Is Ivy Good or Bad for Historic Walls?

Viles, Heather; Sternberg, Troy; Cathersides, Alan

doi:10.1080/13556207.2011.10785087

Cited by 27 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…But, contrary to popular belief, ivy rarely presents a problem to the trees it climbs (Cowan, ). Indeed, it has recently been appreciated for its benefits in the insulation of buildings and pollution reduction in urban areas (Viles et al ., ). Our study provides further evidence of the benefits of ivy to wildlife, which we hope can be used to inform decisions by householders, land owners, environment managers and policy makers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ivy: an underappreciated key resource to flower‐visiting insects in autumn

Garbuzov

Ratnieks

2013

Insect Conserv Diversity

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Ivy (Hedera helix and H. hibernica) is a common autumn‐flowering plant found in Europe, North Africa, Macaronesia and Asia. Here, we use five complementary approaches (pollen trapping, nectar refractometry, local and regional surveys of insects foraging on ivy flowers, local survey of ivy abundance) to evaluate its importance to the honey bee (Apis mellifera) and other flower‐visiting insects in Sussex, England. Pollen trapping at six hives in two locations showed that an average 89% of pollen pellets collected by honey bees in the autumn were from ivy. Observations of foraging honey bees on ivy showed that ivy nectar is an even greater target than pollen, as 80% were collecting only nectar. Refractometry of samples from ivy flowers and from honey bees foraging on ivy showed that ivy nectar is rich in sugar, 49% w/w. Surveys showed that the main insect taxa foraging on ivy were honey bees (21%), bumble bees (Bombus spp., 3%), ivy bees (Colletes hederae, 3%), common wasps (Vespula vulgaris, 13%), hover flies (Syrphidae, 27%), other flies (29%) and butterflies (4%). The surveys also showed significant temporal and spatial variation in taxon abundance and proportion. A survey showed that ivy was very abundant on a small scale in both rural and urban areas, being present in 10/10 and 6/10 0.2 × 0.2 km samples within two 4 × 4 km areas respectively. The results show that ivy should probably be considered a keystone species with a high value in the conservation of flower‐visiting insects in autumn.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ivy: an underappreciated key resource to flower‐visiting insects in autumn

Garbuzov

Ratnieks

2013

Insect Conserv Diversity

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“…This physical means of PM removal is described as dry deposition, where the particles impact upon and stick to surfaces [46,47]. Studies that consider dry deposition have mainly examined outdoor environments, with examples from Ottelé et al [48] and Viles et al [49] finding high urban PM 10 deposition with higher deposits on leaf topside. In contrast, an indoor study by Pegas et al (2012) found daily PM 10 levels in a classroom to be higher than outdoors, although with the addition of potted plants these concentrations were reduced by 30 %.…”

Section: Improving Air Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Living walls in indoor environments

Gunawardena

Steemers

2019

Building and Environment

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The warming climate, projected increase in frequency and severity of extreme heat events, and the long-established heat island phenomenon are all expected to exacerbate urban environmental thermal loading. Active means used for addressing such risks are likely to increase energy consumption and emission trends to create a positive feedback loop that could threaten the health and wellbeing of urban citizens. In response, passive approaches such as green infrastructure enhancements are widely advocated, and to meet the challenges of implementing enhancements in dense cities, attention has been directed toward encouraging surface greening. This paper recognises this trend and considers vertical greening as a developing interest with application opportunity in both exterior and interior urban environments. A review of available studies and interviews with experts found most observations available to be derived from exterior applications. Interior applications consequently have yet to be investigated to determine relative value to indoor environments where most of human habitation is typically concentrated. The integration of plant science studies in this regard is highlighted as essential to develop a balanced evidence base for the enthusiasm observed for promoting indoor living wall installations.

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“…In the built environment, microclimatic data have been used to infer a bioprotective role for vegetation canopies with respect to stone decay, via thermal buffering and possible protection from damaging frosts for example (Sternberg et al, 2011;Viles et al, 2011b). In the intertidal zone, where weathering is dominated by tidal inundation and salts (Mottershead, 2013;Coombes, 2014), marine macroalgae (seaweed) canopies have similarly been found to reduce the magnitude and frequency of across-tide (diurnal) and between-tide (minutes to hours) fluctuations in rock-surface microclimate (Coombes et al, 2013a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rock‐protecting seaweed? Experimental evidence of bioprotection in the intertidal zone

Gowell

Coombes

Viles

2015

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Biogeomorphological processes are an important component of dynamic intertidal systems. On rocky shores, the direct contribution of microorganisms, plants and animals to weathering and erosion is well known. There is also increasing evidence that organisms can alter rock breakdown indirectly, by moderating temperature and moisture regimes at the rock-air interface. These influences have been purported to represent mechanisms of bioprotection, by buffering microclimatic fluctuations associated with weathering processes such as wetting and drying and salt crystallization. However, virtually nothing has been done to test whether microclimatic buffering translates to differences in actual rock breakdown rates.Here we report a preliminary laboratory experiment to assess how an artificial canopy (chosen to represent seaweed) affects mechanical rock breakdown. Using a simplified and accelerated thermal regime based on field data from a rocky shore platform in southern England, UK, we find that breakdown (mineral debris release) of mudstone covered with a canopy is reduced by as much as 79% relative to bare rock after around 100 thermal cycles. Reduction in rock surface hardness (measured using an Equotip device) was also greater for bare rock (17%) compared to covered rock (10%) over this period. Measurements of salt crystal formation indicate that the mechanism driving these differences was a reduction in the frequency of crystallization events, via moisture retention and shading of the rock surface.

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Is Ivy Good or Bad for Historic Walls?

Cited by 27 publications

References 12 publications

Ivy: an underappreciated key resource to flower‐visiting insects in autumn

Ivy: an underappreciated key resource to flower‐visiting insects in autumn

Living walls in indoor environments

Rock‐protecting seaweed? Experimental evidence of bioprotection in the intertidal zone

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