Research & reports

Indra A.S.L.P. Putri, Bayu Wisnu Broto, Fajri Ansari · Jurnal Penelitian Kehutanan Wallacea · Indonesia

In the Maros-Pangkep karst area of Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park, Indonesia, bird responses to habitat change were studied across three disturbance degrees (core-zone, wilderness-zone, community-gardens). Birds in the karst were sensitive to habitat changes, responding by reducing individual and species numbers, shifting species from low to high tolerance, changing feeding guilds, decreasing large-bodied species, and reducing species requiring special nesting locations.

S. S. Horowitz, Liu JuanJuan Liu JuanJuan · CABI eBooks · China (Wuhan)

This chapter, focusing on a case study of intra-urban agriculture in Wuhan, China, mapped the dynamic relations between actors, institutions, processes, and spaces. Theoretical and practical challenges to growing food within Chinese cities were identified, and ways for state and non-state actors to collaborate in reassembling intra-urban agriculture to maximize its social, ecological, and economic contributions were suggested.

Sam Smiley · Catalyst Feminism Theory Technoscience · United States (Provincetown, MA)

This arts-based action research, conducted by media artist and researcher sam smiley, explored the process of building a sculpture from Japanese Knotweed, an "invasive species," in the B-Street community garden in Provincetown, MA, USA. A series of community interventions with gardeners, naturalists, and sculptors were organized during the May 2016 Appearances Environmental Arts Festival. This article debriefs the journey of the Knotweed Sculpture from the community garden to its ultimate destruction in a bonfire on National Seashore.

Ana Cristina Torres, Sophie Nadot, Anne‐Caroline Prévot · Ecology and Society · France

This study used participant observation and semi-structured interviews to explore motivations, practices, and processes in French community gardens, relating them to environmental stewardship. It found that environmental, social, and self-motivations drive gardener participation, fulfilling needs through processes like nature contemplation, environmental education, and renewing social-ecological relationships. French community gardens provide new experiences of nature and foster environmental stewardship by cultivating relational values, offering opportunities for creative conservation.

Rocío Pérez-Campaña, Luis Miguel Valenzuela Montes · Journal of Environmental Planning and Management · Spain

This paper presents a method for assessing and visualizing existing nodes in the field pattern of a peri-urban agricultural landscape. The method was applied in the Vega del Guadalfeo in southern Spain, and the results showed an innovative map of the Vega, which can be interpreted as its eco-structure, a node-based model representing the ecological value of the peri-urban agricultural landscape.

Fentahun Mengistu, Mulugeta Alemayehu · Ethiopian journal of agricultural sciences · Ethiopia

A 2017 study of homegardens in Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia, based on interviews with 178 households across 7 sub-cities and 12 former kebeles, plus an inventory of fruit species and other higher plant and livestock species. It identified 58 higher plant species of various uses in the gardens: 17 fruit species (28.8%), 12 miscellaneous-use species (20%), 11 vegetable species (18.6%), 11 medicinal species (18.6%), and 8 spice/condiment species (13.6%); the most abundant perennial species were mango (20.8%), guava (13.4%), avocado (11.6%), papaya (11.2%), and Persian lilac (9.9%). It reports that the city gardens offer a distinctive opportunity for preserving medicinal and aromatic plants, while gardens in the outer city showed competition and substitution between horticultural crops and khat (chat).

Monika Egerer, Stacy M. Philpott, Heidi Liere, Shalene Jha, Peter Bichier, Brenda B. Lin · International Journal of Biodiversity Science Ecosystems Services & Management · United States (California)

This study examined 25 urban community gardens in California to investigate relationships between soil properties and neighborhood socio-demographics, focusing on (1) how groundcover management affects soil properties, and (2) how socio-demographics, particularly social advantage, affect groundcover management and soil properties. Mulch groundcover was found to improve soil fertility and water holding capacity in gardens, and socio-demographic factors appeared to affect residents' access to mulch: neighborhoods with higher mobility (e.g., greater vehicle availability) but poorer public/environmental health indicators (e.g., poorer health care access) had higher soil organic matter, nutrient content, and water holding capacity. However, indicators of high-functioning soils were also found in the absence of mulch, suggesting that other factors such as social networks and organizational support may also be important for ecosystem services in urban agricultural systems.

Galen D. Newman, Alison L. Smith, Samuel D. Brody · Landscape Journal · 米国（湾岸都市）

Proposes a regional growth framework that repurposes vacant lots with high ecological potential as connectors between habitat patches, balancing storm-protection development pressures with ecosystem services. Supports planning logic for dotted vacant-lot gardens and green links in hillside or fragmented urban fabric.

