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Cultural institutions hold a unique position of influence, serving as hubs of education and knowledge dissemination for the people they serve. Embracing sustainable energy use in buildings in zoos and botanical gardens is a commitment to environmental responsibility that reinforces these institutions as trusted sources of information and community leaders on climate change, one of the most vital issues of our time. Sustainable energy solutions can synergize operations with educational missions, allowing zoos and botanical gardens to lead by example and inspire visitors to adopt eco-friendly practices in their own lives. In this opinion paper, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens President and CEO Richard Piacentini discusses key elements in developing a sustainable building energy plan, reviews potential barriers to implementation, and makes a case for adopting regenerative thinking and new metrics for measuring success—citing example cases from Phipps' Center for Sustainable Landscapes (CSL) project. Additionally, the paper demonstrates how green building certification systems and peer-based resource networks like The Climate Toolkit can help guide institutions in the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean academy gardens in East Asia are of the same origin, they have gradually followed different paths owing to the influence of natural and cultural environments. This paper introduces in detail the site selection, enclosure, architecture, plants, water system, and stone building of the Yuelu Academy in China, Katsura Imperial Villa in Japan, and Pingshan Academy in Korea and compares and analyzes the differences between the three countries' academy gardens, thus helping us to better understand and appreciate East Asian academy gardens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollinators are responsible for the reproduction of many plant and crop species and provide important diversity for food webs and cultural value. Despite the critical ecosystem services provided by pollinators, rapid pollinator declines are occurring in response to anthropogenic activities that cause the loss of suitable habitat. There is an opportunity for urban green space to support pollination ecosystem services locally and across the landscape. However, there is a lack of practical but evidence-based guidance on how urban green space can be designed effectively to provide floral resources and other habitat needs to a diverse assemblage of pollinators. We examine the existing pollinator research in this paper to address the following questions specific to insect pollinators in temperate urban settings: (1) Which pollinators can be the focus of efforts to increase pollinator ecosystem services in cities? (2) Which plants and what arrangements of plants are most attractive and supportive to urban pollinators? (3) What do urban pollinators need beyond floral resources? (4) How can the surrounding landscape inform where to prioritize new habitat creation within cities? Using these questions as a framework, we provide specific and informed management and planning recommendations that optimize pollinator ecosystem value in urban settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes the garden road system as the research object and proposes a method of generating paths for classical gardens based on parametric design. Firstly, by studying the distribution characteristics of roads, the data on the curvature, angle, and view area of roads were collected. Secondly, the obtained data were transferred to the parameterized platform, and a method of intelligent generation was used for calculation. Finally, the road system was optimized by the genetic algorithm for better application in modern landscape design. According to the current situation, the road system plan generated by the algorithm inherits the characteristics of classical garden roads. This method can be applied to the courtyard, the community park, the urban park, and other objects. This research not only identifies the characteristics of landscape cultural heritage, but also produces an innovative, intelligent design tool. It provides new methods for the parameterized inheritance and application of traditional landscape heritage.

Due to the mountainous terrain in the urban areas of southwest China, there are a large number of barren slopes in the community unsuitable for construction. These areas, alongside other unusable space which is often cultivated by residents to create informal community vegetable gardens and fruit growing areas, have become a "gray area" for urban management. This paper attempts to study the characteristics of informal community growing, the composition of growers, the motivation for growing, and the satisfaction of residents in urban areas in mountainous southwest China to explore its relative value. The sample area for the study was Yongchuan, Chongqing, Southwest China. Through a field survey, a semantic differential questionnaire, and data analysis, we found that: (1) growers use traditional cultivation methods to grow diverse fruits and vegetables according to the size of the slope, and the scale is so large that it serves as a local food supply; (2) growers are mainly vulnerable groups who use the land for economic gain and green food acquisition; and (3) growers and non-growers are more satisfied with the food supply and economic benefits generated by cultivation, while they are dissatisfied with the environmental and social benefits and the planting process. Satisfaction also varies with age, occupation, income, education, household registration, and farming experience. Based on the findings, this paper presents recommendations for the future transformation and development of informal community cultivation in mountainous areas. The study has implications for the construction of community gardens and urban agriculture in the mountains.

Our understanding of well-being, and related concepts such as health and flourishing, is shaped by the metaphors through which we think about such ideas. Current dominant metaphors-including a pyramid, ladder, and continuum-all have various issues. As such, this paper offers two other metaphors which can better do justice to the nuanced complexities of these notions, namely, a garden and an orchestra. Through these metaphors, this paper articulates a comprehensive framework for conceptualizing and appreciating the nature of well-being (and associated concepts), which it is hoped will generate further insights and research into these valued and sought-after phenomena.

