In the United States, the LTER (Long Term Ecological Research) network provides the fundamental knowledge on ecosystems through 25 intensive-site-based research projects, of which Baltimore Ecosystem Study LTER (BES) and Central Arizona Phoenix LTER (CAP) focus on urban regions. In those urban LTER projects, the collaborative research, educational program, urban planning outreach, and large grand funding leverage each other towards the broad understanding of urban systems. In the studies on urban biogeochemical cycles, the adaptive management of green infrastructure projects could demonstrate new ways of identifying scientific priorities in social ecological systems, while site-scale biogeochemistry of green infrastructure projects has received little attention in urban LTERs, in part because biogeochemical properties of soilless media have rarely been articulated in basic or applied perspectives, such as soil science, biogeochemistry, green roof research, and the controlled environment agriculture. Biogeochemistry of urban green infrastructure projects could be seen as the important area of the ecological inquiry in highly modified urban environment, which could further inform the fields of urban planning and design.

The author considered commonness and identity of R.T.T. Forman's Landscape ecology principal (LE) and I.L. McHarg's Human ecological planning (HEP), which have been set as main Landscape planning theories. As a result, it was clarified there was little comparing research that analyzed both planning theory. Then, research in Japan has focused the difference of LE and HEP in particular. The author compared both theory's philosophies, coverages, social implications. Then it found four common features of LE and HEP theory that had not been discussed sufficiently. 1) Spatial integration of many environmental scientific knowledge, 2) Contribution to a spatial planning, 3) Visualization of a desirable spatial utilization, 4) Land-use complexity of object area.

This paper investigated the commonness and issues between Landscape Ecology and Management (LEM) and Journal of the Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture (JILA). The author explored the journal articles regarding Planning, Citizen Participation, and Disaster. The following points are identified common aspects: an aspect that captures planning objects from both conservation and development perspectives, evaluating the meaning of citizen participation of environmental conservation, and an aspect that uses disaster as a clue to environmental restoration and planning. Problems identified are: In LEM study, actual planning achievement and verification of its effect are required. In JILA study, basic principle and its application are required.

This study aimed to elucidate the characteristics of the flower-visiting insects community in the coast of western Japan (Pacific side). In total, 144 individuals belonging to 27 species were collected from the flowers of three coastal plants, Lathyrus japonicus, Calystegia soldanella, and Vitex rotundifolia, as well as from Senecio madagascariensis, an invasive alien species. We compared our results with those of previous studies, which reported that Apis mellifera was the most abundant insect species. It was found to be the dominant species on L. japonicus and C. soldanella. The findings on the flower-visiting insects found on L. japonicus were not consistent with those of previous studies. Some common flower-visiting insects were found on C. soldanella in different areas. The main flower-visiting insect on V. rotundifolia was Megachile kobensis, consistent with the results of two previous studies. M. kobensis is regarded as a particularly important flower-visiting insect. Although the nectar of its source plant decreases toward the end of May and from September to November in the study area, during this period, the beach may possibly have little nectar of resources for visiting-insects.