Research & reports

Рена Упитис, Scott Hughes, Anna C. Peterson · Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies · Canada

An 8-month qualitative study was conducted at a school garden program in one public elementary school in southeastern Ontario, Canada. Data collected from eight students through observations, semi-structured interviews, and student photographs identified five themes enhancing environmental stewardship (including connecting with nature, caretaking, and harvesting) and three themes explaining the program's long-term success (including parental involvement and community connections). The study highlighted benefits of the school garden program, as well as some difficulties associated with the program and limitations of the study.

Giovanni Attili · IRIS Research product catalog (Sapienza University of Rome) · Italy (Rome)

This study focused on community gardens in Rome, Italy, which largely result from informal appropriation practices. While these gardens can enhance environmental and social quality of life, they require institutional support and present a crucial challenge for urban planning. The study highlights the need to explore tensions between social practices and institutional powers, and questions how public policy can legitimize these self-guiding societal expressions.

Catalina Freixas, Pablo Moyano Fernandez · Suburban Sustainability · United States (St. Louis)

This paper examines the role of eco-urbanism in St. Louis, a shrinking city experiencing population loss and economic decline since the 1950s. It reviews the implementation and benefits of three eco-urbanism strategies: community gardens, greenways, and urban forests. The study identifies social, ecological, and economic benefits, and suggests further adoption of eco-urbanism ideology and improved implementation strategies by the municipal government.

Daniele La Rosa, Francesco Martinico, Riccardo Privitera · TERRITORIO · Italy

This study discusses how non-urbanized areas in metropolitan contexts can be reconsidered for new land uses, combining peripheral urban agricultural production with environmental protection for climate change adaptation and ecosystem service production. Through a review of urban planning instruments in Mascalucia, a new land-use scenario for non-urbanized areas was proposed using a land suitability model that combined land cover and fragmentation analysis.

Jill L. Edmondson, Zoe G. Davies, Sarah A. McCormack, Kevin J. Gaston, Jonathan R. Leake · The Science of The Total Environment · Europe

A study of Leicester, a mid-sized city in the United Kingdom (73 km², 56% greenspace), analyzing how land-cover type (herbaceous, shrub or tree cover) affects soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. Topsoil SOC was measured in domestic gardens and non-domestic greenspaces and compared with surrounding extra-urban agricultural land, then mapped citywide. Average SOC storage across the city's greenspace was 9.9 kg/m² to 21 cm depth; SOC under trees and shrubs in domestic gardens exceeded all other land-cover types, with median total storage of 13.5 kg/m² to 21 cm depth — more than 3 kg/m² higher than any other land-cover class in domestic or non-domestic greenspace, and 5 kg/m² higher than arable land. Land-cover did not significantly affect SOC in non-domestic greenspace overall, though values under trees were higher than under pasture and arable land, while shrub and herbaceous cover were higher only than arable land. The study concludes that greenspace management affects SOC stocks, that trees only marginally increase stocks in non-domestic greenspaces but may enhance them in domestic gardens, and that greenspace topsoils hold substantial SOC stores requiring protection from further expansion of artificial surfaces such as patios and driveways.

Liangtao Li, Weller Lorraine, Yuanyuan Tao, Zhenrong Yu, Li, Liangtao, Weller, Lorraine, Tao, Yuanyuan, Yu, Zhenrong · · United States (California)

A field survey of 14 community gardens in Los Angeles, United States, examined how the diversity and distribution pattern of urban vegetation varieties relates to gardeners' ethnic background and construction mode. A total of 439 plant varieties were identified, showing that community gardens function as an important species pool for the urban ecosystem and maintain rich native taxa resources, that the plants grown are mainly edible and play a significant role in protecting ethnic and regional native culture, and that the landscape structure and function of the vegetation are shaped by ethnic background and construction mode. The findings are discussed for their implications for urban green space planning and leisure agriculture in China.

QI Airon · · China

Using entropy value analysis, obstacle degree analysis, and GIS spatial analysis, this study built an urban agro-ecological security evaluation system for Xi'an, China, and found the security index rose from 0.44 in 2002 to 0.68 in 2011. Urbanization had a large negative influence on the sustainability and system stability of urban agricultural resources but a positive influence on output growth and development assurance, while the average obstacle degree of the key limiting factors declined from 12.47% in 2003 to 7.05% in 2006 and 4.97% in 2011; the security index also varied spatially across districts, lowest (≤0.15) in Lianhu, Beilin, and Xincheng and highest (>0.35) in Chang'an and Yanliang, reflecting differences in agricultural production conditions, transport access, and linkage to the urban economy.

