ACHIEVEMENTS, FLAWS, AND FUTURE GOALS OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ON GREEN ROOFS IN MEDITERRANEAN CITIES: FIRST FEEDBACK FROM ONGOING META-ANALYSIS (original) (raw)
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2017
Green infrastructure and in particular green roofs are crucial to meet the challenge of sustainable urbanisation fostered by the current European Research and Innovation agenda. Several guidelines were issued in the last decades in Europe for regulating design, construction and up-keep of roof greening. In particular, the actual German guidelines (FLL 2008) have been widely adopted as reference basis for green roof design and regulation worldwide, because of its exhaustiveness and proven buildingand landscaping tradition. With the aim to assess the effectiveness of green roof norms in supporting plant and soil biodiversity of different ecoregions, and particularly of the Mediterranean one, the German, the Swiss and Italian regulations are screened and discussed in this paper. The German guidelines were chosen for its traditional referential role, the Swiss norm for its peculiar biodiversity approach, the Italian one for its application on a territory with remarkably heterogeneous en...
A plant sociological approach for extensive green roofs in Mediterranean areas
Extensive Green roofs can be an important mean for environmental mitigation if designed according to the principles of restoration ecology. Moreover, if optimally executed, properly managed and of sufficient extension, they could be assimilated to meta-populations of natural habitats, worth to be included in the biodiversity monitoring networks. The best example supporting this hypothesis is the Lake water plant Moos in Wollishofen (Zurich, Switzerland) where, on three 100 years old units of extensive green roofs, occur most of the typical flora of Mesobromion, including high density of some endangered orchid species. With this work, we propose a methodology approach for green roofs in Mediterranean areas, based on a practical plant sociology understanding of EU Directive 92/43: a recognition of Natura 2000 habitat that could be imitated on roofs in terms of characteristic species and substrates. Our results lead to three category groups: those linked to sandy substrates (psammophilous vegetation), to gravely-pebbly substrates (glareicolous vegetation) and to xeromorfic soils (garrigues and dry grasslands). According to the last theories and practical application for grasslands restoration, we suggest a method applied and studied in Switzerland for green roofs, based on diaspore hay transfer from a donor meadow, in order to obtain the highest plant species richness and diversity.
Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, 2022
Green roofs have been proposed as a significant method of “renaturing” the city, mitigating the urban heat island effect and controlling storm water movement. Plant growth on green roofs affects the environmental performance of the roof. Thus, it is important to examine which parameters influence this growth. Green roofs in the Mediterranean region, due to the climatic specificities of the area, have been a challenge. What types of plants are appropriate, how green roofs should be constructed and other related topics have concerned scientists in the recent years. The aim of this pilot study was to explore the growth of five plants—Sedum sediforme, Drosanthemum floribundum and Lampranthus spectabilis, Medicago arborea, and Lavandula angustifolia—on a pilot Mediterranean green roof in relation to substrate depth, organic content of substrate and type of green roof (open and modular). Data were analyzed using multiple regression with Analysis of Variance. The results indicated that sub...
A B S T R A C T Green infrastructure and in particular green roofs are crucial to meet the challenge of sustainable urbanisation fostered by the current European Research and Innovation agenda. Several documents were issued in the last decades in Europe for regulating the design, construction and upkeep of roof greening. In particular, the actual German guidelines have been widely adopted as a reference basis for green roof design and regulation worldwide , because of its exhaustiveness and proven building-and landscaping tradition. With the aim to assess the effectiveness of green roof guidelines and norms in supporting plant and soil biodiversity in different ecoregions, and particularly of the Mediterranean one, the German guidelines, the Swiss and Italian norms are screened and discussed in this paper. The German guidelines were chosen for their traditional referential role, the Swiss norm for its peculiar biodiversity approach, the Italian one for its application on a territory with remarkably heterogeneous environmental conditions, stretching from Alpine to Mediterranean ecosystems. Even if the three documents at comparison addressed to some extent biodiversity-related matters, none of them deepened the relationship between plant species selection (local ecotypes), growing medium composition (materials, granular size and thickness) and system build-ups (multi-layers and/or single-layer systems). This is a crucial point for countries, like Italy, encompassing very different climatic conditions. It was concluded that at the current knowledge a guideline/norm taking into account the peculiarities of green roof design in the Mediterranean ecoregion has to be widely refined.
Lifecycle Analysis of Green Roofs in the Mediterranean Climate
Eng
Buildings account for a significant amount of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Electricity and fossil fuels are currently the primary sources of energy used for cooling and heating buildings, depending on the climate and location. Both energy sources are responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions. In contrast, plants and vegetation absorb carbon dioxide and, thus, improve the quality of air. This effect indirectly influences climate change to lower energy demands and produce additional emissions due to rising energy consumption trends. Plants also reduce the ambient temperature by providing shade on roof surfaces. Hence, the large-scale deployment of green roofs reduces energy consumption, emissions, and costs. However, green roofs also impact the overall weight of a building and require additional construction costs. Therefore, the contribution of green roofs to the various structural and thermal performances of buildings varies for extensive int...
THE BENEFITS OF GREEN ROOFS FOR URBAN LANDSCAPES
ÇUKUROVA ULUSLARARASI MULTİDİSİPLİNER ÇALIŞMALAR KONGRESİ, 2018
In recent years, extensively growing environmental concerns in urban areas have led to creating contemporary solutions which provide improved storm water management, regulation of buildings’ temperatures, and reduction in air pollution. More importantly, especially increased impervious surface areas are one of the most important factors posing risk of flooding downstream and increasing storm water storage. Traditional roofs cannot efficiently infiltrate these storm water accumulations and they increase the land surface temperature causing urban heat island effects. Green roofs are one of the most significant novel ecosystems and they increase sound insulation, mitigate storm water runoff, create wildlife habitat, improve air quality, and significantly reduce the urban heat island effect in cities. Green roofs can also contribute in inner city areas where vegetation is limited and improve benefits regarding aesthetics and economic factors in urbanized landscapes. Turkey is one of the countries where growing significance of environmental issues associated with urbanization resulted with increase of greenhouse gas emission and reductions of efficient energy consumption. However, there are limited applications of green roofs on urbanized landscapes in Turkey. Therefore, understanding and preventing negative impacts of existing buildings on environment in Turkey play a substantial role in taking decisive measures to reduce environmental degradation in urban areas. The aim of this study is to evaluate and discuss regarding the history, types, quality, anatomy, and environmental benefits of green roofs. In addition, this study also provides useful information for decision makers and policy makers and highlights the positive effects of vegetation on the urban heat island mitigation at urban scale. By this way, prospective implications of green areas on urban landscapes can benefit from the information reported in this study.