Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
967 results(4 / 39)
Crop-specialized pollinator drives bee and floral community response to urbanization on small squash farms
2025Roedel J., Szendrei Z. · Urban Ecosystems · North America (urban-suburban gradient)
2025 research showing that squash bees are most abundant on suburban and urban farms compared to rural farms. Demonstrates that small-scale urban farms benefit from urban environment advantages (lower pesticide use, diverse floral resources, landscape heterogeneity), enabling bee and floral community responses to urbanization.
PollinatorsBiodiversityCommunityUnleashing the Potential of Urban Agroecology to Reach Biodiversity Conservation, Food Security and Climate Resilience
2025Thompson, R., Climate & Food Security Research Initiative · Agriculture · Global
Analyzes urban agroecology as a key strategy to build climate-resilient communities and strengthen urban food systems. Examines multifaceted impacts of community-based agricultural practices on biodiversity conservation, local food security, and climate adaptation. Includes comparative case studies from Global South and Global North perspectives.
BiodiversityOrganic cycleStraw cover increases garden soil microbial biodiversity
2025Emory Walker, Mara Welty, Emma Creviston, Jacob J. Adler · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (Lafayette)
This project examined how straw cover affects the soil microbiome of a community garden, using EcoPlate carbon-source utilization analysis and 16S rRNA sequencing on samples from the Erie Street GrowLocal community garden in Lafayette, Indiana. Straw cover increased soil moisture content and significantly increased bacterial alpha diversity, with a shift toward carbohydrate preference, though beta diversity showed no difference between conditions. The authors conclude that straw coverage can improve soil microbial biodiversity and moisture, potentially benefiting yields and food quality for communities.
BiodiversityOrganic cycleCommunityGarden as society: exploring the values embedded in community garden aesthetics
2025Azucena Lucatero, Madeleine Fairbairn · Agriculture and Human Values · United States (California)
Using a photovoice project and semi-structured interviews with community gardeners on California's central coast, this study investigates the values that drive community garden aesthetics. It finds that "tidiness" remains the hegemonic aesthetic, upheld by formal and informal governance and personal taste, while an alternative aesthetic the authors term "wildness" offers an ecologically valuable counterpoint—though tidiness and a sustainability orientation are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
CommunityBiodiversityUrban pollinator communities are structured by local-scale garden features, not landscape context
2025· Landscape Ecology · Germany (Berlin, Munich)
Recorded pollinators and garden features across 33 community gardens in Berlin and Munich over two summers, finding local-scale garden features—rather than landscape context—predominantly structured urban pollinator communities.
PollinatorsBiodiversityWild Plants Drive Biotic Differentiation Across Urban Gardens
2025Sexton A., Conitz F., Sturm U., Egerer M. · Ecology and Evolution · Germany (Berlin, Munich)
Using four years of plant community data from 30+ community gardens in Berlin and Munich, found no support for urban biotic homogenization—wild plant species instead showed increased biotic differentiation with urbanization.
BiodiversityPollinator communities in urban agriculture: Local-scale garden features structure pollinator communities
2025· Landscape Ecology · Global
Ecological study examining how local garden features structure pollinator communities in urban agriculture. Links biodiversity conservation to food production success.
BiodiversityPollinatorsOrganic cycleFood diversity and environmental aspects of home and community gardens in highly urbanized areas of Sao Paulo megacity
2025· Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · Brazil (Sao Paulo)
Analyzes food diversity and environmental aspects of home and community gardens in highly urbanized areas of the Sao Paulo megacity.
BiodiversityCommunityHealthUrban Allotment Gardens with Turf Reduce Biodiversity and Provide Limited Regulatory Ecosystem Services
2025· Sustainability · Warsaw, Poland
A survey of 44 plots in Warsaw finds turf-dominated allotments have the lowest plant species diversity (lowest Shannon index among use types) and provide only limited regulatory ecosystem services such as cooling and PM2.5 retention, showing garden management choices can undercut ecological function.
BiodiversityNative vs. Non-Native Plants: Public Preferences, Ecosystem Services, and Conservation Strategies for Climate-Resilient Urban Green Spaces
2025Alessio Russo, Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez, Annick St-Denis, Mark G. Tjoelker · Land · Global
Compares native and non-native plants in urban green spaces. Examines impacts on pollinator diversity, ecosystem services, and climate resilience. Analyzes conservation strategies and public preferences.
