The relationship between green roofs and urban biodiversity: a systematic review

Wang, Linwen; Wang, Hui; Wang, Yuncai; Che, Yue; Ge, Zhiwei; Mao, Lingfeng

doi:10.1007/s10531-022-02436-3

Cited by 23 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…Using the environmental and urban planning simulation software ENVI-Met, Viecco et al [ 59 ] found that the addition of green roofs and green walls to the downtown area of Santiago, Chile could reduce air particulate matter by up to 7.3% and help address the common issue of air quality in cities. They can also help reduce the urban heat island effect [ 60 ] and increase habitat connectivity for biodiversity [ 61 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban Biomimicry for Flood Mitigation Using an Ecosystem Service Assessment Tool in Central Wellington, New Zealand

et al. 2022

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Many cities are vulnerable to flooding due to their high proportion of impervious surfaces and lack of vegetated land cover. This vulnerability will often be exacerbated by changing rainfall and storm patterns due to climate change. Using the principles of urban biomimicry, this study aims to show an ecosystem service-based approach to designing an urban green infrastructure network for stormwater management in densely built areas that more closely emulates natural hydrology processes. Nature Braid (next-generation LUCI) is an ecosystem services assessment tool that was used to simulate flood mitigation ecosystem services in a 13.7 km2 urban water catchment in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. The simulation results revealed that 59% of the catchment does not contain or benefit from flood-mitigating land cover features. Adding 0.6 km2 (4% of the catchment) of green roofs alongside major stormwater flow paths resulted in a nearly three-fold decrease (11%) in the unmitigated flooding area. These results suggest that green roofs could help manage stormwater and mitigate flooding in the densely built areas of the catchment. Using ecosystem service assessment tools, like Nature Braid, can inform the design of more regenerative and resilient urban green infrastructure networks that help mitigate climate change impacts on urban residents.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban Biomimicry for Flood Mitigation Using an Ecosystem Service Assessment Tool in Central Wellington, New Zealand

et al. 2022

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“…Urban environments provide many novel habitats and spaces for biodiversity. The ability of some invertebrates to adapt to these is documented, including green roofs (Wang et al, 2022), golf courses and lawns (Colding & Folke, 2009) and abandoned or waste lands (McKinney, 2021). Successful insect use of these habitats, such as ornamental garden ponds (Hill et al, 2024) or urban pavements (Noël et al, 2024), may be influenced by context‐specific environmental, management and social factors.…”

Section: Priorities For Urban Insect Ecology Research and Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insect ecology and conservation in urban areas: An overview of knowledge and needs

Collins,

Audusseau,

Hassall

et al. 2024

Insect Conserv Diversity

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Urban expansion across the globe profoundly impacts local biodiversity. The growing body of urban ecology research on animals has largely focused on mammals and birds, whereas knowledge of insect ecology and conservation in urban areas remains limited. To anchor this Special Issue (SI), we have taken a broad approach to editorial and conducted a structured literature search to set the scene. We provide here an overview of existing literature reviews on urban insect ecology and conservation, indicate where the articles included in this SI contribute to developing our understanding and point to priority areas for further investigation. Key themes in the growing literature (at individual, species, and/or community level) include the influence of habitat quality, quantity and land use type on insect diversity; the impacts of anthropogenic pollution (for instance, heat, noise, light and chemicals); habitat connectivity and changes in habitat structure and impacts of urban density on genetic diversity. Insect diversity and abundance broadly decline with urban density and loss of habitat. Beyond this, variation in responses of different taxa, or in different regions, and methodological limitations of individual studies make it challenging to identify general patterns. Insect ecology and conservation research in urban environments should focus on applying ecological theory to understand variation in diversity patterns; investigating interactions between climate change and urban contexts; identifying impacts of novel environments on insect biodiversity; addressing methodological limitations and harmonising methodological approaches; and exploring the influence of social and historical factors on urban insect biodiversity. Insect conservation must also consider research into how best to communicate the value of urban insects to urban humans.

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“…The success of food roofs will depend in part on whether insect pollinators that visit the crops are both diverse and abundant enough to provide adequate pollination services. Previous research has suggested that green roof arthropod communities exhibit lower abundances and species richness when compared to nearby groundlevel habitats (Wang et al, 2022). Thus, it is possible that decreased bee diversity may result in diminished pollination rates for animalpollinated crops on green roofs (Ksiazek et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bee diversity on urban rooftop food gardens

Riehn

Fogel²,

Hathaway³

et al. 2023

Front. Sustain. Cities

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Green infrastructure on rooftops in urban areas can enhance important ecosystem services. In addition to mitigating water runoff and regulating building temperatures, green roofs can provide food and nesting resources for wildlife. Rooftop gardens can also be utilized to cultivate food crops, giving them the potential to attenuate instances of food insecurity which are commonplace in many urban areas. Given that many crops depend on bee pollination, it is imperative to characterize the rooftop bee community. Therefore, we sampled three urban food roofs near downtown St. Louis, MO during the 2017 and 2018 growing seasons. We found 38 bee species utilizing the rooftop farms. We then compared the rooftop bee communities to those of two nearby ground-level community gardens. The roofs had lower abundances of Bombus species than the ground-level sites while non-native cavity nesters in the genus Megachile were overrepresented. These results indicate that the rooftop bee communities represent a nested subset of the species found at ground level. This has important implications for the management of green roofs for growing crops, as this shift in bee community structure may play a role in determining which crops can be adequately supported with pollination services.

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The relationship between green roofs and urban biodiversity: a systematic review

Cited by 23 publications

References 94 publications

Urban Biomimicry for Flood Mitigation Using an Ecosystem Service Assessment Tool in Central Wellington, New Zealand

Urban Biomimicry for Flood Mitigation Using an Ecosystem Service Assessment Tool in Central Wellington, New Zealand

Insect ecology and conservation in urban areas: An overview of knowledge and needs

Bee diversity on urban rooftop food gardens

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