Research & reports

Loracnis Hernández, María de los A Pino, Eduardo Calves, María E Dominí, A Ramírez, Z. Terán · Cultivos Tropicales · Cuba

This study executed the first diagnostic phase of a participatory plant breeding project in urban agriculture in the municipality of San José de las Lajas, Havana Province. The research characterized farmers, biodiversity, and crop technologies in the Norte and Sur Popular Councils.

Kwang-Ja Bang, Jin-Hee Ju, Sun-Hae Kim · · Global

This study, conducted from March to September 2002, investigated the growth response of five native plant species (Chrysanthemum zawadskii, Sedum middendorffianum, Thymus quinquecostatus, Allium senescens, Dianthus superbus) to artificial substrate soil depths (5 cm, 10 cm) and irrigation periods (non-irrigation, 1, 2, 3 weeks) for rooftop gardens. Sedum middendorffianum and Allium senescens showed 0% mortality regardless of soil depth and irrigation, making them highly suitable. Chrysanthemum zawadskii, Dianthus superbus, and Thymus quinquecostatus generally performed better with 10 cm soil depth, suggesting a minimum viable depth over 10 cm for these species.

Liao Minghui · Nongye xiandaihua yanjiu · China (ChangshaZhuzhouXiangtan)

This paper discusses the essentiality of urban agriculture development in urban compact districts, highlighting its multiple efficacies including economic, social, and ecological benefits. Based on an analysis of typical examples in ChangshaZhuzhouXiangtan, the paper describes the current status and identifies many problems in urban agriculture. Finally, numerous countermeasures are proposed for these issues.

Philip J. Baker, RACHEL J. ANSELL, PHILLIPPA A. A. DODDS, CLAIRE E. WEBBER, Stephen Harris · Mammal Review · United Kingdom (Bristol)

This study investigated small mammal distribution across five urban habitats in north-west Bristol, including residential and allotment gardens. It found that wood mouse abundance in residential gardens was negatively related to cat abundance and distance to natural vegetation. The results suggest urban small mammal populations may be limited by predation and habitat fragmentation.

Todd A. Randall, Cameron J. Churchill, Brian W. Baetz · Environment and Planning B Planning and Design · Global

A prototype decision support tool, coded as an ArcView GIS extension, is described for managing existing green spaces and establishing new ones in suburban neighborhoods. It suggests techniques like naturalization of parks and increased street foliage, and allows modeling and evaluating future scenarios for sustainable community development. The tool's applications are discussed to illustrate benefits of neighborhood greening strategies.

Grace K. Luk · WIT transactions on ecology and the environment · Canada (Greater Toronto Area)

This paper describes the design and data collection for an on-site evaluation to quantify the benefits of greenroof systems, focusing on six greenroof systems in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada. The study's objective is to specifically quantify the multiple benefits greenroofs provide, such as improved stormwater management, air quality, increased energy efficiency, extended roof life cycle, and mitigation of the Urban Heat Island Effect. A long-term, real-time monitoring program is intended to help define the ecological and hydraulic benefits of these greenroofs.

Charles Rowley · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · United States (California)

This paper compared the successes and failures of two urban creek restoration programs in California: Temescal Creek (initiated nearly 30 years ago) and White Oak Creek (completed about four years ago). Based on the author's success criteria, the more recent White Oak Creek program achieved significant success, while the earlier Temescal Creek restoration did not reach generally acceptable success levels. This difference is attributed to changes in management and scientific practice over 30 years, including substantial changes in the legal basis for restoration, improved monitoring requirements, and the critical role of properly engineered low flow distribution structures.

E. Makumbelo, L. Lukoki, Sj. Paulus, J., N. Luyindula · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa)

A survey conducted in 201 plots within the Limete commune of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, inventoried nineteen cultivated vegetable species and 764 plants from 18 fruit-tree species. Mangifera indica was identified as the most planted tree species, while Ipomoae batatas was the most frequently cultivated vegetable species.

Rodomiro Ortíz, Celia Vera · Cultivos Tropicales · Cuba (Ciudad de La Habana)

This study investigated the agricultural biodiversity in urban gardens across eight localities in the municipalities of Boyeros and Arroyo Naranjo.

Fabio Bontadina, Pascale Contesse, Sandra Gloor · DORA WSL (Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research) · Switzerland (Zurich)

This study analyzed attitudes towards urban foxes in Switzerland using a nationwide survey and questionnaires for households and allotment gardeners in Zurich. While 60% of Swiss respondents were against urban foxes, only 40% in Zurich were; however, 70% of gardeners opposed them, with 55% reporting damage caused by foxes, which negatively correlated with fox acceptance.

Raúl Ortíz, Celia Patricia Vera, Antonio Leyva · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cuba

A diagnostic study was conducted on the conditions of urban gardens, their producers, and families in 20 gardens across five localities in the "Boyeros" and "Arroyo Naranjo" municipalities of Havana, Cuba, between December 1998 and March 1999. While the garden agroecosystems showed satisfactory biodiversity, general knowledge of biological technologies in sustainable urban agriculture remained relatively low. None of the surveyed plot owners consciously knew or used vermiculture, pisciculture, biofertilizers, biopesticides, or biostimulants, and almost half did not consciously use crop rotation.

Isabel María Madaleno · Food, nutrition and agriculture · Global

An essay argues that urban agriculture—food and non-food production occurring throughout urban and peri-urban fabric—could improve city dwellers' nutritional status and food security, strengthen food self-reliance and employment prospects, and make survival strategies more effective. It describes urban agriculture as a setting where children, young people, and adults engage directly in safe food production and develop respect for farmers' work, surveys the evolution of cities and green-space use in Europe and North America, presents recent urban agriculture experiences in African, European, and Latin American countries, and advocates urban agriculture as a local solution to social, ecological, political, and economic problems.

