A Global Geospatial Ecosystem Services Estimate of Urban Agriculture
Nicholas Clinton,Nicholas Clinton,Michelle Stuhlmacher,Albie Miles,Albie Miles,Nazli Uludere Aragon,Melissa Wagner,Matei Georgescu,Chris Herwig,Peng Gong,Peng Gong +10 more
TLDR
In this article, the authors introduce a quantitative framework to assess global aggregate ecosystem services from existing vegetation in cities and an intensive urban agriculture adoption scenario based on data-driven estimates of urban morphology and vacant land.Abstract:
Though urban agriculture (UA), defined here as growing of crops in cities, is increasing in popularity and importance globally, little is known about the aggregate benefits of such natural capital in built-up areas. Here, we introduce a quantitative framework to assess global aggregate ecosystem services from existing vegetation in cities and an intensive UA adoption scenario based on data-driven estimates of urban morphology and vacant land. We analyzed global population, urban, meteorological, terrain, and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) datasets in Google Earth Engine to derive global scale estimates, aggregated by country, of services provided by UA. We estimate the value of four ecosystem services provided by existing vegetation in urban areas to be on the order of $33 billion annually. We project potential annual food production of 100–180 million tonnes, energy savings ranging from 14 to 15 billion kilowatt hours, nitrogen sequestration between 100,000 and 170,000 tonnes, and avoided storm water runoff between 45 and 57 billion cubic meters annually. In addition, we estimate that food production, nitrogen fixation, energy savings, pollination, climate regulation, soil formation and biological control of pests could be worth as much as $80–160 billion annually in a scenario of intense UA implementation. Our results demonstrate significant country-to-country variability in UA-derived ecosystem services and reduction of food insecurity. These estimates represent the first effort to consistently quantify these incentives globally, and highlight the relative spatial importance of built environments to act as change agents that alleviate mounting concerns associated with global environmental change and unsustainable development.read more
Citations
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County-Level Soybean Yield Prediction Using Deep CNN-LSTM Model
TL;DR: The results of the experiment indicate that the prediction performance of the proposed CNN-LSTM model can outperform the pure CNN or L STM model in both end-of-season and in-season soybean yield prediction in CONUS at the county-level.
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Small-scale urban agriculture results in high yields but requires judicious management of inputs to achieve sustainability
TL;DR: Investigation of inputs and produce yields over a 1-y period in 13 small-scale organic farms and gardens in Sydney, Australia shows that urban agriculture can be highly productive; however, this productivity comes with many trade-offs, and care must be taken to ensure its sustainability.
Journal ArticleDOI
Soil and Human Health: Current Status and Future Needs:
Eric C. Brevik,Lindsey C. Slaughter,Bal Ram Singh,Joshua J. Steffan,David N. Collier,Paul R. Barnhart,Paulo Pereira +6 more
TL;DR: Soil is an ecosystem with a myriad of interconnected parts, each influencing the other, and when all necessary parts are present and functioning (i.e., the soil is healthy), human health also benefits.
Journal ArticleDOI
Does Urban Agriculture Improve Food Security? Examining the Nexus of Food Access and Distribution of Urban Produced Foods in the United States: A Systematic Review
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of urban agriculture and urban food systems literature is presented to understand the impact of urban-produced foods on community food security, and the role of city planning, food policy and civic engagement in creating spaces for urban agriculture in cities across the United States.
Journal ArticleDOI
Sustainable food systems—a health perspective
Elisabet Lindgren,Francesca Harris,Alan D. Dangour,Alexandros Gasparatos,Michikazu Hiramatsu,Firouzeh Javadi,Brent Loken,Takahiro Murakami,Pauline Scheelbeek,Andy Haines +9 more
TL;DR: The article touches upon two of the challenges to achieving healthy sustainable diets for a global population, i.e., reduction on the yield and nutritional quality of crops due to climate change; and trade-offs between food production and industrial crops.
References
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