Jiangxiao Qiu

0000-0002-3741-5213

Indoor Vertical Farming Systems for Food Security and Resource Sustainability

Jiangxiao Qiu, Haimanote K. Bayabil, and Yuncong Li

Understanding Ecosystem Services from Urban Agriculture

Jiangxiao Qiu, and Hui Zhao

Urban agriculture has gained momentum in global research and policy, and is proposed to combat challenges such as food insecurity, climate change, and social inequality. Here we provide an overview of ecosystem services urban agriculture provides. We found a general agreement that urban agriculture could deliver: (1) food production; (2) microclimate and air quality regulation; (3) stormwater retention; (4) waste management and nutrient recycling; (5) biodiversity conservation; (6) climate regulation and mitigation; (7) energy conservation; and (8) social-cultural values. But quantitative evidence is scarce for many ecosystem services, especially those that are intangible. Urban agriculture could be integral to green infrastructure, included in urban and regional planning, but consideration should also be given to types of urban agriculture, the role of technology and management practices, and potential tradeoffs, risks, and disservices.

Urban Agriculture and its Sustainability Implications on the Food-Water-Energy Nexus

Jiangxiao Qiu, Hui Zhao, Lorna Bravo, and Jessica Ryals

Urban agriculture has the potential to contribute to urban sustainability through its interactions with food, water, and energy (FEW) resource flows, and thus needs to be evaluated and analyzed through an integrative rather than a siloed approach. This publication provides an overview of the concept of FEW nexuses in the urban context and describes the role of urban agriculture and its sustainability implications for FEW nexuses and resources. Specific local case studies provide examples. This publication provides a holistic, interdisciplinary lens to understand the crucial role and sustainability implications of urban agriculture, currently gaining momentum in the global research and policy agenda. The fact sheet should be useful to urban and regional planners and policy-makers engaged in the development of urban agriculture, as well as to Extension agents seeking to communicate the sustainability implications of urban agriculture.

Online Sources for Sea Level Rise Education and Extension

Young Gu Her, Ashley Smyth, Jiangxiao Qiu, Elias Bassil, Ulrich Stingl, and Laura Reynolds

A UF/IFAS numbered peer reviewed Fact Sheet. in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: ==Water==

Scenario Planning for Managing Ecosystem Services and Natural Resources

Jiangxiao Qiu and Lorna Bravo

Florida is experiencing environmental challenges such as climate change, sea-level rise, and urbanization that make it difficult to develop management and policy actions to conserve our ecosystems and their goods and services, which are vital for human well being. Scenario planning is a useful tool to explore and cope with the uncertainties surrounding the future consequences of decisions, but it remains underused in Extension practices. This publication provides an overview of scenario planning and the conditions under which scenario planning can be useful. It explains how to construct and develop effective scenarios for decision making and provides illustrated, real-world examples across different scales. The goal is to introduce the concept of scenario planning to Extension and elaborate its potential to be incorporated into existing Extension programs to help develop robust, sustainable solutions to manage agriculture, ecosystem services, and natural resources in Florida.