Portrait of Yizhi Zhang.
Photo: Alva Mårtensson.

She explores rooftop greenhouses for resource-efficient food production

News published:  09/06/2026

Yizhi Zhang wants to bring city residents locally grown vegetables from rooftop greenhouses. She and seven other doctoral students contribute to knowledge development in the field of food through the LTV faculty's investment in the SLU and Sparbanken Skåne Centre for Sustainable Primary Production.

At the Department of Biosystems and Technology at SLU, doctoral student Yizhi Zhang is researching how rooftop greenhouses can be designed in a resource-efficient and sustainable way for cultivation in urban environments.

Rooftop greenhouses save ground space compared with conventional greenhouses and act as insulation for the building they sit on, which can enable energy savings. Locally grown produce also means shorter transport distances and less use of packaging materials.

Yizhi Zhang uses methods including simulations and life cycle assessment to arrive at the best design – one that is also economically viable. Both design and installation are complicated processes.

– The installation is highly technical. In addition, the roofs were not originally intended for greenhouses, so adjustments have to be made to make them suitable. An individual risk assessment will be needed for each building, and lifts need to be installed to reach the greenhouse level.

A doctoral student portrait of Yizhi Zhang is now published on the centre's website.

Read the full text here: Rooftop greenhouses can supply city residents with locally grown vegetables.

Centre for Sustainable Primary Production

The SLU and Sparbanken Skåne Centre for Sustainable Primary Production was established in Alnarp in 2025. The centre is a co-funding arrangement between the LTV faculty and Sparbanken Skåne through its owner foundation Finn.

Through the faculty's investment, funding is provided for, among other things, eight doctoral positions whose research will contribute to knowledge development in sustainable primary production in the field of food.

Presentations of doctoral students

All doctoral students will be presented over the coming months.

Read all portraits here: Doctoral students.

Wheat.

The SLU and Sparbanken Skåne Centre for Sustainable Primary Production

Through excellent research and education, the centre will collaborate with industry and public actors to develop, disseminate and make use of knowledge and new solutions for a transition that balances economic, ecological and social sustainability. Primary production refers to the first stage of the food chain, which often takes place at farm level in agricultural and horticultural enterprises. It includes, for example, the production of fruit and vegetables, cereals, rapeseed, legumes, and meat, eggs and dairy.

Eight doctoral students

  • Adrien Vial: Can the integration of ecological theory with quantitative genetics transform disease resistance breeding?
    Primary supervisor: Aakash Chawade, Department of Plant Breeding.
  • Ananta Aacharya: Crop cultivation in combination with solar panels on arable land – How does it contribute to the future need for food and energy in a profitable way?
    Primary supervisor: Daniel Nilsson, Department of Biosystems and Technology.
  • Andrew Gallagher: Transformative governance for a sustainable food system.
    Primary supervisor: Fredrik Fernqvist, Department of People and Society.
  • Laurène Mailhan: From Stench to Scent – Genetic strategies towards bunt-free organic wheat.
    Primary supervisor: Therese Bengtsson, Department of Plant Breeding.
  • Linda Groot Nibbelink: The potential of Nordic heirloom vegetables for improved national food security and ability to cope with future climate changes.
    Primary supervisor: Lars Mogren, Department of Biosystems and Technology.
  • Luboš Říha: Towards a sustainable future with reduced input through enhanced starch yield and tailored starch qualities.
    Primary supervisor: Mariette Andersson, Department of Plant Breeding.
  • Mina Nešić: Exploring seed quality traits and their genetic regulation in Swedish protein crops for enhanced diversity and nutritional stability.
    Primary supervisor: Cecilia Hammenhag, Department of Plant Breeding.
  • Yizhi Zhang: Climate impact mitigation and resource use efficiency of rooftop greenhouses for urban food production.
    Primary supervisor: Thomas Prade, Department of Biosystems and Technology.

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