

A questionnaire survey of 200 individuals in Paris, France, from May 2017 to March 2018, assessed the appreciation and perception of pigeons, rats, and hedgehogs in various urban locations. The study found clear differences in appreciation based on species and perceived usefulness, with rats disliked (2.2/10), hedgehogs liked (7.7/10), and pigeons receiving mixed reactions (4.7/10). Age, gender, education, or survey location were not decisive factors.

Remigio Paradelo, Cecilia Herbón, María Teresa Barral · Journal of Soils and Sediments · Spain

This study examined 64 urban soils in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, across different parent materials and land uses, assessing physical properties including bulk density, porosity, water holding capacity, aggregate stability, water-dispersible clay, permeability, and resistance to penetration in field and laboratory measurements, along with erosion risk estimated via the K factor of the RUSLE. Results show heterogeneous physical properties typical of urban soils; high organic matter and iron content were associated with low bulk density and high aggregate stability. Compaction issues were widespread but land-use dependent: soils under urban agriculture had higher permeability and lower compaction than urban grasslands and forests. High infiltration despite compaction was attributed to abundant coarse fragments and preferential flow paths. Overall erosion risk was found to be low based on K factor values, but the study concludes that sound management remains essential because relief, climate, and human behavior can increase erosion risk at specific points.

Matthias Winfried Kleespies, Dorian D. Dörge, Norbert Peter, Anna V. Schantz, Ajdin Skaljic, Viktoria Feucht, Anna Lena Burger-Schulz, Paul Wilhelm Dierkes, Sven Klimpel · Biological Invasions · Germany

Surveying more than 2,200 people across nine stakeholder groups in Germany involved with invasive species—hunters and hunting association members, farmers, environmental and conservation organization members, allotment garden club members, animal welfare supporters, divers, zoo employees, regulatory authority administrative staff, and speleologists—this study investigated how these groups perceive invasive species. The number of invasive animal and plant species in Germany was roughly correctly estimated across all groups, but the economic damage they cause was substantially underestimated. Species named were mostly conspicuous ones such as raccoons (Procyon lotor) or Impatiens glandulifera, and while all groups showed notable interest in invasive species and regarded them as an environmental issue, the study found a need for greater education about inconspicuous invasive species and the damage they cause.

Francisco Tomatis, Monika Egerer, Luis Manuel Navas-Gracia · Horticulturae · Spain

A study of twelve plots across four urban allotment gardens in Valladolid, Spain (Horticulturae, 2024) examined food production, cooling effects, and gardener perspectives. Crop selection matched broader Global North urban-gardening trends, adapted to limited plot space and varying by season. The gardens provided more stable and cooler temperatures than urban gray spaces, though the cooling effect was smaller than that of urban parks, and was most pronounced in summer. Greater crop cover at the plot level produced a stronger cooling effect, while crop abundance and diversity showed only a weak correlation with cooling benefits. Gardener surveys found awareness of climate change and its perceived direct threat to crops, health, and the city, along with concern about future water availability for crop growth and garden development.

Nicholls E., Griffiths-Lee J., Basu P., Chatterjee S., Goulson D. · Plants, People, Planet · United Kingdom

Study of crop-pollinator interactions in UK urban and peri-urban farms, quantifying ecosystem services provided by pollinators in city farming systems.

· Frontiers in Sustainable Cities · Germany (Freising)

Developed a holistic assessment of bee and flowering-plant diversity in the medium-sized city of Freising using citizen science, identifying 22 bee-diversity hotspots and evaluating planted flower patches as stepping stones for oligolectic bees.

Felderhoff J. · Ecological Applications · Germany (Berlin)

Documented 26 genera and 102 bee species across 18 Berlin community gardens, finding that higher plant species richness and greater deadwood amounts increased wild bee species number and functional diversity.

Herrmann J., Buchholz S., Theodorou P. · Scientific Reports · Germany

In German urban dry grasslands, examined effects of local habitat quality, urbanisation (impervious surfaces), and 3D connectivity on flower visitors; bee and butterfly species richness declined with increasing impervious surface.