Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
56 results(3 / 3)
Urban Land Use Decouples Plant-Herbivore-Parasitoid Interactions at Multiple Spatial Scales
2014Amanda E. Nelson, Andrew A. Forbes · PLoS ONE · Global
This study sampled two plant-herbivore-parasitoid systems across 250 sites in a 360 km2 urban/agricultural landscape to investigate the impact of human development on trophic interactions. It found that herbivorous insect densities were decoupled from host tree densities in urban landcover types at several spatial scales. Furthermore, a parasitoid species was absent from all urban/suburban landcover in one system, even where its herbivore host was common, indicating that human land use patterns limit specialist insect distributions due to dispersal constraints.
Environmental trade-offsBiodiversityPollinatorsUrban–rural linkageCOMPOSICIÓN Y RIQUEZA DE INSECTOS Y ARAÑAS ASOCIADOS A PLANTAS FLORECIDAS EN SISTEMAS AGRÍCOLAS URBANOS
2011Yaril Matienzo Brito, Marlene M. Veitía Rubio, Giraldo Alayón García · Fitosanidad · Cuba
This study identified the species that most frequently visit flowers of different plant species in urban agricultural systems, using weekly simple random sampling in different production systems of Havana province during 2007-2009. Functional groups with higher species richness associated with the flowers were Coleoptera, Araneae, and Hymenoptera, in that order. Cycloneda sanguinea limbifer Casey and Apis mellifera L. were arthropods that visited a greater number of flowering plant species.
BiodiversityPollinatorsBumble Bees (Bombus spp) along a Gradient of Increasing Urbanization
2009Karin Ahrné, Jan Bengtsson, Thomas Elmqvist · PLoS ONE · Sweden (Stockholm)
This study investigated bumble bees in allotment gardens along an urbanization gradient from inner Stockholm to rural areas. Findings showed that bumble bee diversity decreased with increasing urbanization, from approximately eight species in rural areas to five to six species in urban allotment gardens. Higher variability in the abundance of certain species in the most urban areas suggested a potentially weaker reliability of the pollination ecosystem service in areas strongly influenced by human activity.
Environmental trade-offsBiodiversityPollinatorsCommunityPeri-urban agricultureEditor's Introduction - Urban Pollinators and Community Gardens
2009Eric G. Strauss · Cities and the Environment · Global
This issue of CATE is dedicated to the theme of urban pollinators in relation to community gardens, addressing a gap in knowledge regarding pollinator ecology in urban landscapes. It notes that while pollinators' roles in agricultural systems are well-studied, their impact in community gardens is less understood. Six papers in this issue explore these questions, aiming to provide a foundation for understanding urban pollinators and guiding future research and management.
PollinatorsBiodiversityCommunitySocial-ecological memory for management of ecosystem services
2008Stephan Barthel, Carl Folke, Johan Colding · · Sweden (Stockholm)
This thesis investigated how social-ecological features influence ecosystem service (ES) generation through case studies in Stockholm, Sweden. Findings indicated that urban ES flows are products of co-evolutionary processes, requiring governance to consider historical rights and diverse actor groups. Informally managed allotment gardens showed higher pollinator abundance compared to other urban green spaces, and social-ecological memory among gardeners was found to retain and transmit practices linked to ES generation. The study concluded that sustaining urban ES depends on management practices by people and local communities of ecosystem practice.
BiodiversityPollinatorsCommunityOrganic cycleEcological scales and social network structure in urban landscapes: management and governance of urban ecosystem services in Stockholm, Sweden
2008Henrik Ernstson, Stephan Barthel, Erik Andersson, Sara Borgström · · Sweden (Stockholm)
This thesis investigates social-ecological features shaping the generation of ecosystem services (ES) in the urban landscape of Stockholm, Sweden. Through interdisciplinary case studies, it showed that informally managed allotment gardens have a higher abundance of pollinators, and voluntary actor groups motivated by a sense-of-place support ES generation. Social-ecological memory among allotment gardeners retains and transmits practices linked to ES, suggesting that sustaining urban ES requires considering historical property rights, diverse actor groups, and local communities of ecosystem practice.
BiodiversityPollinatorsCommunityPolicy