Substantial Mortality of Cabbage Looper (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) From Predators in Urban Agriculture Is not Influenced by Scale of Production or Variation in Local and Landscape-Level Factors

Multiple ecosystem service synergies and landscape mediation of biodiversity within urban agroecosystems

Ecosystem services (ESs) are essential for human well-being, especially in urban areas where 60% of the global population will live by 2030. While urban habitats have the potential to support biodiversity and ES, few studies have quantified the impact of local and landscape management across a diverse suite of services. We leverage 5 years of data (>5000 observations) across a network of urban community gardens to determine the drivers of biodiversity and ES trade-offs and synergies. We found multiple synergies and few trade-offs, contrasting previous assumptions that food production is at odds with biodiversity. Furthermore, we show that natural landscape cover interacts with local management to mediate services provided by mobile animals, specifically pest control and pollination. By quantifying the factors that support a diverse suite of ES, we highlight the critical role of garden management and urban planning for optimizing biodiversity and human benefit.

On-Farm Spatial Composition, Management Practices and Estimated Productivity of Urban Farms in the San Francisco Bay Area

Urban areas are the fastest growing land type worldwide. By 2060, it is expected that approximately 70% of the human population will live in cities. With increased urban population growth, food sovereignty and security issues have gained more attention, resulting in a drastic increase in urban food production activities including, urban farming and gardening. The extent to which urban farms function, their social, ecological and economic composition, and their overall impact on local food security has become an often overlooked, but important topic. From 2014 to 2017, we partnered with 29 urban farms in the San Francisco Bay Area for a broad-scale survey of urban farm characteristics. Findings reported in this research focused on local (on-farm) characteristics, including management practices, on-farm spatial composition, and estimated productivity. We implemented open-ended surveys for farm managers to better understand management practices, measured on-farm elements, including yields, crop biodiversity, weed composition and abundance, and measured spatial characteristics such as area of production, non-crop area, and proportion of infrastructure to better understand how urban farms were spatially configured. We found trends regarding spatial composition, including a large proportion of farm area dedicated to infrastructure and underutilized potential production space. All farms surveyed had adopted a breadth of agroecological management practices, including cover cropping, crop rotations, intercropping, and a range of soil conservation practices. Measured farms are incredibly productive, with estimated seasonal yields of 7.14 kg/square meter. Estimated yields were comparable with actual yields as measured at two participating farms.