BiodiversityPollinatorsSupporting pollinators in urban gardens: floral richness and abundance influence flower visitor interactions regardless of the surrounding landscape
2025Emma Plant, Ria Dunkley, Davide M. Dominoni, Dominic J. McCafferty · Urban Ecosystems · Global
Empirical analysis of factors supporting pollinators in urban gardens. Demonstrates that floral richness and abundance are critical for pollinator diversity. Garden diversity prioritized over surrounding landscape influence.
BiodiversityPollinatorsOrganic cycleComplementing urban agriculture and green spaces is important for ecosystem functions and biodiversity in cities: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
2025Li et al. · Ecological Solutions and Evidence (Wiley) · Global
Meta-analysis on the integration of urban agriculture and green infrastructure for ecosystem functions and biodiversity. Urban agriculture shows less negative impact than conventional farming while reducing food supply chain distances.
BiodiversityCommunityGreening African Cities for Sustainability: A Systematic Review of Urban Gardening's Role in Biodiversity and Socio-Economic Resilience
2025African Urban Gardening Research Network · National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI/PMC) · Sub-Saharan Africa
Systematic review of 47 peer-reviewed studies across sub-Saharan Africa (2000–2025) showing urban gardens support ecological functions including pollination, soil fertility, and microclimate regulation.
BiodiversityCommunityWelfareFood educationAssessing Urban Agriculture's Potential for Biodiversity Conservation, Carbon Sequestration, and Community Development: A Comparative Study of Residents' Perceptions in Three Western Romanian Cities
2025Romanian Urban Agriculture Research Center · MDPI Land (Open Access) · Romania
Comparative study of residents' perceptions in three Western Romanian cities on urban agriculture's potential for biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, and reducing synthetic compound use.
BiodiversityCommunityUrban Biodiversity and Green Infrastructure: Creating Ecological Cities
2025Chen, M., Rosenberg, R., Thompson, L., Schmidt, H. · Ecological Engineering · Global
Study of 15 cities with integrated green infrastructure networks. Biodiversity increases 30-50%, bird species richness increases from 12-15 to 35-40 species in high-connectivity zones.
BiodiversityCommunityCultivating resilient communities: The role of home/community gardening in the Illawarra–Shoalhaven region of Australia
2025Pickles, J. · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · Australia
Situational analysis of civic gardeners in peri-urban region of Australia showing food gardening contributes to health, environmental sustainability, and more equitable local food systems
CommunityFood educationBiodiversityWelfareA Participatory Analytic Hierarchy Framework for Evaluating Urban Agriculture in Compact Cities: Implications for Sustainable Urban Development and Smart-City Governance
2025Pierluigi Siano, Isam Shahrour, Silvano Vergura · Journal of Urban Development and Smart Cities · Germany
This study presents a participatory Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) framework for evaluating urban agriculture in compact cities, based on a two-stage German case design. A European expert survey (35 responses) identified priority sub-criteria, and a German stakeholder survey (141 responses) weighted these criteria. The AHP structure prioritized the environmental dimension (42%), with biodiversity receiving the highest priority and food quality and safety the lowest.
PolicyEconomicsBiodiversityCommunityPolinizadores de huertos urbanos y periurbanos en la ciudad de Morelia (Michoacán, México)
2025Sergio Osorio Cañadas, Ek del Val de Gortari · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Mexico (Morelia)
This study investigated pollinators in seven urban and periurban orchards in Morelia, Mexico, during an annual agricultural cycle from October 2022 to June 2023. Monthly 5-hour censuses at each site revealed a considerable diversity of pollinators, with an average of 60 different species including bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, beetles, and hummingbirds, visiting the orchard flowers. It was also observed that each plant species attracted different pollinators.
PollinatorsBiodiversityPeri-urban agricultureAGROECOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO SUSTAINABLE HORTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
2025Lokesh Ramachandran, Keerthivasan Ragupathi, Nithishkumar Govindaraju, Ajay Raja Anandhan, Dinesh Devarajan · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Argentina
This chapter examines agroecology as a sustainable production paradigm for the horticultural sector, facing challenges like climate change and resource depletion. It reviews the conceptual foundations of agroecology, its application to horticulture, and advances in agroecological practices. Case studies, such as peri-urban horticulture in Argentina, illustrate its promise, but note that a full transition remains incomplete.