Rebecca J. McLain, Patrick T. Hurley, Marla R. Emery, Melissa R. Poe · Local Environment · United States

Drawing on an integrated urban political ecology and human-plant geographies framework, researchers examined foraging for wild food across Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia, and Seattle. Foraging is a vibrant, ongoing practice among diverse urban residents, yet regulations, planning practices, and the attitudes of conservation practitioners frame it as out of place in urban landscapes and something to be discouraged.

Xuejun Chen · Ziran zaihai xuebao · Global

Introducing disaster-chain theory for mine ecological environments, this paper classifies the secondary ecological-environment destruction chains originating from ground collapse — affecting land, climate, water and artificial ecological environments — into five types, and further divides their interaction mechanisms into seven kinds across four classes. At the Siding lead-zinc mine, 280 collapse pits were brought under control based on ecological restoration and reorganized into landscape ecological function areas comprising urban agriculture and economic forest zones, restoring farmland and 8.47 hectares of forest land. The results indicate the proposed disaster-chain analysis is feasible and could offer a new approach for controlling ground collapse in mining areas.

Guitart D., Pickering C., Byrne J. · Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 11(4):364-373 · Global

Review of English-language community gardens research, summarizing who studies them, locations, methods, plants grown, participants, and the motivations, benefits and limitations, while outlining future research directions.

Catherine Brinkley · Journal of Planning Literature · Global

This article reviewed literature from various fields to evaluate services provided by farms to urban areas. It analyzed mission statements of 130 land trusts, finding a preference for parcels offering ecosystem services, wildlife habitat, and agricultural productivity. A literature review revealed that the market value of farmland services varies from -$37,541 to $124,000 per acre, depending on analysis method and farm location.

Kevin C. Matteson, Gail Langellotto · Cities and the Environment · United States (New York City)

This study used mark-recapture and translocation experiments to assess the residency and movement of the urban butterfly, Pieris rapae, within and among community gardens in New York City. While most marked butterflies used gardens transiently, recruitment and residence time were higher in larger gardens and those with more flowers. The study demonstrated the butterfly's ability to move through developed landscapes and locate floral resources.

Susan B. Johnson · International Journal of Inclusive Education · United Kingdom

This paper argues that a reconceptualized approach to school gardening in the UK could promote inclusive education for sustainable development. It examines the potential for children aged 5-14 to develop ecological knowledge, action competence, and environmental engagement skills through gardening. The paper suggests a curriculum framework and provides a bean crop exemplar, but it does not present empirical findings or results from an implemented program.

Osama M. E. Seidahmed, M.A. Abdelmajed, Mashair Sir El Khatim Mustafa, Abraham Mnzava · Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal · Sudan (Khartoum)

A baseline survey in Khartoum city, Sudan, from September to November 2007, assessed the insecticide susceptibility of 9820 Anopheles arabiensis specimens across 6 urban and periurban sites. The mosquito was susceptible to bendiocarb, propoxur, fenitrothion, deltamethrin, and lambda-cyhalothrin. However, susceptibility rates for malathion, DDT, and permethrin differed significantly between urban and periurban sites, and 50% knockdown times were significantly higher in periurban populations for deltamethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, and malathion.

· · United States (New York City)

In New York City, social workers and community organizers engage in environmental protection practices through community organizing aimed at creating and preserving green spaces. Much of this activism takes place within community gardens, which are recognized as spaces for social engagement, community building, and social justice-based activism.

Mary Margaret Fischer · OpenSIUC (Southern Illinois University Carbondale) · United States

This study evaluated commercial and vermicompost-blended green roof media for annual herb production in shallow modular trays on a university roof in Southern Illinois, Carbondale, during two experiments in 2011. The commercially available media generally produced more significant results for shoot growth parameters in sweet basil, Thai basil, and parsley. Partial shade also showed significant effects on shoot-to-root ratio in the first experiment, while most basil variables were insignificant in the second.

주은정, 김재근 · · Global

An educational program using soil seed banks was developed to promote ecological literacy among children. A pilot application with 4th-6th grade students found it most effective for 4th graders in ecological knowledge and attitude, but the initial period (late March to early November) was too long. The final program was shortened to 3 months and 2 weeks (late March to early July) and targeted 4th graders, consisting of seven activities including sampling, setting, observing, and identifying seedlings.

