An ecomimicry design approach for extensive green roofs

Nash, Caroline; Ciupala, Mihaela Anca; Gedge, Dusty; Lindsay, Richard; Connop, Stuart

doi:10.46534/jliv.2019.06.01.062

“…Although nature-based solutions have only recently entered the purview of mainstream policymakers, there is now a compelling business case (EIB 2018), an emerging health and well-being cases (Han and Hyun 2018;van den Bosch and Ode Sang 2017a, b;Vujcic et al 2017) and a strong biodiversity case (Nash et al 2019;Seddon et al 2019; The Nature Conservancy 2018) for incorporating nature-based solutions into planning and design of urban and to develop solutions. However, the purpose of this paper is to examine the impediments to popular acceptance of the nature-based solution approach outside cities, especially on a topic where Ireland is perceived to have a high climate risk: flooding.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The case for mainstreaming nature-based solutions into integrated catchment management in Ireland

Collier¹,

Bourke²

2020

Biology and Environment

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The intensification of European policies, agreements and regulations for climate action, water resources, energy, agriculture and forestry, and biodiversity is pressurising governments to adopt a wider portfolio of actionable solutions that are more financially and socially sustainable as well as scalable. Traditional engineering solutions, such as grey infrastructure, are the standard approach to the management of waterways, particularly when it comes to water purification and flood prevention or abatement. However, grey infrastructure depreciates over time, necessitating costly and technology dependant interventions on a continual basis. Green infrastructure, on the other hand, often appreciates over time and can provide multiple co-benefits in the longer term; this is the nature-based solution approach. This paper outlines the potential of nature-based solutions and integrated catchment management. It describes how current integrated catchment policy and programmes would benefit from this new approach and posits that nature-based solutions are a complimentary technology that would have multiple co-benefits in the Irish landscape.

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“…Although nature-based solutions have only recently entered the purview of mainstream policymakers, there is now a compelling business case (EIB 2018), an emerging health and well-being cases (Han and Hyun 2018; van den Bosch and Ode Sang 2017a, b; Vujcic et al 2017) and a strong biodiversity case (Nash et al 2019;Seddon et al 2019; The Nature Conservancy 2018) for incorporating nature-based solutions into planning and design of urban and to develop solutions. However, the purpose of this paper is to examine the impediments to popular acceptance of the nature-based solution approach outside cities, especially on a topic where Ireland is perceived to have a high climate risk: flooding.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The case for mainstreaming nature-based solutions into integrated catchment management in Ireland

Collier¹,

Bourke²

2020

Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The intensification of European policies, agreements and regulations for climate action, water resources, energy, agriculture and forestry, and biodiversity is pressurising governments to adopt a wider portfolio of actionable solutions that are more financially and socially sustainable as well as scalable. Traditional engineering solutions, such as grey infrastructure, are the standard approach to the management of waterways, particularly when it comes to water purification and flood prevention or abatement. However, grey infrastructure depreciates over time, necessitating costly and technology dependant interventions on a continual basis. Green infrastructure, on the other hand, often appreciates over time and can provide multiple co-benefits in the longer term; this is the nature-based solution approach. This paper outlines the potential of nature-based solutions and integrated catchment management. It describes how current integrated catchment policy and programmes would benefit from this new approach and posits that nature-based solutions are a complimentary technology that would have multiple co-benefits in the Irish landscape.

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“…First, native plants should be chosen from local habitats with soil texture, drainage, nutrient availability, and depth that match that of green roofs as closely as possible. This approach is similar to the biomimicry design template suggested by Nash et al (2019), in which vegetation, soil, and roof properties are matched as closely as possible to the local habitat. In addition to the variables includes in our study, one could use a soil penetrometer (Wernerehl and Givnish 2015) to more accurately measure and match soil depth between natural and green roof sites.…”

Section: Designing Green Roofs As Urban Prairiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A habitat analog approach establishes native plant communities on green roofs

Ksiazek-Mikenas

¹

,

Chaudhary

²

,

Larkin

³

et al. 2021

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Novel habitats can support biodiversity by amending what has been lost through urban development. However, the effects of fragmentation, disturbance, and altered availability of resources in cities can prevent many local plant species from establishing and persisting. Novel habitats like green roofs could be colonized by native plants if species could overcome particularly harsh environmental conditions. To do so, green roofs could be designed using a habitat analog approach wherein natural habitats with similar abiotic characteristics inform the potential species pool. In this study, we tested the efficacy of using a habitat analog approach to establish native plant communities on green roofs. We surveyed vegetation in 18 dry prairies of three subtypes (gravel hill, dolomite, and sand) and planted replicates of two communities (sand prairie and rock prairie, which combined gravel hill and dolomite) on green roofs to determine which prairie was the most suitable analog. We investigated the effect of three environmental variables on plant establishment, survival, and growth: soil continuity (continuous soil vs. isolated trays), planting method (seeds vs. pre-grown seedlings), and the addition of native arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. We determined the most suitable habitat analog and measured the effect of the environmental variables by conducting vegetation surveys in the experimental roof plots for three years. The experimental rock prairie communities more closely resembled the target than did the sand prairies, supporting the hypothesis that shared soil properties are important for establishing analogous plant communities in novel habitats. At the community level, survival and growth were higher in continuous soil, highlighting the importance of belowground components of constructed habitats. We found no effect of planting method or addition of native AM fungi on plant survival or growth. Overall, our results support using a habitat analog approach to select native species that support biodiversity in constructed novel habitats like green roofs.

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An ecomimicry design approach for extensive green roofs

Cited by 4 publications

References 5 publications

The case for mainstreaming nature-based solutions into integrated catchment management in Ireland

The case for mainstreaming nature-based solutions into integrated catchment management in Ireland

The case for mainstreaming nature-based solutions into integrated catchment management in Ireland

A habitat analog approach establishes native plant communities on green roofs

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