Comparison of stormwater runoff from sedum, native prairie, and vegetable producing green roofs

Whittinghill, Leigh J.; Rowe, D. Bradley; Andresen, Jeffery A.; Cregg, Bert M.

doi:10.1007/s11252-014-0386-8

Cited by 63 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…These are similar to results presented in previous studies, indicating GRs as a source of organic matter [7,46], phosphorus [22,24,25,47,48], pathogens [48], and total dissolved solids [1,30], as well as the pH neutralization effect from GRs [1,22,25,26,31,[49][50][51][52]. GRs had significantly higher concentrations for total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), nitrates, and nitrites than the control cases, confirming the findings of Aitkenhead-Peterson et al [46], Greogoire and Clausen [53], Moran et al [54], and Whittinghill et al [55]. This was in contrast to concentrations of ammonia, where the average GRs concentrations were below those found in the control cases and where no statistically significant difference (Table 3) was found.…”

Section: Water Quality Resultssupporting

confidence: 82%

Effect of Green Roof Configuration and Hydrological Variables on Runoff Water Quantity and Quality

Ferrans

Rey

Pérez

et al. 2018

Water

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Green roofs (GRs) are a feasible solution for mitigating increased runoff volumes in urban areas. Though many studies have focused their analysis on the quantity and quality of GR runoff, with respect to the relevance of specific site conditions in GR performance, the information gathered for the tropical Andes is not sufficient. This study assessed the hydrological performance and runoff water quality of 12 green roof modular systems located at the Universidad de los Andes campus (Bogotá, Colombia). Based on 223 rainfall events spanning a 3-year period, average rainfall retention was 85% (coefficient of variation = 29%). t-tests, the Welch Test, multiple linear regressions, and correlation analysis were performed in order to assess the potential effect of air temperature, substrate type, vegetation cover, relative humidity, antecedent dry weather period (ADWP), rainfall duration, and rainfall maximum intensity. In some cases, GR design variables (i.e., substrate type and vegetation cover) were found to be significant for describing rainfall retention efficiencies and, depending on the GR type, some hydrological variables were also correlated with rainfall retention. Rainfall and GR runoff from 12 rainfall events were also monitored for total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, total phosphorus (TP), phosphates, pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), color, turbidity, biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total coliforms, metals (i.e., zinc, copper, nickel, lead, selenium, aluminum, barium, boron, calcium, strontium, iron, lithium, magnesium, manganese, potassium, sodium), and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The results obtained confirmed that GR systems have the ability to neutralize pH, but are a source of the rest of the aforementioned parameters, excluding PAHs (with concentrations below detection limits), ammonia, TSS, selenium and lithium, where differences with control cases (rainfall and plastic panel runoff) were not statistically significant. Substrate type, event size, and rainfall regime are relevant variables for explaining runoff water quality.

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Section: Water Quality Resultssupporting

confidence: 82%

Effect of Green Roof Configuration and Hydrological Variables on Runoff Water Quantity and Quality

Ferrans

Rey

Pérez

et al. 2018

Water

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“…The hydrological performance of green roofs has been relatively well studied, since water management is perhaps the most marketed benefit of a green roof. Storm water retention is reported to range from 25%-85% for green roofs based on a variety of combinations of substrate and vegetation [105][106][107][108][109] with a median of 50%. As rainfall intensity increases, this effect is also reduced.…”

Section: Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (Suds)-building Coveringsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As rainfall intensity increases, this effect is also reduced. Although the substrate [110] and drainage layers of green roofs as well as the slope of the roof [111] contribute most significantly to storm water management, the composition of the vegetation is also important [106,112]. In an extensive green roof, vegetation can alter storm water retention by as much as 82% compared with the substrate that the green roof is grown on alone [113].…”

Section: Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (Suds)-building Coveringsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In an extensive green roof, vegetation can alter storm water retention by as much as 82% compared with the substrate that the green roof is grown on alone [113]. Prairie grasses have been shown to be twice as effective at reducing run-off as sedum species at the same depth of substrate [106]. In general, the more intensive (deeper substrate) and more species diversity, the more capacity a green roof has to retain, absorb and transpire water [88,112,114].…”

Section: Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (Suds)-building Coveringsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Review: Improving the Impact of Plant Science on Urban Planning and Design

et al. 2016

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Urban planning is a vital process in determining the functionality of future cities. It is predicted that at least two thirds of the world's citizens will reside in towns and cities by the middle of this century, up from one third in the middle of the previous century. Not only is it essential to provide space for work and dwelling, but also for their well-being. Well-being is inextricably linked with the surrounding environment, and natural landscapes have a potent positive effect. For this reason, the inclusion and management of urban green infrastructure has become a topic of increasing scientific interest. Elements of this infrastructure, including green roofs and façades are of growing importance to operators in each stage of the planning, design and construction process in urban areas. Currently, there is a strong recognition that "green is good". Despite the positive recognition of urban greenery, and the concerted efforts to include more of it in cities, greater scientific attention is needed to better understand its role in the urban environment. For example, many solutions are cleverly engineered without giving sufficient consideration to the biology of the vegetation that is used. This review contends that whilst "green is good" is a positive mantra to promote the inclusion of urban greenery, there is a significant opportunity to increase the contribution of plant science to the process of urban planning through both green infrastructure, and biomimicry.

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“…Theoretically, UA thus has a positive effect on water and energy flows compared to built-up surfaces, but trees or other plants with high LAI are expected to be much more effective in mitigating the heat island effect of cities or controlling peak water flows (Coutts et al 2012;Hall et al 2012), also because most crops can only exert temporary effects on their environment. Nevertheless, Whittinghill et al (2014) recently documented that vegetable producing extensive green roofs had a similar water retention capacity than more conventional Sedum green roofs.…”

Section: Regulating Services Of Urban Agriculturementioning

confidence: 99%

Potential ecosystem services of urban agriculture: a review

Aerts

Dewaelheyns

Achten

2016

Preprint

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Urban agriculture (UA) is increasingly proposed as an environmentally friendly answer to global challenges including urbanization, public health, food security and climate change. We provide an overview of present evidence of ecosystem services delivered by UA that could potentially increase the sustainability of the urban ecosystem, including the often claimed reduced greenhouse gas emissions. There is general agreement that UA is important for local food production, especially in the south; that UA has a role in regulating green and blue water flows, organic waste flows and pollination; and that UA has important socio-cultural values, including an improved quality of city life and increased local community capacity. There is some evidence that UA may also improve human health because of dietary changes in certain social classes, but these are potentially confounded by environmental pollution in the city. Quantitative evidence is very limited for all ecosystem services, but the available data nevertheless suggests that the overall food productivity and the total reductions in greenhouse gas emission are low at global or city-wide scale despite the fact that UA has potential strong effects on food security at the local scale. The current eagerness of industrialized cities to integrate UA into their food policies as an approach to become "climate neutral" or to rely on ecosystem services to become more resilient calls for life cycle assessment studies that accurately quantify emission reductions and other urban ecosystem services of urban agriculture.

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Comparison of stormwater runoff from sedum, native prairie, and vegetable producing green roofs

Cited by 63 publications

References 51 publications

Effect of Green Roof Configuration and Hydrological Variables on Runoff Water Quantity and Quality

Effect of Green Roof Configuration and Hydrological Variables on Runoff Water Quantity and Quality

Review: Improving the Impact of Plant Science on Urban Planning and Design

Potential ecosystem services of urban agriculture: a review

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