Research & reports

Ana Puertas, L Hidalgo-Díaz · Revista de Protección Vegetal · Cuba

An experiment in Cuba investigated the effect of different organic fertilizers on the establishment of the biological control agent Pochonia chlamydosporia var. catenulata in the substrate and rhizosphere of tomato plants. High colonization levels of the substrate and tomato roots were observed across all treatments using soil, cattle manure, and worm humus in various proportions. Results indicated a tendency for higher root colonization values in organic fertilizers and proportions that allowed medium or lower substrate colonization. Both organic fertilizers can be used to support the application of P. chlamydosporia var. catenulata in urban agriculture.

J. C. Pawelek, Gordon W. Frankie, Robbin W. Thorp, Maggie Przybylski · Cities and the Environment · United States (California)

A community garden in San Luis Obispo, California, was modified by planting bee-attractive plants to attract native bee pollinators. Garden modification and monitoring of native bees occurred from 2007 through the 2009 growing season. The diversity of collected and observed native bees increased each year, with 40 species in 17 genera recorded to date.

许光中 · 北京科技大学学报：社会科学版 · China (Qinghai Province)

This study examines urban agriculture in Qinghai Province, China, as a solution to urban ecological crises exacerbated by rapid urbanization. Urban agriculture, defined as modern agriculture integrating production, services, and consumption based on modern technology and diversified operations, can expand urban green spaces, improve urban ecology, and strengthen urban functions.

Stefan Dongus, Dickson Nyika, Khadija Kannady, Deo Mtasiwa, Hassan Mshinda, Laura Gosoniu, Axel Drescher, Ulrike Fillinger, Marcel Tanner, Gerry F. Killeen, Márcia C. Castro · Geospatial health · Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)

A cross-sectional survey in urban Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, investigated the influence of agricultural and geographical features on Anopheles larvae presence. The study found that agricultural areas, covering over 5% of the 16.8 km2 study area, had a 1.7 times higher proportion of habitats containing Anopheles larvae compared to other areas. However, breeding sites originating from urban agriculture accounted for less than a fifth of all malaria vector breeding sites in the city.

Nigel L. Webb, Harrison Kasumba · Africanus Journal of Development Studies · South Africa

In Ezibeleni near Queenstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa, a sustainable-development framework was used to gather empirical findings on vegetable crop cultivation, covering duration of crop consumption, the value of produce to households, environmental benefits, and social/psychological benefits. Both the scale of cultivation and the benefits obtained were found to be modest, reinforcing prior studies that focused on the actual practice of urban agriculture rather than its hypothetical potential.

XU Guang-zhong · Journal of University of Science and Technology Beijing(Social Sciences Edition) · China

This article, using Qinghai Province as a case, argues that as urbanization accelerates and cities' ecological crises intensify, developing urban agriculture can help address this crisis. It describes urban agriculture as based on modern technology and reliant on agricultural industrialization, combining features of production, service and consumption, and states that promoting urban agriculture can expand green space, improve urban ecology, and strengthen urban functions.

Peter A. Werrell, Gail Langellotto, Shannon U. Morath, Kevin C. Matteson · Cities and the Environment · United States (New York City)

A study in New York City community gardens examined how the spatial area dedicated to cucumbers (Cucumis sativus), relative to other flowering plants, influenced the deposition of conspecific and heterospecific pollen on cucumber plants, and also examined the effect of overall garden size on that pollen deposition. Female flowers were collected from potted cucumber plants placed experimentally in the gardens for the study, as well as from cucumbers established in raised beds by community garden members; pollen grains were isolated in the laboratory by acetolysis and the numbers of heterospecific and conspecific pollen grains were quantified. The abstract does not report quantitative results or conclusions.

Xu Hong-Xia, Jing Tao, Tomooka Norihiko, Kaga Akito, Isemura Takehisa, Vaughan Duncan A. · Genome, 51(9): 728-738 · Japan

Using 13 SSRs on 616 azuki accessions from eight Asian countries, the study found highly diverse Japanese wild germplasm, supporting Japan as a domestication center, while cultivated azuki from China, Korea, and Japan were genetically distinct.

森ビル株式会社 · 環境コミュニケーション 39巻6号 pp.30-31 · Japan

Official technical literature explaining Mori Building's 'Vertical Garden City' concept, describing pioneering private redevelopment rooftop farming and greening including paddy fields and mochi-rice harvest at Roppongi Hills and environmental community creation.

WU Yun-fe · Shanxi Architecture · Global

This paper demonstrates the benefits of rooftop gardens for improving living conditions in response to urban environmental problems, detailing nine aspects. These benefits include mitigating the heat island effect, increasing urban green spaces, and purifying city air. The paper also offers recommendations for the development of rooftop gardens.

Stephan 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.

Dolly Kumar, Archana Mishra · · India (Vadodara)

This study conducted the first comprehensive survey of ant communities in Vadodara District, India, to assess diversity and species composition in urban and agricultural ecosystems. Using pitfall traps and hand collection, 22 ant species from 13 genera and five subfamilies were collected. Urban ecosystems contained 15 species from nine genera, while agricultural ecosystems had 16 species from ten genera, with species composition unique to each habitat and likely influenced by surrounding vegetation and biota.