Barbara Uhlig · edoc Publication server (Humboldt University of Berlin) · Germany

This study analyzes guerrilla gardening as a protest movement where activists plant flowers, trees, and vegetables on derelict urban spaces without owner permission. The motivations for guerrilla gardening are pragmatic, ecological, political, and aesthetic, though its artistic status is often denied. The study demonstrates that guerrilla gardening aligns with George Dickie's institutional theory of art and can be classified as art.

Shuowei Qin · TigerPrints (Clemson University) · United States

This research explores the concept of "food landscape," which integrates edible plants into landscapes under a new ecological paradigm to address issues of food transportation energy consumption and land degradation. Through an intensive literature review, the study discusses the origin, rationale, and benefits of food landscape, drawing upon the new ecological paradigm and edible landscape concepts. The findings will be applied to Johns de la Howe School, also incorporating the concept of therapeutic gardens to develop design principles for successful food landscape implementation.

Takanori Kuronuma, Saori Hashimoto, Ryuta CHIMURA, Haruaki YOKOKAWA, Kazunori Sakamoto, Hitoshi Watanabe · Journal of the Japanese Society of Revegetation Technology · Japan

This study investigated the annual changes in lightweight soil in a thin substratum rooftop garden planted with Zoysia grass. No annual changes were observed in grass growth or soil physical properties. Soil organic matter tended to increase after construction, and nutrient salt content was comparable to golf course green soil diagnostic standards. However, nutrient salt levels in unused lightweight soil were significantly higher than after construction and decreased annually. No difference in nutrient salt content was confirmed with or without additional fertilization, suggesting the need for fertilization management tailored to the unique rooftop environment.

Adriana Franklin de Souza da Silva, M. M. da Silva, L. M. de Santana, A. N. Moreira, J. R. B. Pereira, S. A. S. Amorim, C. R. R. S. França, A. P. G. Santos, Rooselvelt Izel Pereira de Melo · infoteca-e (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) · Brazil

This study describes multiple participatory research and technological learning fields concerning alternative control of banana weevils and the management of agroecological gardens in communities of the Brazilian Northeast Semi-arid region. These include projects on the Maria Tereza Project, Senator Nilo Coelho Irrigation Project, community agroecological gardens in Nova Descoberta, Petrolina, PE, chemical characteristics of biofertilizer, adaptation of lettuce varieties, and cultivation of different species using well water.

서명훈, 이원석, 전명희, 김성기 · · South Korea

In South Korea, urban agriculture is being revitalized with the enactment of urban agriculture-related laws in 2011 and active promotion by local governments. The total urban agriculture area in Seoul and Gyeonggi regions is 251.6 ha, and urban gardens with diverse crops exhibit biodiversity, allowing for relatively flexible insect life cycles. However, challenges include unauthorized biological and chemical pest control due to multiple people managing small areas, and the absence of winter crops due to limited usage periods. Environmentally friendly insect management, utilizing natural enemies, traps, and biodiversity, is necessary for urban gardens.

Kevin F. Welzel · Berkeley Scientific Journal · United States (California)

This study examined native bee pollination at two urban agricultural sites in Berkeley, California: the Oxford Tract and Berkeley Youth Alternative garden. It observed squash, tomato, strawberry, and sunflower plants, collecting data on distance from natural habitat, native bee pollinator diversity, and visitation rates. The study found mixed results for genus richness and evenness, and a t-test indicated no significant difference in visitation rates for each plant type between the two sites.

고성철, 김수현, 김경묵, 장재수, 이은희 · 한국생태환경건축학회 학술발표대회 논문집 · Global

This study focused on implementing a functional rooftop garden using biochar and the microbial consortium BM-S-1. Biochar amendment reduced heavy metal (Pb and Zn) runoff and maintained more moisture to stimulate plant growth, but it did not maintain NO3- and PO43-. The amendment of biochar and BM-S-1 somewhat inhibited the growth of broadleaf liriope, while biochar amendment increased tolerance to storm carrying salt.

Mirella Cultrera, Maria Christina de Mello Amorozo, Fábio Cop Ferreira · SITIENTIBUS série Ciências Biológicas · Brazil (Mato Grosso)

An ethnobotanical study in five peripheral neighborhoods of Santo Antônio do Leverger, Mato Grosso, Brazil, surveyed 135 households and detailed 30 to characterize food plant cultivation. Ninety-seven species from 38 families were identified across homegardens, fields, and empty lots. While some species were common, the similarity between species/varieties across households was generally below 50%, and many had low frequency, revealing a vulnerability to species loss despite social network circulation.