Enrichment is essential for the welfare of many zoo-housed animals, yet the value of enrichment is not well understood for all taxa. As an intelligent, long-lived species, the southern ground hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri) is a good model for enrichment research. A pair of southern ground hornbills, housed at Beale Wildlife Park and Gardens, were observed during study periods in 2014, 2018, and 2019. Three types of enrichment were provided for the birds; these enrichment types were developed based on information on the habits of the species as found in natural history papers. The enrichment types consisted of a pile of twigs, small animal carcasses, and plastic mirrors. Overall, the carcass feeds and the mirrors resulted in the greatest changes in behavior, with hornbills engaging in long periods of food manipulation with carcasses. For the mirror condition, hornbills spent time stalking around and pecking at mirrors, similar to the 'window smashing' behavior seen in wild hornbills. Overall, the research suggests that not only can enrichment modify the behavior of southern ground hornbills, but non-nutritional enrichment may be equally valuable to the animals. Natural history papers may have some value in inspiring novel enrichment items for zoo-housed animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the current study is to investigate a special case of art gallery problem, namely a sculpture garden problem. In this problem, for a given polygon P, the ultimate goal is to place the minimum number of guards (landmarks) to define the interior polygon P by applying a monotone Boolean formula composed of the guards. Using this problem, it can replace the operation-based method with time-consuming, pixel-based algorithms. So, the processing time of some problems in the fields of machine vision, image processing and gamification can be strongly reduced. The problem has also many applications in mobile device localization in the Internet of Things (IoT). An open problem in this regard is the proof of Eppstein's conjecture, which has remained an open problem since 2007. According to his conjecture, in the worst case, n − 2 vertex guards are required to describe any n-gon. In this paper, a lower bound is introduced for the special case of this problem (natural vertex guard), which shows that if a polygon can be defined with natural vertex guards, then n − 2 is a lower bound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historic gardens are often seen in the context of botanical heritage, which emphasizes their aesthetic and botanical value. Yet, their architectural importance as an integral part of the architectural heritage of the bastion castle ensemble is ignored. Finding the relationship between the castle and the garden is presently complicated by considerable changes in the townscape since the 17th century and the lack of details on these gardens' depictions on maps. The paper demonstrates how historical maps, especially military ones combined with modern on-site analyses can reveal the main architectural types of the gardens in the bastion castle ensemble and show their most important architectural features that should be preserved. The results demonstrate three scenarios in the relationship between the garden and the palace component of bastion castle, their main features, and the challenges facing them. This elucidation of the main features can help to conserve and to valorize plans for the gardens in these ensembles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gardens play a key role in the definition of the cultural landscape since they reflect the culture, identity, and history of a people. They also contribute to the ecological balance of the city. Despite the fact that gardens have an historic and social value, they are not protected as much as the rest of the existing heritage, such as architecture and archaeological sites. While methods of built-heritage mapping and monitoring are increasing and constantly improving to reduce built-heritage loss and the severe impact of natural disasters, the documentation and survey techniques for gardens are often antiquated. In addition, inventories are typically made by non-updated/updateable reports, and they are rarely in digital format or in 3D. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive study on the latest technology for laser scanning in gardens. We compared static terrestrial laser scanning and mobile laser scanning point clouds generated by the Focus 3D S120 and the Leica BLK2GO, respectively, to evaluate their quality for documentation, estimate tree attributes, and terrain morphology. The evaluation is based on visual observation, C2C comparisons, and terrain information extraction capabilities, i.e., M3C2 comparisons for topography, DTM generation, and contour lines. Both methods produced useful outcomes for the scope of the research within their limitations. Terrestrial laser scanning is still the method that offers accurate point clouds with a higher point density and less noise. However, the more recent mobile laser scanning is able to survey in less time, significantly reducing the costs for site activities, data post-production, and registration. Both methods have their own restrictions that are amplified by site features, mainly the lack of plans for the geometric alignment of scans and the simultaneous location and mapping (SLAM) process. We offer a critical description of the issues related to the functionality of the two sensors, such as the operative range limit, light dependency, scanning time, point cloud completeness and size, and noise level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, several biblical gardens were constructed in the harsh climate of Poland. They try to convey spiritual values through the medium of garden art and design. Rarely are they built from scratch with a granted budget; the majority of them represent the effort to revitalize degraded urban space and cultural heritage. In most cases, they are constructed and maintained as a challenge by groups of enthusiasts with no institutional financial help. From the very beginning, they are attracting numerous visitors, individuals, and organized groups to previously neglected spaces. The scope of this paper is to present the phenomenon of their construction, discuss the selected case studies, and try to identify whether their creation is strengthening the resilience of cultural landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability of intervention programming is challenging to achieve under real world conditions, since few models exist and many studies do not plan far beyond the funding period. Programming content in early care and education centers (ECECs) is often driven by guidelines. However, implementation is very sensitive to contextual factors, such as the setting and implementer (teacher) characteristics. This paper presents the model, definitions, and methodology used for the sustainability action plan capitalizing on a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, developed for a multi-site, multi-level garden-based childhood obesity prevention study, Sustainability via Active Garden Education (SAGE). The Ecologic Model of Obesity is applied to develop a sustainability action plan (SAP) and accompanying measures to link early care and education (ECE) environment, the community, policies, and classroom practices to an early childhood obesity prevention program. The SAGE SAP provides an example of how to iteratively evaluate and refine sustainability processes for an obesity prevention intervention utilizing CBPR approaches and will be applied to assess the sustainability of SAGE in a cluster randomized controlled trial. This SAP model can also help inform intervention delivery and scalability within ECECs.

Physical activity and nutrition preschool programming must involve parents in positive long-term healthy habits. This paper describes parent outreach in the Sustainability via Active Garden Education (SAGE) study. Newsletters were sent home with children to promote family opportunities to increase physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake. The content was generated via a community advisory board participatory process. Messages linked SAGE curriculum topics with home and community activities. Parents rated frequency of receipt, helpfulness, satisfaction, and use of content. Most participants were Hispanic (>78%) and women (>95%). Most reported receiving newsletters; nearly all reported that they were helpful. Favorite newsletter components included recipes, pictures of their children and seasonal produce spotlights. Most reported doing physical activities from the newsletters (51.9%). Few reported doing featured physical activity (8.9%) and fruit and vegetable (12.7%) community activities. Newsletter outreach methods are a simple strategy to add value to preschool-based interventions promoting healthy families.

Gardens of historic psychiatric institutions represent a special type of heritage garden that possess both aesthetic and therapeutic purposes. Their existence and current state are affected by changes in the organisation of mental treatment. The article focuses on the possible use of these gardens as places of modern green therapies carried out in, and connected with, nature. Taking into account the state of the art on the beneficial influence of nature on human health and well-being, the paper provides an overview of historic and modern nature-based activities considered therapeutic. Subsequently, three case studies of contemporary psychiatric facilities operating in historic mental hospital sites are examined. Many activities linked to nature exercised historically in those gardens bear similarities to a contemporary spectrum of ecotherapies. An analysis of historic and contemporary plans of the sites and gardens and a description of the therapeutic activities carried out in nature are provided. Results prove that their potential is promising, but not yet used to its full extent because of organisation and financing within the context of health care systems. Using those gardens for the spectrum of green therapies may bring benefits for patients and the historic substance alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The post-pandemic era has raised awareness on the importance of physical and psychological well-being for decreasing the vulnerability of both individuals and populations. Citizens in urban areas are subject to numerous stress factors which can be mitigated by green spaces such as parks and gardens. Sensor and internet technologies support nature-based solutions in various ways. In this paper, we show the results of ongoing research on the use of spatially distributed IoT sensors that collect climate data in an ~8 ha urban garden. The novelty resides in the method for merging the IoT data with a detailed 3D model created by a laser scan survey from a drone flight. The end products are 1 m resolution thermal comfort maps of user-defined scenarios, e.g., at specific times or aggregated in daily/monthly/yearly statistics that represent a thermal comfort distribution. For full replicability, the code is open source and available as an R package on Github. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Progress is required in response to how cities can support greater biodiversity. This calls for more research on how landscape designers can actively shape urban ecologies to deliver context-specific empirical bases for green space intervention decisions. Design experiments offer opportunities for implemented projects within real-world settings to serve as learning sites. This paper explores preliminary ecological outcomes from a multidisciplinary team on whether purposefully engineered native grassland gardens provide more habitat functions for insects than mainstream gardens in the City of Tshwane, South Africa. Six different sites were sampled: two recently installed native grassland garden interventions (young native), two contemporary non-native control gardens (young non-native) on the same premises and of the same ages as the interventions, one remnant of a more pristine native grassland reference area (old native), and one long-established, non-native reference garden (old non-native). Plant and insect diversity were sampled over one year. The short-term findings suggest that higher plant beta diversity (species turnover indicating heterogeneity in a site) supports greater insect richness and evenness in richness. Garden size, age, and connectivity were not clear factors mediating urban habitat enhancement. Based on the preliminary results, the researchers recommend high native grassland species composition and diversity, avoiding individual species dominance, but increasing beta diversity and functional types when selecting garden plants for urban insect biodiversity conservation in grassland biomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) consider multiple objectives as a whole when solving multi-objective optimization problems (MOPs). In this paper, the hybridization of garden balsam optimization (GBO) is presented to solve multi-objective optimization, applying multiple populations for multiple objectives individually. Moreover, in order to improve the diversity of the solutions, both crowding distance computations and epsilon dominance relations are adopted when updating the archive. Furthermore, an efficient selection procedure called co-evolutionary multi-swarm garden balsam optimization (CMGBO) is proposed to ensure the convergence of well-diversified Pareto regions. The performance of the used algorithm is validated on 12 test functions. The algorithm is employed to solve four real-world problems in engineering. The achieved consequences corroborate the advantage of the proposed algorithm with regard to convergence and diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: The present paper submitted debates and assesses whether the effect of LEDs' application on garden cress sprouts conjunctively with biochar is important concerning sprouts length, weight and radicles, also if the effect of LEDs and gauze substrate influences the weight, length, concentration of polyphenols and flavonoids and antioxidant capacity. The novelty of the subject, its implications for what the future holds for agriculture, and the re-markable economic implications of LED artificial light make for an interesting subject to be presented to editors and readers. LED technology supposes certain advantages in the lighting area, mainly for reasons such as high efficiency, low energy consumption, illumination uniformity, no additional heat production, and a high level of customization that aids in the control of light distribution in greenhouses or in vitro systems. This study offers findings for using a reliable tool, LED light, to obtain enhanced plants in terms of the content of beneficial biochemical secondary metabolites from sprouts. We believe that these findings will be of interest to the readers of this journal. In the current context of climate change and life on Earth, the purpose of this paper is to establish the effects of different light treatments (i.e., LEDs—white, blue, red, and sunlight) and two different substrates (i.e., gauze and biochar) on garden cress sprouts. In this respect, sprouts' fresh weight and fresh length were statistically analyzed. In the case of the fresh weight, the results indicated that the most suitable substrate for better growth is biochar under all of the light treatments, with a 5.78% weight increase. On the other hand, the highest particular value regarding weight was obtained for gauze substrate under sunlight treatment, with a 4.08% weight increase compared to biochar substrate and sunlight treatment. Furthermore, red LED and biochar used as substrate improved the development of short radicles, with a decrease in length of 94.80% compared to gauze substrate and red LED treatment. The effect of LED irradiation was completed with biochemical analyses concerning polyphenols, flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity. Results suggest that blue LED is the most suitable source of artificial light to promote the accumulation of secondary metabolites, with a 9.88% higher concentration of flavonoids compared to the other light variants (2.22 ± 0.40 mg rutin equivalent/g fresh weight) and 37.98% higher concentration of polyphenols compared to the other light variants (2.76 ± 1.05 mg gallic acid equivalent/g fresh weight) in garden cress sprouts. The illumination with white LED produced the highest effect concerning antioxidant activity, with a 37.60% higher free radical scavenging activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil erosion due to rainstorms is a serious problem in subtropical gardens in South China. Soil conservation and the restoration of degraded landscapes are important research topics at home and abroad. Because of the sluggish growth of plants under traditional cultivation techniques, they are incapable of effectively protecting the soil. Therefore, the rapid and high-quality soil conservation of subtropical landscapes remains an urgent problem to be overcome. The purpose of this study is to improve the red soil and ground environment for the growth of grasses and shrubs through high-performance ester materials. Our objective was to find a solution for the high impact of soil loss on subtropical landscapes. In this study, we used the ecological restoration of soil as the starting point and selected a typical subtropical garden in South China as the field test point. We carried out soil erosion resistance testing using high-performance ester materials. The anti-erosion abilities of slopes under various working conditions are discussed. During the growth period, the soil indexes were monitored for a long time, and the growth of grasses and shrubs was compared. The obtained monitoring data were analyzed with mathematical statistics. We found that the addition of high-performance ester materials significantly reduced soil loss by 52.60%. High-performance ester materials have a good hydrothermal regulation function, which can promote the germination and later growth of sloping plants. The decrease in ground internal density promotes the extension of plant roots. High-performance ester materials can improve soil permeability and activity and promote vegetation growth. In terms of turf thickness and overall growth as well as shrubs crown width and height, high-performance ester materials have a beneficial effect on promoting plant growth. Soil remediation using high-performance ester materials has good economic value, high water-holding capacity, adaptability, and convenience. In this study, we determined a solution for the high impact of soil loss on subtropical landscapes. The soil remediation of a subtropical garden using high-performance ester materials was successful. The practice of landscape soil remediation engineering presented in this paper can provide a reference for typical landscape soil remediation in subtropical zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landscape architecture and urban design disciplines could benefit from soundscape thinking in order to enhance experiential qualities in their projects, though the available tools are not yet fully developed nor tested. The present research aims to substantiate one of the available tools, Soundscape Actions, and thereby increase the understanding of soundscape design. The study focuses on the Japanese garden tradition, which is known for high preference ratings, tranquil qualities and consideration for sound and other sensory experiences. An autoethnographic approach was used to conduct field studies in 88 gardens in Japan, the majority of which are located in urban areas with potential noise disturbance. The studies are based on observations in situ, supported by video documentation, field recordings and readings of sound pressure levels (SPL). A total of 19 Soundscape Actions are described and discussed in the paper. They are structured around three main categories: localisation of functions, reduction of unwanted sounds and introduction of wanted sounds. The study provides concrete examples of how the tool can be used to enhance tranquil qualities, particularly focusing on small green spaces in dense urban settings, involving the (simultaneous) reduction of unwanted sounds and enhancement of wanted sounds/effects. The autoethnographic approach allowed for the phenomenological perspective to be brought forward, which contributed new insights regarding the design tool. The findings are discussed in relation to health and soundscape research, focusing on multisensory experiences, masking strategies and potentials for implementation and future developments of the design tool.

Provenance trials provide a valuable opportunity to evaluate the impact of extreme events on growth and wood properties. In this study, we have evaluated 81 Norway spruce provenances, tested in three provenance trials established in the Romanian Carpathians in 1972. The response to drought of the Norway spruce provenances has been examined using the following tree resilience indices: resistance, recovery, resilience, and relative resilience. The relationship between climate and growth, the correlations between wood traits, and the coordinates of the origin and tree resilience indices were also analysed. In each provenance trial, there were significant differences between provenances and years regarding wood widths and latewood percentage (LWP). Regarding drought extreme events, the years when they occurred in all three provenance trials were 2000 and 2003. Significant differences between provenances for at least one tree resilience index have been found in all provenance trials, for the year 2000. By using subperiods of 25 years, changes in the relationship between climate and growth have been observed. Several provenances with high radial growth and good resistance and/or recovery have been identified. Provenances that performed better in common garden experiments could be used in assisted migration, even in the proximity of the current natural range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the efficiency of fine segmentation and obstacle removal in the road of tea plantation in hilly areas, a lightweight and high-precision DR-YOLO instance segmentation algorithm is proposed to realize environment awareness. Firstly, the road data of tea gardens in hilly areas were collected under different road conditions and light conditions, and data sets were generated. YOLOv8n-seg, which has the highest operating efficiency, was selected as the basic model. The MSDA-CBAM and DR-Neck feature fusion network were added to the YOLOv8-seg model to improve the feature extraction capability of the network and the feature fusion capability and efficiency of the model. Experimental results show that, compared with the YOLOv8-seg model, the DR-YOLO model proposed in this study has 2.0% improvement in AP@0.5 and 1.1% improvement in Precision. In this study, the DR-YOLO model is pruned and quantitatively compressed, which greatly improves the model inference speed with little reduction in AP. After deploying on Jetson, compared with the YOLOv8n-seg model, the Precision of DR-YOLO is increased by 0.6%, the AP@0.5 is increased by 1.6%, and the inference time is reduced by 17.1%, which can effectively improve the level of agricultural intelligent automation and realize the efficient operation of the instance segmentation model at the edge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of landscape space directly influences public health behaviors, making public assessments of the qualities of the sky garden landscape crucial for optimizing it. This article focuses on three types of typical high-rise building sky garden (plaza-park, rest-stay, and move-pass type) and establishes an evaluation framework for their health promotion characteristics (24 indicators in 7 dimensions) based on existing restorative environment research. Then, questionnaires (354 valid responses) and quantitative calculations were employed to assess the public's perception of demand in health behaviors and the spatial supply of different sky garden types. Ultimately, the data were processed to propose targeted interventions and recommendations to enhance health benefits using the comprehensive importance-performance analysis method. The results show the following: (1) The public seems to have widely accepted sky gardens in the context of high-density urban environments (near 6.92, below the mean of 7.09). They place greater emphasis on spatial indicators that cater to relaxation activities and show heightened sensitivity toward public facilities (7.32–8.00) that contribute to physical and mental health-related activities. (2) The health promotion performance of different types of sky garden shows significant variation, with the rest-stay sky gardens at the embodied scale demonstrating the greatest competitive advantage. (3) The development of sky gardens has significant potential, and different types of sky garden need to specifically lever-age their characteristics as complementary public spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional cold alleys have the ability to adapt to hot climates with cooling and insulation, which is a traditional design method that conforms to sustainable development. Due to the limited depth of space and the adoption of mechanical ventilation in most contemporary architectural design, this passive energy-saving method is gradually being ignored. In this study, we use ventilation measurement and simulation to explore the characteristics of ventilation performance in the cold alleys of the renovation and expansion project of Shixiangyuan Garden. The research, using anemometers and thermometers for measurement, aims to explore how Shixiangyuan Garden can utilize its existing environment and improve it to adapt to local conditions, and also discusses the methods of increasing the number of air vents to improve the overall ventilation performance of the alleys, as well as the effects of form changes caused by utilizing water and plants to supplement the soft interface. Although many studies have explored the mechanisms of cold alleys in traditional architecture, few have discussed the variance of cold alley forms that could adapt to the limited depths of newly constructed buildings. This study attempts to explore the potential for this through simulation. The purpose is to find new ways to inherit the sustainable advantages of cold alleys in new projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coordination between leaf and root traits is conducive to an integrated understanding of whole-plant ecological strategies and reveals how community composition and diversity contribute to defining the functions and services of ecosystems. However, there is limited understanding regarding the impact of species richness and trait categories on the coordination between leaf and root traits. Based on a 9-year common garden experiment, we investigated the leaf and fine root traits of 56 plots (25.8 m × 25.8 m) encompassing various trait categories (trait categories were defined according to the root depth, leaf habit, and mycorrhizal type) and different levels of species richness (1, 2, 4, 8) in the context of a forest biodiversity and ecosystem functioning experiment conducted in subtropical China (BEF-China). We found the following: (1) Our findings indicate that there was generally a significant difference in leaf traits, occasionally in absorptive root traits, and no difference in transport root traits between different trait categories. (2) Conversely, species richness significantly influenced all transport root traits except root nitrogen and most leaf and absorptive root traits. (3) The results demonstrated that trait categories played a crucial role in the coordination between leaf and fine root traits. Additionally, the coordination between leaf and fine root traits increased with higher species richness, particularly in deep-rooted, evergreen, and ectomycorrhizal fungi species. Furthermore, the coordination between leaf and fine root traits was significantly lower in monocultures compared to four- and eight-species mixtures. These results suggest that a significant mixture effect exists in the coordination between leaf and fine root traits due to the comprehensive and divergent capture of above- and belowground resources and reduced intraspecific competition. Therefore, compared to monocultures, mixed-species stands can enhance the coordination of leaf and fine root traits, and it is advisable to establish forests with mixtures of more than four species, dominated by deep-rooted, evergreen, and ectomycorrhizal fungi species, to maintain ecosystem stability and functional integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This manuscript treats the acoustic analysis of a garden located in Rufolo's villa, south of Italy, which has already been studied to install some acoustic panels to improve the response across the seating area. After a campaign of acoustic measurements, acoustic simulations have been conducted based on three specific scenarios, highlighting