Wayne C. Zipperer · Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America · United States

The Urban Ecosystem Ecology Section of the Ecological Society of America implemented a quarterly newsletter and field trip in 2007, sponsored two symposia, and voted to support travel awards for students presenting at the 2008 ESA meeting. The section's officers met their objectives by establishing these initiatives and will hold a meeting on August 5th to nominate new officers, discuss future events, and present travel awards.

Henrik 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.

S. Karrie Reid, Lorence R. Oki · California Agriculture · United States (California)

In California, there is a growing need for landscape plants requiring fewer water and chemical inputs. A program at UC Davis screened ten unused or underused California native plants for low water tolerance in open-field conditions during summer 2006. No significant differences were found in summer growth or physical appearance across four irrigation levels. Six species maintained a favorable appearance throughout the season and are now undergoing further assessment in demonstration gardens across seven climate zones.

Christine King · Systems Research and Behavioral Science · Global

This paper explores how agri-ecological systems such as Organic Agriculture, Biodynamics, CSA, Permaculture, Farmers Markets, and Community Gardens contribute to agri-ecological and community resilience. These systems contribute to more sustainable and resilient communities through community development processes like relationship building, genuine participation, inclusiveness, resource mobilization, and creating space for knowledge sharing. The paper compares ecological systems models to agri-ecological systems and suggests how ecological systems theories might contribute to the future of community-based agri-ecological resilience.

Sara Strajnar · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Europe

An abstract from a graduation thesis (2008, Europe) on two types of "small-scale agriculture" in water-protected areas in and around Ljubljana, Slovenia — allotment gardens and private vegetable gardens — states that these gardens matter for environmental protection because of their production intensity and large number of gardeners. The author investigated gardening habits in detail, combining field-work data with numerous measurements of phytopharmaceutical (pesticide) products and nutrients in soil and vegetables.

Kevin C. Matteson, John S. Ascher, Gail Langellotto · Annals of the Entomological Society of America · United States (New York City)

Bees were surveyed over 4 years in community gardens in heavily developed neighborhoods of the Bronx and East Harlem, New York City, yielding 1,145 individuals from 54 species (13% of recorded New York State bee fauna). Soil-nesting individuals were relatively rare (25%), possibly due to a lack of suitable nesting soils, and parasitic species were scarce (5.6% of species, 2.6% of individuals); exotic species were common, comprising 27% of individuals and 19% of species collected. Compared with other bee faunal surveys in New York and New Jersey, including Central Park and Prospect Park, bee richness in these urban gardens was reduced and the species composition was biased toward exotic and cavity-nesting bees, though the gardens still supported a diverse bee assemblage despite their small size and location within highly urbanized areas.

· Society & Natural Resources · United States

Case study of a nonprofit heritage seed bank (the Seed Savers Exchange), examining the cultural significance of heirloom seed saving and exchange.

Emily Brady · Ethics Place & Environment · Global

This article explores whether environmental and land art-making encourages positive aesthetic-moral relationships between nature and humans. It critically examines a particular type of aesthetic objection to these artworks and defends the work of Robert Smithson and Andy Goldsworthy, among others, against this charge. It is argued that some forms of environmental and land art show "aesthetic regard" for nature, rather than constituting an "aesthetic affront" to nature.

Sally A. Kitt Chappell · · United States (Chicago)

Sally A. Kitt Chappell's "Urban Nature" is a guide to Chicago's blend of nature and architecture, highlighting the integration of green spaces into the city's cultural life. The book explores historic sites like Garfield Park Conservatory and contemporary green spaces such as City Hall's rooftop garden and Millennium Park. It emphasizes the connection between buildings, landscapes, culture, and nature in Chicago's urban concept.

S Fjell · Rainwater and Urban Design · Global

This paper presents the concepts of "Cool Streets," "Green Streets," and "Water Wise Streets" to mitigate urban heat islands and create sustainable urban environments. Cool Streets reduce heat absorption, Green Streets promote improved air quality, stormwater management, and urban agriculture through vegetation. These multidisciplinary design approaches can achieve cost-effective Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) outcomes, and the concept has been implemented in Pentridge Village, Coburg, Victoria, Australia.

Pyung Sub Yoon, 이자희, 유병열 · · South Korea

This study examined plant adaptation in a low-management rooftop garden called Choroktteul, focusing on 29 species of herbaceous plants. It identified 30 woody and 22 herbaceous species with good adaptation, and 5 woody and 43 herbaceous species with bad adaptation.

Zhu Xiao-yong · Journal of Jinling Institute of Technology · Global

This article discusses the use of new plant species in urban greening and gardening, highlighting their contribution to biodiversity and urban ecological construction. It summarizes the main problems associated with their application, elaborates on their uses and principles, and proposes solutions and measures for their effective integration.

Anna Jørgensen, Marian Tylecote · Landscape Research · Global

This paper explores the origins of ambivalent responses to contemporary urban landscapes, proposing that post-modern wilderness can be found in urban interstices. These include woodlands, abandoned allotments, river corridors, and derelict sites where spontaneous vegetation growth occurs. Such interstitial wilderness landscapes are identified as having important functions and being rich in meaning, with implications for understanding nature-human relationships and for urban landscape planning.