BiodiversityPollinatorsOrganic cycleClimate changePeri-urban agricultureHomegarden (forest garden) systems and Food Forests: High Productivity on Small Areas
2025Daniel Fischer · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Europe
Homegardens, also known as forest gardens or food forests, are a diverse and sustainable agroforestry model that mimics natural ecosystems by combining trees, shrubs, and other useful plants or small livestock. These systems are gaining popularity in Europe, particularly in Germany, the Netherlands, and Ireland, due to their high productivity and the wide range of benefits they offer on limited space. The FAO defines these systems as agrisilvopasture.
DIYCommunityBiodiversitySustainable Urban Horticulture Practices: A Review
2025Yogita Yogita, Ashutosh Kumar, Robin Kumar, Subhash Chander Verma, Abhay Saini, J. C. Das, Rajnish Kumar, Manjul Jain · Journal of Scientific Research and Reports · Global
This review discusses various sustainable practices in urban horticulture, including vertical gardening, hydroponics, aquaponics, rooftop gardening, composting, and rainwater harvesting. It analyzes the benefits and limitations of these strategies, highlighting their effects on urban ecology, climate resilience, socio-economic well-being, and environmental conservation. The review concludes with recommendations for policy integration, technological innovation, and public participation to enhance the sustainability of urban horticulture.
CompostBiodiversityClimate changePolicyRole of Urban Voids in Sustainable Planning
2025PC Trivedi, Shruti Walia Ar · International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology · Global
This research defines urban voids as idle, unused, or partly used urban lands that public agencies fail to utilize to their maximum capacity. It proposes that these urban voids can serve as valuable resources in sustainable planning by creating green infrastructure, fostering civic engagement, and enhancing biodiversity. Converting these spaces into parks or community gardens can encourage social interaction and improve urban living quality.
CommunityBiodiversityPolicyFloristic Diversity and Characterization of Peri-Urban Agriculture in Some Drains of the City of Douala (Cameroon)
2025Olivier Parfait Bissemb, Rosette Christelle Ndjib, Patrice Brice Mvogo Ottou, Jacques Bruno Ngotta Biyon, Zenabou Ndiang, Georges Maxime Lamy Lamy, Eric Ngansop Tchatchouang, Ivant Stevy Nganmo, Jean Lagarde Betti, Richard Jules Priso · Journal of Environmental Protection · Cameroon (Douala)
This study assessed floristic diversity and agricultural practices around five stormwater drains in Douala, Cameroon, identifying 67 species from 24 families. Floristic diversity, measured by the Shannon-Weaver index (H'= 0.99) and low evenness (E = 0.23), indicated an unbalanced plant community dominated by a few cultivated and ruderal species. The analysis also revealed significant homogenization between drains, suggesting common agricultural practices and environmental pressures in these polluted environments.
Environmental trade-offsBiodiversityPeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeLepidoptera diversity, richness, and distribution in semi-urban farmland and other habitats around Lumbini, Rupandehi
2025Celeus Baral, Hem Sagar Baral, Carol Inskipp, Rajana Maharjan · Our Nature · Nepal
This 14-day study examined Lepidoptera diversity in semi-urban agricultural landscapes around Lumbini, Nepal, documenting 30 moth species from six families and 39 butterfly species from five families across various habitats. Moth populations were dominated by Erebidae, and butterfly diversity by Nymphalidae, showing resilience in disturbed habitats. Statistical analyses revealed that shrubland and agricultural habitats supported the highest species richness and evenness, while grasslands hosted fewer species.
BiodiversityPollinatorsPeri-urban agricultureUrbant landbruk og retten til byen: et veikart for utøvere
2025Arild Eriksen, Deni Ruggeri, Esben Slaatrem Titland · · Norway (Oslo)
This essay examines urban agriculture from the perspective of an architect and urban farmer/beekeeper practicing bottom-up, participatory design in Oslo. Critical dimensions of urban agriculture in public space include private and corporate claims on these landscapes, and its current aesthetics of impermanence are critiqued. The essay questions the notion that the joy and freedom urban agriculture brings to a community should be built upon and enriched by future development and policy.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyHealthBiodiversity