Complementing urban agriculture and green spaces is important for ecosystem functions and biodiversity in cities: A systematic review and meta-analysis

As cities expand, they encroach on agricultural land, impacting food production and natural habitats. While urban agriculture could help address these issues, the impact of increased food production on ecosystem functions—particularly with regards to soil conservation, climate regulation, and biodiversity—remains poorly understood. To fill this knowledge gap, we conducted a meta-analysis to quantify the effects of urban agriculture on ecosystem functions (i.e., soil quality and climate regulation) and biodiversity (i.e., plants, birds, mammals, arthropods, and insect pollinators). We estimated ecosystem functions and biodiversity in urban agriculture by comparing them with other urban green spaces (e.g., parks, residential gardens, green roofs) and conventional rural farms. Our results overall showed that urban agriculture is in an intermediate state between the other urban green spaces and conventional rural farms in terms of environmental impacts. Urban agriculture had a positive effe..., , # Data from: Complementing urban agriculture and green spaces is important for ecosystem functions and biodiversity in cities: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.2bvq83c31](10.5061/dryad.2bvq83c31)

## Description of the data and file structure

We followed PRISMA guidelines to screen articles (2000–2024) on urban agriculture’s effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Studies were selected if they: (1) involved soil/substrate-based urban farms/gardens (including hydroponics), (2) cultivated crops (excluding livestock-only systems), and (3) compared urban agriculture to green infrastructure or rural farms. We searched Scopus and Web of Science using terms like “Urban agriculture,” “Biodiversity,” and taxonomic groups (e.g., “Birds,” “Insects”). After removing duplicates, 1288 studies were screened; 21 met our criteria, providing 243 effect sizes for meta-analysis.

### Files and variables

#### File: UABioDataset.csv

**Description:** This dataset ...,