The New Green Challenge in Urban Planning: The Right Genetics in the Right Place

Abstract

The creation of green areas within urban centers was born as a response to profoundly different problems, such as the demographic increase and the progressive urbanization of landscapes. Moreover, up to date, the genetics of plants has not been considered for urban contexts. The purpose of this review is to discuss the state of the art and the advantages in planning genetic improvement for plants for urban destinations, also providing technical information, that may contribute in a concrete way. Firstly, recent genomic sources and their potential contribution to breeding programs are discussed. Then, dividing the urban scenarios into four macro areas (i.e., urban/metropolitan parks, urban gardens, road verges and roofs/terraces/balconies), we described the role of genetics in the adaptability and sustainability of plants in these different contexts. In addition, we analyzed the genetic traits plants need to provide services for a city environment and population (e.g., pollution reduction, biodiversity conservation, soil stability, and food production).

The Contribution of Ornamental Plants to Urban Ecosystem Services

“…The genetic traits that plants need to provide services for a city's environment and population (e.g., pollution reduction, biodiversity conservation, soil stability, and food production) require suitable planning of genetic improvements [87] to increase the ES of ornamental plants.…”

“…It is very difficult to define which of the plant traits are useful at providing specific psychosocial benefits to urban communities, but it is known that visual factors, such as flower color, morphology, and size, as well as the emission of scents, are not only appreciated for their beauty and decoration but also because of their contributions to the perceptions of higher psychological wellbeing. This concerns most flowering ornamental plants [87].…”

Optimising plant form and function for controlled environment agriculture in space and on earth

“…The development of new varieties more suited to controlled environment agriculture is an active area of research, encompassing both traditional breeding and more recent genetic modification and gene editing approaches. 49,53,54…”

“…Vertical farming is particularly challenged by reliance on legacy crop cultivars, bred for the very different needs of traditional outdoor cropping systems. The development of new varieties more suited to controlled environment agriculture is an active area of research, encompassing both traditional breeding and more recent genetic modification and gene editing approaches 49,53,54 …”

Editorial: A wonder legume, soybean: prospects for improvement

“…These avenues facilitate the identification of key genes related to important traits and significantly contribute to advancements in soybean breeding (Yoosefzadeh-Najafabadi et al, 2022;Du et al, 2023;Song et al, 2023). Moreover, the rich genetic diversity of soybeans proves crucial in investigating heterosis and male sterility, fundamental for breeding initiatives (Ramlal et al, 2022b;Farinati et al, 2023). Additionally, it plays a vital role in weight prediction using image-based machine-learning techniques (Duc et al, 2023).…”