[en] Extensive green roofs can mitigate the adverse effects of urban nature loss by providing ecosystem services, such as biodiversity increase, stormwater management and temperature regulation. They also sequester carbon, retain nutrients and potentially improve urban air and rainwater quality. This study examined how roof age, substrate depth, fertilization and vegetation type affect carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus substrate stocks, as well as two nitrogen fluxes (mineralization and nitrification). We hypothesized that vegetation type (Sedum-only vs. diverse vegetation), substrate depth and fertilization would be the main drivers of these stocks and fluxes. Twelve extensive green roofs in three cities in Flanders, Belgium, were sampled across four seasons. Results suggest limited carbon sequestration potential. Roofs with diverse vegetation, particularly those with mosses and herbs, had higher total carbon and nitrogen substrate stocks. Carbon stocks ranged from 1400 to 2880 g m− 2 (mean: 1600 g m− 2) in diverse roofs, compared to 700–1050 g m− 2 (mean: 860 g m− 2; p < 0.001) in species-poor roofs. Nitrogen stocks ranged from 62 to 100 g m− 2 (mean: 83 g m− 2) in diverse roofs and between 38 and 60 g m− 2 (mean: 50 g m− 2; p < 0.001) in species-poor roofs. Fertilization had no significant effect, while substrate depth only influenced phosphorus substrate stocks (p = 0.012). Overall, extensive green roofs offer limited carbon sequestration and nutrient retention. However, optimizing substrate composition and increasing plant diversity could enhance these benefits. This study highlights the potential for improving green roof performance through better design and management.
Research Center/Unit :
InBios - Integrative Biological Sciences - ULiège
Disciplines :
Environmental sciences & ecology
Author, co-author :
Steenaerts, Laure; Center for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium
Rineau, François; Center for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium
Artois, Tom; Center for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium
Bosman, Bernard ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Biologie, Ecologie et Evolution > Ecologie végétale et microbienne
Carnol, Monique ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Biologie, Ecologie et Evolution > Ecologie végétale et microbienne
Portillo-Estrada, Miguel; Research group PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
Struyf, Eric; Research group PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
Van Dijck, Thomas; Center for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium
Van Mechelen, Carmen; Sweco, Brussels, Belgium
Janssens, Ivan; Research group PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
Language :
English
Title :
The influence of green roof features on their carbon and nutrient stocks
EcoCities: Green roofs and walls as a source for ecosystem services in future cities
Funders :
FWO - Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Vlaanderen
Funding number :
S002818N
Funding text :
The author L.S. and the research were financed by Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO) via a Strategic Basic Research project (S002818N: \u201CEcoCities: Green roofs and walls as a source for ecosystem services in future cities\u201D).This study was supported by the SBO project S002818N \u201CEcoCities: Green roofs and walls as a source for ecosystem services in future cities\u201D.
Agra H Klein T Vasl A Kadas G Blaustein L Measuring the effect of plant-community composition on carbon fixation on green roofs Urban For Urban Green 2017 24 1 4 10.1016/j.ufug.2017.03.003
Aitkenhead-Peterson JA Dvorak BD Volder A Stanley NC Chemistry of growth medium and leachate from green roof systems in south-central Texas Urban Ecosyst 2011 14 1 17 33 10.1007/s11252-010-0137-4
Allen SE (1989) Chemical analysis of Ecological Materials (2nd editio). Oxford, London: Blackwell Scientific Publications
Ampim PAY Sloan JJ Cabrera RI Harp DA Jaber FH Green roof growing substrates: types, ingredients, composition and properties J Environ Hortic 2010 28 4 244 252 10.24266/0738-2898-28.4.244
Ayres E Van Der Wal R Sommerkorn M Bardgett RD Direct uptake of soil nitrogen by mosses Biol Lett 2006 2 2 286 288 1:CAS:528:DC%2BD28XnsFSqsLw%3D 10.1098/rsbl.2006.0455 17148384 1618885
Bates D Maechler M Bolker B Walker S Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4 J Stat Softw 2015 67 1 1 48 10.18637/jss.v067.i01