the effectiveness of a new acoustic shell (project C) over the existing conditions (project A) and option A shell (project B). The results coming from the simulations show that the values of the main acoustic parameters are significantly improved with the installation of a scientifically designed acoustic shell, to be closer to the optimal ranges. The comparison among different projects highlights that the acoustic response of the existing conditions is not optimal, and that a marginal improvement was found with the addition of vertical panels mounted at the perimeter of the stage in combination with suspended ceiling above the stage. This research study is addressed to potentially auralize the voice or sound of famous artists that would be performing within the new acoustic shell; furthermore, the outputs could even implement the website of the Rufolo's villa for marketing purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crown diameter is one of the crucial indicators for evaluating the adaptability, growth quality, and ornamental value of garden chrysanthemums. To accurately obtain crown diameter, this study employed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a RGB camera to capture orthorectified canopy images of 64 varieties of garden chrysanthemums at different growth stages. Three methods, namely RGB color space, hue-saturation-value (HSV) color space, and the mask region-based convolutional neural network (Mask R-CNN), were employed to estimate the crown diameter of garden chrysanthemums. The results revealed that the Mask R-CNN exhibited the best performance in crown diameter estimation (sample number = 2409, R2 = 0.9629, RMSE = 2.2949 cm). Following closely, the HSV color space-based model exhibited strong performance (sample number = 2409, R2 = 0.9465, RMSE = 3.4073 cm). Both of the first two methods were efficient in estimating crown diameter throughout the entire growth stage. In contrast, the RGB color space-based model exhibited slightly lower performance (sample number = 1065, R2 = 0.9011, RMSE = 3.3418 cm) and was only applicable during periods when the entire plant was predominantly green. These findings provide theoretical and technical support for utilizing UAV-based imagery to estimate the crown diameter of garden chrysanthemums. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fraxinus americana L. (white ash), a native North American tree commonly cultivated for its ornamental qualities, displayed symptoms of leaf spot disease in a sentinel garden located in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, in 2022. This disease led to premature leaf shedding, adversely affecting the plant's growth and substantially diminishing its ornamental value. Potential fungal pathogens were isolated from the diseased leaves and the subsequent application of Koch's postulates confirmed the pathogenicity of the fungal isolates (BL-1, BL-2). Through a combination of multi-locus phylogenetic analysis, including ITS, ACT, ApMat, CAL, CHS-1, GAPDH, and TUB2, alongside morphological assessments, the fungus was conclusively identified as Colletotrichum jiangxiense. This represents the first record of C. jiangxiense affecting white ash, highlighting the important role of sentinel gardens in uncovering novel pathogen–plant host interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the Bamboo Garden Trimming (BGT) problem introduced in [Gąsieniec et al., SOFSEM'17]. The problem is difficult to solved due to its close relationship to Pinwheel scheduling. The garden with n bamboos is an analogue of a system of n machines that have to be attended (e.g., serviced) with different frequencies. During each day, bamboo b i grows an extra height h i , for i = 1 , ... , n and, on the conclusion of the day, at most one bamboo has its entire height cut.The goal is to design a perpetual schedule of cuts to keep the height of the tallest ever bamboo as low as possible. The contribution in this paper is twofold, and is both theoretical and experimental. In particular, the focus is on understanding what has been called priority schedulings, i.e., cutting strategies where priority is given to bamboos whose current height is above a threshold greater than or equal to H = ∑ i = 1 n h i . Value H represents the total daily growth of the system and it is known that one cannot keep bamboos in the garden below this threshold indefinitely. As the first result, it is proved that, for any distribution of integer growth rates h 1 , ... , h n and any priority scheduling, the system stabilises in a fixed cycle of cuts. Then, the focus is on the so-called ReduceMax strategy, a greedy priority scheduling that each day cuts the tallest bamboo, regardless of the growth rates distribution. ReduceMax is known to provide a O (log n) -approximation, with respect to the lower bound H. One of the main results achieved is that, if ReduceMax stabilises in a round-robin type cycle, then it guarantees 2-approximation. Furthermore, preliminary results are provided relating the structure of the input instance, in terms of growth rates, and the behavior of ReduceMax when applied to such inputs. Finally, a conjecture that ReduceMax is 2-approximating for the BGT problem is claimed, hence an extended experimental evaluation was conducted to support the conjecture and to compare ReduceMax with other relevant scheduling algorithms. The obtained results show that ReduceMax : (i) provides 2-approximation in all considered inputs; and (ii) always outperforms other considered strategies, even those for which better worst case approximation guarantees have been proven. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In central Italy, the Charterhouse of Calci hosts the Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa. This monumental monastery was founded in 1366 by Carthusian monks. The Charterhouse has experienced various transformations over the centuries, until its abandonment in the 1970s. Since 2018, interdisciplinary archaeological research focused on the monks' gardens (and particularly: the Prior's, the Apothecary's, and the Master's garden) and the green spaces outside the cloister walls, consisting of courtyards and orchards, to determine the individual (gardens) and collective (green spaces and surrounding woods) practices adopted by Carthusians. Palynology and archaeobotany have allowed to reconstruct the plant biodiversity, with flowers and ornamental, aromatic, and medicinal herbs that grew in the gardens, as well as the management of local hilly woods and agricultural practices, including the cultivation of fruit trees, such as chestnut, olive tree, almond tree, and grapevine. Our research has been based on a solid theoretical approach, interpreting archaeological and archaeobotanical data in relation to the intricate network of human and non-human connections. Gardens are seen as a co-creation made together by human and non-human agencies, and their diachronic transformation is read as an expression of personalities of the monks, feelings, and connections with nature and divinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay, which reframes elements of my 2015 book, Daguerreotypes: Fugitive Subjects, Contemporary Objects, returns to the lacuna at the heart of Roland Barthes's reflections on photo-graphy: the so-called "Winter Garden" photograph of his mother as a little girl. An image that is lovingly conjured but forever withheld, this photograph is the fulcrum of a theory of photography that emerged from the conjunction of mourning and desire. For Barthes, and all those working in his wake, the absent photograph is something of photography's primal scene. With attention to the work of Eve Sussman and Simon Lee, their 2011 three-channel HD video Wintergarden and her 2018 NFT 89 Seconds Atomized in particular, this essay takes readers "back to the garden" to think about the time of early photography. To do so, this essay considers a range of contemporary videos that mine and mime the conventions of photography to produce static, durational encounters with stillness in a medium that is anything but, ultimately, revealing the truths and fictions of photography's founding moment and fundamental logic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities are often hotspots for biological invasions, showing much higher percentages of alien species than non-urbanized settings. The reasons are multiple and are mostly related to two main factors: their heterogeneous, highly