Anna Grichting · Kobra (Universitätsbibliothek Kassel) · Global

Set against the backdrop of food and water security in Qatar, and recognizing that rapid urbanization not integrated with ecological landscape design is driving urban sprawl, fragmented landscapes and biodiversity loss, this paper presents research on edible landscapes at Qatar University's architecture department, framed around its regenerative-cities concept, aimed at contributing to campus food supply while promoting biodiversity. Drawing on examples from edible campuses worldwide and literature on permaculture and food urbanism, an analysis of existing and future campus buildings and landscapes identified intervention types: retrofitting existing buildings with green roofs, green walls and biodiversity habitats; transforming existing landscapes; using empty land for food production; and integrating food gardens into the design of future buildings. The vision also includes water recycling and treatment, organic waste recycling, renewable energy, citizen participation and awareness campaigns, and collecting quantitative data on food miles.

M. Bare, Raymond M. Danner · Ecological Restoration · Global

A 2017 study surveyed bird communities in three forest sites with different restoration and natural revegetation histories, 20–40 years since clearing, within a tropical urban-agricultural landscape in the Ecuadorian Amazon, comparing manually restored and naturally revegetating forest. A diverse assemblage of birds was found visiting and occupying the forest fragments, including two IUCN-listed near-threatened species. Bird species richness was similar across sites with different management histories and species composition varied only slightly, but differences existed in the presence and occupancy of forest-dependent groups such as large frugivores and forest insectivores. In the manually restored site, bird diversity may have been limited by under-developed forest structure, though the effects of patch size and landscape matrix could not be isolated. The study suggests future restoration efforts consider forest structure alongside plant species diversity, and that future studies account for landscape and matrix parameters when evaluating restoration projects.

Gerardo R. Camilo, Paige A. Muñiz, Michael Arduser, Edward M. Spevak · Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society · United States

A three-year survey (2013-2016 growing seasons) in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, sampled bees by aerial netting across vacant lots, city parks, community gardens and urban farms, collecting over 7,700 specimens, supplemented with BioBlitz data, personal collections, museum-collection records and the literature. The survey identified 198 bee species from five families in the city, of which only nine were non-native, and found St. Louis hosts nearly 45% of Missouri's bee diversity, a proportion the study describes as likely making it one of the most species-rich cities relative to its state's total bee fauna in the country.

Selena Ahmed, Sarabeth Buckley, Anne Elise Stratton, Feven Asefaha, C. Butler, Matthew J. Reynolds, Colin M. Orians · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Global

A study on green-roof urban agriculture, which faces the ecological challenge of limited soil moisture, compared two soil moisture management practices — sedum (Sedum album) groundcover versus watering — for their effects on the performance and quality of three perennial culinary herbs: thyme, mint and oregano. Individually and interactively, sedum groundcover and watering significantly affected performance measures (biomass, vitality, module coverage) and quality (total phenolic concentration) during early establishment, but had variable effects at later developmental stages. The results suggest sedum groundcover can substitute for watering of hardy culinary herbs on green roofs in terms of plant performance and quality.

Benjamin Iuliano, Alexandra Markiewicz, Paul Glaum · Michigan Journal of Sustainability · United States

A paper examining how community gardens have spread amid a decade of increased urban agriculture in American cities, and what effects this has on local ecosystems, with the title indicating a focus on potential effects on native pollinators. It states that socio-economic demographics may influence patterns of garden placement and quality, producing changes in biotic communities that urban ecologists are only beginning to understand. The available abstract breaks off while introducing a researcher hypothesis about increased floral resources, without stating further specific results.

Heejoon Choi, Junga Lee, Heejung Sohn, Dong-Gil Cho, Youngkeun Song · Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology · South Korea

This study analyzed the landscape-ecological characteristics of green spaces in a high-density built-up area and evaluated the potential of introducing urban gardens to generate green networks in residential zones. It selected Yeoksam-Dong, Seoul — designated both a green-initiative zone and a park-service-deprived area — as the site, categorizing existing green space into street trees, private gardens, public pocket gardens, rooftop gardens, and parks, then applying FRAGSTATS landscape-index analysis and multi-buffer connectivity assessment. Results showed green area distributed in the order: street trees, private gardens, public pocket gardens, parks, rooftop gardens. Street trees' total core area (TCA, 1,618 m²) was comparable to that of parks (1,128 m²). Private gardens showed potential for green networking through gardening, given irregular patch shapes (ED=78.1 m/ha) and close average distance between patches (ENN=33.9 m). Public pocket gardens also showed potential, being evenly distributed (LPI=5.7%, SHEI=0.9) while exposed to external disturbance (TCA=66 m²). Small green networks within a 50m buffer of connected green area covered 84% of the study site, with green-network effects expected from gardening in public pocket gardens (27%) and street trees (26%).

Cat Buxton · · United States

This is an announcement for a free workshop on garden insects, held Thursday, June 22, 2017, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Community Garden at Ratcliffe Park in White River Junction, Vermont. The workshop was led by a garden consultant and sponsored by the Upper Valley Food Co-op.

