No abstract

Urban areas generate considerably more stormwater runoff than natural areas of the same size due to a greater percentage of impervious surfaces that impede water infiltration. Roof surfaces account for a large portion of this impervious cover. Establishing vegetation on rooftops, known as green roofs, is one method of recovering lost green space that can aid in mitigating stormwater runoff. Two studies were performed using several roof platforms to quantify the effects of various treatments on stormwater retention. The first study used three different roof surface treatments to quantify differences in stormwater retention of a standard commercial roof with gravel ballast, an extensive green roof system without vegetation, and a typical extensive green roof with vegetation. Overall, mean percent rainfall retention ranged from 48.7% (gravel) to 82.8% (vegetated). The second study tested the influence of roof slope (2 and 6.5%) and green roof media depth (2.5, 4.0, and 6.0 cm) on stormwater retention. For all combined rain events, platforms at 2% slope with a 4-cm media depth had the greatest mean retention, 87%, although the difference from the other treatments was minimal. The combination of reduced slope and deeper media clearly reduced the total quantity of runoff. For both studies, vegetated green roof systems not only reduced the amount of stormwater runoff, they also extended its duration over a period of time beyond the actual rain event.

No abstract

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the role that visual measures of attention to product and information and price display signage have on purchase intention. The authors assessed the effect of visual attention to the product, information or price sign on purchase intention, as measured by likelihood to buy. Design/methodology/approach-The authors used eye-tracking technology to collect data from Australian and US garden centre customers, who viewed eight plant displays in which the signs had been altered to show either price or supplemental information (16 images total). The authors compared the role of visual attention to price and information sign, and the role of visual attention to the product when either sign was present on likelihood to buy. Findings-Overall, providing product information on a sign without price elicited higher likelihood to buy than providing a sign with price. The authors found a positive relationship between visual attention to price on the display sign and likelihood to buy, but an inverse relationship between visual attention to information and likelihood to buy. Research limitations/implications-An understanding of the attention-capturing power of merchandise display elements, especially signs, has practical significance. The findings will assist retailers in creating more effective and efficient display signage content, for example, featuring the product information more prominently than the price. The study was conducted on a minimally packaged product, live plants, which may reduce the ability to generalize findings to other product types. Practical implications-The findings will assist retailers in creating more effective and efficient display signage content. The study used only one product category (plants) which may reduce the ability to generalize findings to other product types. Originality/value-The study is one of the first to use eye-tracking in a macro-level, holistic investigation of the attention-capturing value of display signage information and its relationship to likelihood to buy. Researchers, for the first time, now have the ability to empirically test the degree to which attention and decision-making are linked.

Irrigation scheduling based on plant daily water use (DWU) to conserve water without adversely affecting plant growth compared with a traditional irrigation rate was investigated for 25 common container-grown woody ornamentals. Ten different taxa were grown in 2006 and 2007 and five in 2008 in 10.2-L (No. 3) containers. Overhead irrigation was applied in four treatments: 1) a control irrigation rate of 19 mm (1.07 L per container) per application (control); 2) irrigation scheduled to replace 100% DWU per application (100DWU); 3) irrigation alternating every other application with 100% replacement of DWU and 75% DWU (100-75); and 4) irrigation scheduled on a three application cycle replacing 100% DWU followed by two applications of 75% DWU (100-75-75). Irrigation applications were separated by at least 24 h. Daily water use was calculated by measuring the difference in volumetric moisture content 1 h and approximately 24 h after irrigation. The three DWU treatments reduced total irrigation applied 6% to 75% compared with the control depending on treatment and species, except for Buddleja davidii ‘Guinevere’ in which total irrigation applied by the 100DWU, 100-75, and 100-75-75 treatments was 26%, 10%, and 5%, respectively, greater than the amount applied to the control. Final growth index [(plant height + width A + width B)/3] of all DWU treatments was greater than or equal to the control for all taxa. Forsythia ×intermedia ‘New Hampshire Gold’, Hydrangea arborescens ‘Dardom’, Hydrangea paniculata ‘Unique’, and Weigela florida ‘Wilma’ had higher water use efficiencies (estimated as the change in growth index per liter of water applied) at lower irrigation treatment volumes with no differences in growth index or growth index increase, indicating that further irrigation reductions may be possible without affecting growth. PourThru electrical conductivity of H. arborescens ‘Dardom’, Spiraea fritschiana ‘Wilma’, and Viburnum ×burkwoodii ‘Chenaultii’ measured in 2007 did not accumulate to damaging levels. Final plant size of all taxa under DWU treatments was the same or greater than the control and substantially less water was applied under DWU treatments except for B. davidii ‘Guinevere’.