disturbed habitats and their many gateways that allow alien species introduction (e.g., airports, roads, train stations, or gardens). In addition to being a sink of biological invasions, cities can also be a source of the spread of alien species into surrounding landscapes, which adds further complexity to this issue. Herein, we are presenting the results of a five-year survey of the alien flora of Montjuïc, the largest urban hill in Barcelona (Spain). In just about 3.4 km2, we recorded up to 247 alien plant taxa, a figure much higher than those of many other Mediterranean cities and which clearly points to the role of Montjuïc as a hotspot for alien plants. The comparison with the alien flora of its surrounding region (coastal Catalonia) suggests that the alien flora of Montjuïc would have become enriched through many immigration episodes from close geographic areas. The hill, however, would have also acted as a source of the spread of alien plants, and indeed, some species have not been detected yet beyond the confines of Montjuïc. This study aims to be a key tool to ensure early detection and also to develop appropriate management and/or eradication actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen deposition and biodiversity alter plant flowering phenology through abiotic factors and functional traits. However, few studies have considered their combined effects on flowering phenology. A common garden experiment with two nitrogen addition levels (0 and 6 g N m−2 year−1) and five species richness levels (1, 2, 4, 6, and 8) was established. We assessed the effects of nitrogen addition and plant species richness on three flowering phenological events of Medicago sativa L. via changes in functional traits, soil nutrients, and soil moisture and temperature. The first flowering day was delayed, the last flowering day advanced, and the flowering duration shortened after nitrogen addition. Meanwhile, the last flowering day advanced, and flowering duration shortened along plant species richness gradients, with an average of 0.64 and 0.95 days change per plant species increase, respectively. Importantly, it was observed that plant species richness affected flowering phenology mainly through changes in plant nutrient acquisition traits (i.e., leaf nitrogen and carbon/nitrogen ratio). Our findings illustrate the non-negligible effects of intraspecific variation in functional traits on flowering phenology and highlight the importance of including functional traits in phenological models to improve predictions of plant phenology in response to nitrogen deposition and biodiversity loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change may strongly modify the habitat conditions for many woody plant species. Some species could disappear from their natural habitats and become endangered, while others could adapt well to the changed environmental conditions and continue to survive successfully or even proliferate more easily. A similar process can occur within the artificial urban environment as the hitherto popularly planted urban trees may suffer from the extremities of the urban climate. However, among the planted taxa, there are species that spread spontaneously and appear as weeds in extensively managed gardens. In our study, we evaluated the native and non-native species involved in spontaneous spreading in the institutional garden of Buda Arboretum (Budapest) during the COVID-19 period in 2020–2021 when entry was prohibited, and maintenance went on in a restricted, minimal level. We investigated the correlation between spontaneously settling and planted individuals, and then performed multivariate analyses for native and non-native spreading plants for spatial and quantitative data. During our studies, we observed the spontaneous spreading of 114 woody species, of which 38 are native and 76 are non-native. Taking the total number of individuals into account, we found that, in addition to the 2653 woody species planted, a further 7087 spontaneously emerged weeds developed, which creates an additional task in the maintenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the well-known benefits of healing gardens for children in healthcare facilities, policies and guidelines for their implementation are lacking, leading to their undervaluation by policymakers. This literature review investigates the advantages of healing gardens for children's health and wellbeing, with a focus on public-funded healthcare facilities. The review explores the definition of a healing garden, theories, the value of play, the impact on children's development, and the environmental benefits of healing gardens. Additionally, the review presents successful examples of healing gardens in practice, while acknowledging potential arguments against them and associated risks. During the literature review, research gaps were identified, and areas for future research were also examined. Finally, this review calls for evidence-based guidelines for policymakers and designers to incorporate healing gardens into healthcare facilities, providing a comprehensive argument for their adoption and regular access for children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the most important Buddhist school in the history of Chinese Buddhism, the philosophy of Chan Buddhism and its agricultural Chan practice have had a profound influence on the lives of the literati and scholars. Both historically and logically, the term "Chan Dharma 禪法" is extremely rich in connotations. The so-called "agricultural Chan 農禪" is a transformation of Chinese farming culture into the "Chan practice" by practising meditation through farming activities. The "garden farming 園耕" refers to the farming activities of the literati and scholars in the gardens, which were driven by the style of agricultural Chan. Under the influence of agricultural Chan, "garden farming" took on a new spiritual attitude towards crops and created a natural aesthetic realm of life in the act of farming. This article consists of three main sections. I start with an introduction to the religious thoughts and practices of Chan Buddhism, pointing out that the underlying colour of Chan Buddhism is the aesthetics of life, while gradually evoking its special practice of Chan. The second section discusses the concept of agricultural Chan and farming activities in gardens, to figure out the characteristics of agricultural Chan and how farming activities in gardens are carried out. In the third section, I argue for the beauty of farming in gardens, pointing out the essence of the beauty in garden farming and what aesthetic possibilities the act of farming in gardens may embody. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growing interest in Chinese gardens, there is a lack of research on Changsha Gardens. Through document retrieval, review, and map analysis, we reconstructed the Changsha Gardens during the Ming Dynasty. Our findings reveal that gardening flourished in Changsha during this period. The royal gardens, dominated by literati aesthetics, set the trend for development, while the landscaping techniques were influenced by Jiangnan Gardens. Private gardens placed more emphasis on artistic mood and cultural implications. Landscape architects incorporated towers, terraces, and suburban mountain gardening to borrow scenery. The use of spring water to create landscapes and the rectangular shapes of the water bodies reflected Neo-Confucianism and practical functions. Planting design focused on meaning over form, with landscapes used to commemorate sages and promote the farming and reading culture and other Confucian values. However, it relied too much on borrowing natural scenery and the pragmatism of the Hunan culture, which might have affected the progress of landscaping techniques and the development of Changsha Gardens. Changsha Gardens were not as skilled as Jiangnan Gardens, and the style was not as prominent as other regional schools of gardens. This might be the reason why Changsha Gardens have not become one of the regional schools of gardens in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing body of evidence shows that seaweeds, including kelp, can be used as a tool to neutralize or remove excess nutrients and metals from the water column. Here we report on a preliminary field assessment showing potential nutrient and carbon removal differences in sugar kelp and ribbon kelp grown in common gardens. Seawater and tissue samples