A. L. Echemendía, Surey Valdés, Sugey Magdalena Castillo Jiménez, Gloria González, Juan Miguel Zarandona Femández · Redalyc (Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México) · Mexico

A survey of pests and diseases in crops associated with hydroponic systems, organopónicos, and urban gardens in Mexico identified three viral symptomatologies in lettuce (Lactuca sativa), celery (Apium graveolens), and Castilla melon (Cucumis melo), linked to aphid vectors. Using indicator plants, optical and electron microscopy, and ELISA (DAS and indirect variants), the causal agents were identified: Lettuce Mosaic Virus (LMV) in lettuce and a race of Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV) in celery, both first reports for the country, and Papaya Ringspot Virus race W (PRSV) in melon, never previously found in that crop. An aphid species colonizing lettuce was also identified for the first time as an LMV vector.

Altieri M.A., Companioni N., Cañizares K., Murphy C., Rosset P., Bourque M., Nicholls C.I. · Agriculture and Human Values · Cuba (Havana)

This study analyzes Cuba's grassroots urban agriculture movement that emerged after the 1989 Soviet collapse, showing how ~8,000 gardens nationwide operated on agroecological principles without synthetic inputs, providing Havana with thousands of tonnes of produce by 1996.

Seana Irvine, Lorraine Johnson, Kim Peters · Local Environment · Canada

This case study provides an analytical account of the Alex Wilson Community Garden in Toronto, Canada, examining the connections between ecological restoration and community gardening. The garden, opened in June 1998, reflects Alex Wilson's work by linking these two enterprises to nurture relationships between people, communities, and the landscape. Its design reconstructs the natural and cultural history of southern Ontario with native plant species, aiming for a positive impact on local biodiversity. The participatory planning process involved various stakeholders and utilized planning tools like conservation easements.

LiYuan LiYuan, Y Zu · Yunnan Nongye Daxue xuebao · China

This study tracked six years of dynamic change in agricultural structure, function, and diversity in Xiaodiantou Village, Gejiu City, Yunnan Province, China, as an example of suburban eco-agriculture. Results showed: (1) the structure shifted from a conventional, single food-production type to a commercial economic type combining hog raising, biogas, food crops, forestry, fruit, and vegetables; (2) economic benefit and the output-input value ratio increased gradually; (3) output of matter and energy increased with input, but the output-input ratio of energy and matter decreased when input became excessive; and (4) system diversity was closely related to structure and function, increasing as structure and function improved. Based on these findings, a measure for sustainable development was proposed.

Hammer K., Knüpffer H., Xhuveli L., Perrino P. · Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 43:329-336 · Mediterranean

A classic study comparing collecting missions decades apart in Albania and South Italy, quantifying genetic erosion of landraces at 72.4% and 72.8% respectively.

Brush S. B. · Crop Science 35(2):346-354 · Global

A foundational paper presenting three cases of ongoing farmer maintenance of landraces—potatoes in the Peruvian Andes, maize in southern Mexico and wheat in western Turkey—and the rationale for in situ conservation.

Rollins W. H. · Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 85, No. 3, pp. 494–520 · Germany

Analyzes how Seifert and his team applied aesthetic and ecological principles, grounded in climax-vegetation theory, to the Autobahn, probing the entangled relationship of technology, fascism, and environmentalism under National Socialism.

H. B. Tukey · Cambridge University Press eBooks · Global

This paper defines urban horticulture as the functional use of plants to improve urban environments. It states that urban horticulture contributes to screening views, food production, reducing noise and air pollution, ameliorating urban climates, and improving human well-being. The abstract notes that information on city plants often comes from observations and anecdotes, and that strategies from commercial agriculture do not always apply well to urban horticulture.

Lee M · PubMed · Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, urban agriculture faces significant challenges due to government disapproval of public land use for farming and difficulty in obtaining credit. A 1983 survey in Addis Ababa found that 17% of 1352 households produced their own food on less than 25 sq. meters, with 90% of non-farmers citing lack of land. Despite urban agricultural cooperatives demonstrating 70% higher member income, their lack of government legalization prevents access to loans for productivity improvement.

Wolschke-Bulmahn J., Gröning G. · Journal of Garden History, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 73–80 · Germany

Critically analyzes how the 'nature garden' ideology that emerged in early-twentieth-century Germany, while claiming scholarly basis, carried nationalist and native-plant preferences that fed into later Blood and Soil thinking.

Gröning G., Wolschke-Bulmahn J. · Landscape Journal, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 116–126 · Germany

Examines how German landscape architects' obsession with native plants produced 'landscape rules' that, under National Socialism, became tied to the planning of occupied territories and acquired xenophobic, ideological character.

功 梶井, 和彦 武内, 洋一 松木 · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan

This abstract describes the UTokyo Repository, an online platform aimed at centrally accumulating, preserving, and disseminating various academic achievements produced at the University of Tokyo in electronic form to the world. Its main purpose is to develop digital collections, make them available online, and preserve them for long-term access.

和彦 武内, 洋一 松木 · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan

The available abstract for this 1987 Japanese paper consists only of a repository description (the University of Tokyo's institutional repository, UTokyo Repository) rather than the paper's content, so no findings, methods, or data about farmland's green-space value or the role of urban agriculture can be reported from it.