Berndtsson JC Emilsson T Bengtsson L The influence of extensive vegetated roofs on runoff water quality Sci Total Environ 2006 355 1–3 48 63 1:CAS:528:DC%2BD28XptFKjsw%3D%3D 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2005.02.035 16442432
Blake GR (1965) Bulk density. In Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1: Physical and Mineralogical Properties, Including Statistics of Measurement and Sampling (9th ed.). https://doi.org/10.2134/agronmonogr9.1.c30
Bouzouidja R Rousseau G Galzin V Claverie R Lacroix D Séré G Green roof ageing or isolatic technosol’s pedogenesis? J Soils Sediments 2018 18 2 418 425 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC28Xht1yrtbnP 10.1007/s11368-016-1513-3
Buffam I, Mitchell ME (2015) Nutrient cycling in green roof ecosystems. In Green roof ecosystems (pp. 107–137). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14983-7
Clark MJ Zheng Y Plant nutrition requirements for an installed sedum-vegetated green roof module system: effects of fertilizer rate and type on plant growth and leachate nutrient content HortScience 2013 48 9 1173 1180 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC3sXhslGgu77I 10.21273/HORTSCI.48.9.1173
Clark MJ Zheng Y Effect of fertilizer rate on plant growth and leachate nutrient content during production of sedum-vegetated green roof modules HortScience 2014 49 6 819 826 10.21273/HORTSCI.49.6.819
De Neve S (2017) Organic matter mineralisation as a source of nitrogen. In F. Tei (Ed.), Advances in Research on Fertilization Managment of Vegetable Crops (pp. 65–83). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53626-2
Dusza Y Barot S Kraepiel Y Lata JC Abbadie L Raynaud X Multifunctionality is affected by interactions between green roof plant species, substrate depth, and substrate type Ecol Evol 2017 7 7 2357 2369 10.1002/ece3.2691 28405299 5383477
Emilsson T Czemiel Berndtsson J Mattsson JE Rolf K Effect of using conventional and controlled release fertiliser on nutrient runoff from various vegetated roof systems Ecol Eng 2007 29 3 260 271 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2006.01.001
Fox J, Weisberg S (2019) An {R} Companion to Applied Regression (p. Third Edition). p. Third Edition. Retrieved from https://socialsciences.mcmaster.ca/jfox/Books/Companion/
Getter KL Rowe DB Robertson GP Cregg BM Andresen JA Carbon sequestration potential of extensive green roofs Environ Sci Technol 2009 43 19 7564 7570 1:CAS:528:DC%2BD1MXhtVens7bJ 10.1021/es901539x 19848177
Hart SC, Start JM, Davidson EA, Firestone MK (1994) Nitrogen mineralization, immobilization, and nitrification. In R. Weaver, J. Angle, P. Bottomley, D. Bezdicek, S. Smith, & A. Tabatabai (Eds.), Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 2. Microbial and Biochemical Properties. (pp. 985–1018). https://doi.org/10.2136/sssabookser5.2.c42
Hoch JMK, Rhodes ME, Shek KL, Dinwiddie D, Hiebert TC, Gill AS, McGuire KL (2019) Soil microbial assemblages are linked to plant community composition and contribute to ecosystem services on urban green roofs. Front Ecol Evol 7(JUN). https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00198
Hothorn T Bretz F Westfall P Simultaneous inference in general parametric models Biom J 2008 50 3 346 363 10.1002/bimj.200810425 18481363
Houba VJG van de Lee JJ Novazamsky I Walinga I Soil and plant analysis, a series of syllabi. Part 5: soil analysis procedures 1989 Wageningen Agricultural University, Wageningen
Jamei E Chau HW Seyedmahmoudian M Stojcevski A Review on the cooling potential of green roofs in different climates Sci Total Environ 2021 791 1:CAS:528:DC%2BB3MXhtleqs77M 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148407 34412394 148407
Johnson C Schweinhart S Buffam I Plant species richness enhances nitrogen retention in green roof plots Ecol Appl 2016 26 7 2130 2144 10.1890/15-1850.1 27755723
Karczmarczyk A, Bus A, Baryla A (2018) Phosphate leaching from green roof substrates-Can green roofs pollute urban water bodies? Water 10. https://doi.org/10.3390/w10020199
Kasimir, He H Jansson PE Lohila A Minkkinen K Mosses are important for soil carbon sequestration in forested peatlands Front Environ Sci 2021 9 September 1 19 10.3389/fenvs.2021.680430
Köhler M, Poll P (2010) Long-term performance of selected old Berlin green roofs in comparison to younger extensive green roofs in Berlin. Ecol Eng 36:722–729