were collected systematically from two farms in Alaska. Results show differences between the %N and %C content between Alaria marginata and Saccharina latissima. Results also show that tissue nitrogen in ribbon kelp varies sharply due to nitrogen availability in the water column. In contrast, the percentage of tissue N in sugar kelp remains comparatively stable. Our outcomes provide insight into potential differences in nutrient removal and harvest timing for different kelp species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the management of eco-tea gardens, the recycling of weathered leaves of the configured tree species plays an important role in the nutrients of the tea garden ecosystem. The in situ decomposition method was used to analyze the decomposition rate, elemental release, and enzymatic activity of different combinations of leaf litter in tea garden soil. The results showed that mixed decomposition accelerates the decomposition turnover period of Jiu'an ecological tea garden. The higher release rate of the litter improved the nutrient effectiveness in the ecological tea garden. The trends of CAT (catalase), AP (acid phosphatase), and PPO (polyphenol oxidase) activities were similar during the decomposition of different mixed leaf litters, while all other enzyme activities showed some differences. There were also some differences in the relationship between the enzyme activity and decomposition rate of leaf litter and the nutrient release rate related to the substrate mass content during the decomposition of leaf litter. Overall, the changes in the nutrient content of the leaf litter during decomposition promoted an increase in enzyme activity, which in turn promoted the release of leaf litter elements, shortened the turnover period of leaf litter decomposition, and accelerated the recycling of elements in the ecological tea garden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest bathing is based upon a Japanese practice known as Shinrin–Yoku and is a nature-based therapy involving mindful walks through ancient woodland to reduce stress and anxiety. One proposed mechanism behind the effectiveness of Forest bathing is based on the potential mental and physical health benefits of the natural volatile organic compounds (NVOCs) that fill the forest understory. Surprisingly little is known about the concentrations and diversity of plant NVOCs in ambient air particularly in the UK and this study aims to increase that knowledge. Air samples were collected in July 2022 in a UK forest and compared with samples from a walled garden environment. The samples were collected over a 2 h time period and analysed using GC-MS and showed clear differences in the chemical composition of the air. This study revealed NVOCs including limonene, carvone, terpenes, terpenoids and sesquiterpenoids were present within a UK forest but were either not present or present at little to low levels in the control setting of a walled garden. This study also found that the typical 2 h duration of a Forest bathing session was a long enough sampling period to detect these NVOCs, indicating that Forest bathers could benefit from exposure to NVOCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese Traditional Gardens (CTGs) are an important part of China's cultural inheritance from the past. Today's China has experienced rapid urbanization, raising the need for a new form of contemporary gardens intended to satisfy peoples' need for traditional culture. Garden paths are important in CTGs; they are designed to show visitors changing views with each step, and to lead them to secluded, quiet places via winding paths. This enhances the ornamental interest of the gardens. Based on plane graphics, this study evaluates the characteristics of three types of garden paths in fourteen traditional gardens and a contemporary antique garden, the Daguan Garden in Beijing. The analysis uses correlation and factor analysis to integrate 28 quantitative path indicators into five aspects of average, scale, network, wide, and aggregation. The 28 indicators can be expressed by six simple indicators: average connection length, number of path sections, alpha index, average width, average tortuous angle, and concentration degree. The results show small variations of garden paths between traditional gardens, but a considerable difference between the contemporary garden and traditional gardens. The research proposes a framework for the quantification and comparison of garden path features that can be applied before and after garden path construction, for both ancient and modern garden styles. This framework generates garden path feature values and theoretical values of six indicators, and is not constrained by the garden scale. Therefore, it provides an accurate and efficient design tool for garden designers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the achievement of a certain degree of civilization, human beings show the need to build gardens, where the concept of nature and culture perfectly coincide in an original unicum seen in eternal evolution and in which history is fully embraced. Retracing the changing events of a garden is fascinating and inviting, and at the same time, it is deeply linked to reflecting on the civil and cultural history of a place where nature and art forge a deep bond. Deeply related to events, achievements, myths, art, culture and sensitivity, not to mention the history of taste and aesthetics, gardens are the reflection of society and individuals. Each garden provides information on the ideal sense of happiness and the utopia of those who created it, as well as of the society that developed it. Within a contemporary context in which they are certainly extremely fragile and subject to deterioration, historic gardens must face different users and, in a way, identities. They are open-air works of art where history, botanical taste, plant defense and biodiversity are intertwined with the beauty of the landscape, hence representing a great contemporary challenge to be faced in a multidisciplinary way. Both historic and contemporary gardens provide a wide range of ecosystem services, including cultural ones, especially in city contexts. The knowledge, care and conservation of the former, and the correct implementation and maintenance of the latter, thus become fundamental actions that may highly involve the population and raise awareness of ecologically significant values, as modernity must support the enhancement of the "landscape system". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of local adaptation in populations of chinaberry (Melia azedarach L.) are important for clarifying patterns in the population differentiation of this species across its natural range. M. azedarach is an economically important timber species, and its phenotype is highly variable across its range in China. Here, we collected M. azedarach seeds from 31 populations across its range and conducted a common garden experiment. We studied patterns of genetic differentiation among populations using molecular markers (simple sequence repeats) and data on phenotypic variation in six traits collected over five years. Our sampled populations could be subdivided into two groups based on genetic analyses, as well as patterns of isolation by distance and isolation by environment. Significant differentiation in growth traits was observed among provenances and families within provenances. Geographic distance was significantly correlated with the quantitative genetic differentiation (QST) in height (HEIT) and crown breadth. Climate factors were significantly correlated with the QST for each trait. A total of 23 climatic factors were examined. There was a significant effect of temperature on all traits, and minimum relative humidity had a significant effect on the survival rate over four years. By comparing the neutral genetic differentiation (FST) with the QST, the mode of selection acting on survival rate varied, whereas HEIT and the straightness of the main trunk were subject to the same mode of selection. The variation in survival rate was consistent with the variation in genetic differentiation among populations, which was indicative of local adaptation. Overall, our findings provide new insights into the responses of the phenological traits of M. azedarach to changes in the climate conditions of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A weed plant of the species Lupinus polyphyllus