Stacy M. Philpott, Peter Bichier · Ecological Applications · United States (California)

The influence of local, garden-scale factors (herbaceous and arboreal vegetation abundance and diversity, ground cover) and landscape-scale factors (landscape diversity and surrounding land use) on predation services was examined in 19 urban gardens on the California central coast. Sentinel pests — moth eggs and larvae and pea aphids — were placed on greenhouse-raised plants in open plots versus bagged, predator-exclosure plots. Predation rates were high, with 40% to 90% of prey items removed in open treatments. Predation services varied with local and landscape factors, but significant predictors differed by prey species: predation of eggs and aphids increased with vegetation complexity in gardens, while larval predation declined with vegetation complexity. Smaller gardens experienced higher predation, likely due to greater predator abundance, and several ground cover features influenced predation services. In contrast to patterns in rural agricultural landscapes, aphid predation declined as landscape diversity increased.

Federica Larcher · Italus Hortus · Europe

The available abstract is a short fragment discussing air quality and the role of urban green space in supporting public education and wellbeing, and it notes that guidelines are also proposed for the planning and design of urban green space. No study population, method or measured results are given in the available text.

Yann Dusza, Sébastien Barot, Yvan Kraepiel, Jean-Christophe Lata, Luc Abbadie, Xavier Raynaud · Ecology and Evolution · Global

This study examined how combinations of 20 plant species from 5 families, two substrate types (natural soil vs. artificial), and two depths (10 cm vs. 30 cm) affect green roof ecosystem functions including water retention, biomass production, nutrient cycling, and transpiration. Artificial substrates increased aboveground biomass 1.4-3.5 times relative to natural soil, and deep substrates produced 2-3 times more biomass than shallow ones on natural soil (1.4-1.9 times on artificial substrate), but no single combination of factors enhanced all studied ecosystem functions simultaneously.

Alexander P N van der Jagt, Luca R Szaraz, Tim Delshammar, Rozalija Cvejić, Artur Santos, Julie Goodness, Arjen Buijs · Environmental Research · Europe (5 EU countries)

A 2017 cross-case comparison, carried out through the EU GREEN SURGE project, of six communal urban gardening (CUG) initiatives — allotments and community gardens — in five EU member states, based on interviews with a range of actors, asking which governance arrangements let such gardens deliver social resilience. The authors frame the problem as a gap between aspiration and reality: municipalities in the Global North promote CUG as a nature-based solution, yet the mechanisms by which institutional actors can best support it are understudied. Success factors identified include clearly formulated objectives and regulations, municipal support, financial resources, social capital, and the presence of local food champions and facilitators doing community-building work. The authors conclude that municipalities need to move beyond a rigid focus on top-down control while citizens can increase impact by engaging politically as well as practically. Cases were deliberately selected for being locally unique or innovative, so they are not a representative sample of EU practice.

農林水産省, 国土交通省 · 農林水産省（都市農業振興基本法に基づく政府の基本計画・閣議決定） · Japan

The government's basic plan under the Urban Agriculture Promotion Act (2015). It places 'realising the diverse functions of urban agriculture' at the centre and sets three new policy directions: securing urban farmers, securing land for farming, and full-scale agricultural-promotion measures. It is the core plan underpinning municipalities' citizen farms, experience farms and farmland conservation nationwide.

Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan · Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan · Japan

A practitioner handbook compiled by Japan's Ministry of the Environment on Eco-DRR (Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction). It systematizes the use of ecosystems and traditional land use—forests preventing soil erosion, coastal forests attenuating tsunamis, wetlands and paddy fields providing temporary flood storage—to achieve disaster risk reduction and biodiversity conservation simultaneously, providing a policy basis for treating urban and rural farmland and greenery as protective green infrastructure.

Castaneda-Alvarez N.P., Khoury C.K., Achicanoy H.A., Jarvis D.I., Maxted N., Toll J. · Nature Plants · Global

Models the distribution of 1,076 taxa related to 81 crops, finding over 70% are high priority for further collection because they are poorly represented in genebanks relative to their native ranges.

Heraty J.M., Ellstrand N.C. · Economic Botany 70(1):37-48 · Global

Measures maize genetic diversity in home and community gardens kept by immigrant farmers in Southern California, showing transnational seed dispersal sustains landrace diversity beyond recognized centers of diversity.

Takahashi Yu, Yokoi Shuji, Takahata Yoshihito · Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 63(5): 869-879 · Japan

Analysis of 87 turnip accessions using chloroplast and nuclear SSRs and morphology revealed distinct haplogroups between eastern and western Eurasia, with continental Asian accessions (including Japan) showing the highest genetic diversity.

Iketani Hiroyuki · Breeding Science, 66(1): 82-89 · Japan

A review of Japan's native fruit tree genetic resources shaped by its diverse climate, summarizing the status of wild and local fruit taxa, red-listed species, and the state of conservation in genebanks and botanical gardens.