Kuronuma T Watanabe H Ishihara T Kou D Toushima K Ando M Shindo S CO2 payoffof extensive green roofs with different vegetation species Sustain (Switzerland) 2018 10 7 1 12 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC1MXhvFWgtb3N 10.3390/su10072256
Li Y Babcock RW Green roofs against pollution and climate change. A review Agron Sustain Dev 2014 34 4 695 705 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC2cXoslCqtr8%3D 10.1007/s13593-014-0230-9
Manso M Teotónio I Silva CM Cruz CO Green roof and green wall benefits and costs: a review of the quantitative evidence Renew Sustain Energy Rev 2021 10.1016/j.rser.2020.110111
Mitchell ME Matter SF Durtsche RD Buffam I Elevated phosphorus: dynamics during four years of green roof development Urban Ecosyst 2017 20 5 1121 1133 10.1007/s11252-017-0664-3
Mitchell ME Hamilton TL Uebel-Niemeier C Hopfensperger KN Buffam I Nitrogen cycling players and processes in green roof ecosystems Appl Soil Ecol 2018 132 June 114 125 10.1016/j.apsoil.2018.08.007
Mitchell ME Emilsson T Buffam I Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus variation along a green roof chronosequence: implications for green roof ecosystem development Ecol Eng 2021 164 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2021.106211 106211
Novozamsky VJG Houba R van Eck R van Vark W A novel digestion technique for multi-element plant analysis Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 1983 14 239 249 1:CAS:528:DyaL3sXhvFKqt70%3D 10.1080/00103628309367359
Oberndorfer E Lundholm J Bass B Coffman RR Doshi H Dunnett N Rowe B Green Roofs as urban ecosystems: ecological structures, functions, and services Bioscience 2007 57 10 823 833 10.1641/B571005
Regan KM Nunan N Boeddinghaus RS Baumgartner V Berner D Boch S Marhan S Seasonal controls on grassland microbial biogeography: are they governed by plants, abiotic properties or both? Soil Biol Biochem 2014 71 21 30 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC2cXivFCqtLs%3D 10.1016/j.soilbio.2013.12.024
Rumble H Gange AC Microbial inoculants as a soil remediation tool for extensive green roofs Ecol Eng 2017 102 188 198 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2017.01.025
Schrader S Böning M Soil formation on green roofs and its contribution to urban biodiversity with emphasis on collembolans Pedobiologia 2006 50 347 356 10.1016/j.pedobi.2006.06.003
Shafique M Xue X Luo X An overview of carbon sequestration of green roofs in urban areas Urban For Urban Green 2020 47 10.1016/j.ufug.2019.126515 126515
Starry O Lea-Cox JD Kim J van Iersel MW Photosynthesis and water use by two Sedum species in green roof substrate Environ Exp Bot 2014 107 105 112 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC2cXht1ahu7nN 10.1016/j.envexpbot.2014.05.014
Teemusk A Mander Ü Rainwater runoff quantity and quality performance from a greenroof: the effects of short-term events Ecol Eng 2007 30 271 277 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2007.01.009
Teemusk A Mander Ü The influence of green roofs on runoff water quality: a case study from Estonia Water Resour Manage 2011 25 3699 3713 10.1007/s11269-011-9877-z
Todorov D Driscoll CT Todorova S Montesdeoca M Water quality function of an extensive vegetated roof Sci Total Environ 2018 625 928 939 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC1cXkslersA%3D%3D 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.085 29306833
van Seters T Rocha L Smith D MacMillan G Evaluation of green roofs for runoff retention, runoff quality, and leachability Water Qual Res J Can 2009 44 1 33 47 10.2166/wqrj.2009.005
Wang H Qin J Hu Y Are green roofs a source or sink of runoff pollutants? Ecol Eng 2017 107 3888 65 70 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2017.06.035
Whittinghill LJ Rowe DB Schutzki R Cregg BM Quantifying carbon sequestration of various green roof and ornamental landscape systems Landsc Urban Plann 2014 123 41 48 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2013.11.015
Wooster EIF Fleck R Torpy F Ramp D Irga PJ Urban green roofs promote metropolitan biodiversity: a comparative case study Build Environ 2022 207 PA 10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.108458 108458
Zhang Shouhong Lin Z Zhang S Ge D Stormwater retention and detention performance of green roofs with different substrates: observational data and hydrological simulations J Environ Manage 2021 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112682 35021595 8639463