was found in settlements located on the territory of the natural park "Vepssky forest" of the Leningrad region. The plant is known as a transforming species in the southern regions of Russia. The distribution of L. polyphyllus within the Vepsian forest occurs not due to the migration of the species to the north along transport routes, as one might assume, but due to flight from gardens and the formation of spontaneous invasive populations. The goal of the study was to identify the molecular and biochemical characteristics of garden lupine at the northern borders of its secondary range. To interpret the obtained data, the task of the study also included a comparison of intraspecific variability between the "old" invasive populations (in Finland and Central Russia, studied by us earlier) and the "new" naturalizing population of L. polyphyllus in the Vepsian forest. The search for L. polyphyllus localities in the territory of the Vepssky Les natural park was carried out by the route method with geobotanical descriptions of experimental sites (5 m × 5 m). DNA was isolated from eight herbarium specimens of L. polyphyllus (MHA, LE) and fifteen specimens collected in the territory of the natural park "Vepssky Les". To reveal the internal structure and phylogenetic relationships in lupine populations, networks of nuclear and chloroplast haplotypes and cluster analysis (UPGMA) with the SplitsTree program were used. The total content of polyphenols and flavonoids in the leaves was determined spectrophotometrically. The low inter-locality variability of ITS indicates that the populations of L. polyphyllus in Central Russia and in the North of Russia (St. Petersburg and Vepsskaya Pushcha) have the same origin. Analysis of the chloroplast intergenic spacer (rpl32–trnL) indicates intrapopulation diversity and suggests the presence of microevolutionary processes near the northern limits of the secondary distribution range of L. polyphyllus. The high content of polyphenols and flavonoids in the leaves reveals the adaptive capabilities of lupine in the studied area. Evidence suggests that a neglected species may soon become invasive, as has already happened in other regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is largely organized around its explicit reference to Milton's retelling of Genesis 2–3, Paradise Lost. Unfortunately, this reference to Milton has discouraged scholars from going back to the Old Testament itself. In fact, the novel contains three crucial biblical allusions. Most obvious, of course, are the allusions to creation (Genesis 1–3), which contain details not found in Milton's epic. The biblically literate reader will be able to discern two more crucial biblical allusions: one to Exodus 32–33 and the other to the Book of Job. In both of these texts, we find a man—Moses and Job, respectively—seeking an audience with his creator, such as that Adam and Eve enjoyed in the garden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At times of crisis, home gardening has often been sought out as a potential solution for threats to food security and as a measure to increase socio-psychological effects, such as public sense of self-efficacy, trust in the government and care for one's wellbeing. The objective of this study was to investigate if home gardening increased during the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring/summer of 2020 and to provide socio-psychological insights into the explanatory factors of such an increase. An explanatory theoretical model of home gardening was proposed and tested to analyse whether home gardening is correlated to food security concerns, and if so, to what extent. A non-representative survey was conducted in five European countries (Slovenia, Norway, Estonia, Switzerland, and Iceland) using snowball sampling via social media networks, reaching 1144 participants. The results showed the pandemic did prove to be an important psychological push towards home gardening prompted by food security concerns. Measured as loose as introducing at least one new gardening activity during COVID-19, this study found an approximately 10% increase in home gardening during the first wave of COVID-19 in the sample population, which was skewed towards educated, female, middle-class Europeans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban Agriculture (UA) is the widespread practice of food production within available city space using non-commercial, commercial and hybrid production technologies. The economic viability of UA remains a concern among UA practitioners. To investigate UA's viability; land, labour and distribution cost are analyzed, and margin and benefit–cost ratio (BCR) under vacant lot, rooftop/backyard and discretionary labour UA are calculated. We present a straightforward approach to gauge the economic viability of UA taking examples from 40 distinct locations of two divergent development contexts of Adelaide, South Australia and Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. UA seems potentially viable by selecting high-value crops in Adelaide but showed little chance of viability under low-value crop scenarios in both contexts. The high cost of land is shown to be the primary driver of cost for UA. Labour cost appears to be a critical difference between the two cities, being an important constraint for the economic viability in Adelaide, where the wage rate is high. To improve economic viability, the respective governments and planners should consider better ways to avail subsidised land through policy intervention and volunteer or subsidised labour arrangement mechanisms. Home food gardens accessing available land and labour as a discretionary/spare time activity with zero distribution cost may represent the best way to produce food without exceeding market costs in cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For over more than 20 years, Transylvanian ensembles, gardens and parks have been investigated, described and analysed by a research group from Hungary, led by Albert Fekete. The goal of this study of Transylvanian ensembles is to get background information, insight for developing a strategy for landscape preservation and development in the long run that comprises the cultural and historical values and the demands from society on what to do with them in the contemporary context. The goal of the article is to give an overview of what is already known and what could be done from the viewpoint of protection, planning and design. The research methods are mixed, but are largely based on the case study approach, supplemented by experimental design, fieldwork and research by design. The conclusion is that, given the state of what is left over from these historical artefacts, restoration in the strict sense will be impossible. This will be a major challenge for landscape architecture to take into account the historical values, integrate them with new functions and use and the recent demands of improving water management, energy transition and the creation of comfort and healthy living environments for people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational gardens are powerful outdoor learning environments to address the subject of climate change and foster climate action. Using an online questionnaire, this study examines the influence of the main sociodemographic and academic factors, and the role of connectedness to nature, on the perception of educational gardens as contexts of climate change education (CCE) among Spanish preservice teachers (PSTs). The sample consisted of 889 PSTs enrolled in 9 university campuses of Spain. The statistical analyses performed evidenced that women are more likely to use educational gardens than men and that there is a progressive decrease in the positive perception of PSTs about the usefulness of gardens for CCE as the educational level at which they are being trained increases. Statistics also revealed that the variable connectedness to nature and the rating of the importance of educational gardens in CCE are not significantly related. Nevertheless, the Mann–Whitney U test indicated that PSTs who scored higher on connection to nature wished to broaden their knowledge of sustainable agriculture and, thus, connectedness to nature could be considered a predictor of environmental attitudes, each influencing the other. Based on these findings, recommendations for PSTs' training in the CCE context are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]