The utilization of green roofs and walls “ecosystem services” as a strategy to mitigate climate change

Abstract

Green infrastructure is a set of systems and strategies that promote a more sustainable and efficient development, this paper reviews the green roofs and facades that are part of this infrastructure. Currently, its application in buildings aims to take advantage of its “ecosystem services”, such as energy savings, reduction of the heat island, improvements in water quality, air and health, and other advantages that are broken down into the article, which are achieved through natural processes carried out by vegetation, which allows evapotranspiration, the absorption of impurities, the reduction of noise, the capture of rainwater. Thus, collaborating in the reduction of sewage systems load in the cities, thanks to the use of the water captured, also contributing to water cost reduction from the drinking network of the cities. This paper results from a literature review on advantages and disadvantages that green roofs and walls offer in an urban environment.

Automation of green roof plant cover measurements using machine learning and a comparison of digital and thermal imaging techniques

“…Green infrastructure, such as parks, living walls and green roofs, have gained global attention for their provision of ecosystem services, including climate change mitigation, stormwater management, insulation, reduction of the urban heat island effect, and enhancement of biodiversity (Oberndorfer et al., 2007; Veerkamp et al., 2021; Vicuña & Ormaza, 2021; Lambarki et al., 2022). The effectiveness of green infrastructure in delivering ecosystem services is dependent on the coverage, health, and diversity of the vegetation present (MacIvor & Lundholm, 2011; Kumar Rai & Singh, 2020; Vicuña & Ormaza, 2021; Técher, 2022). Therefore, many ecologists and other practitioners conduct surveys to monitor the plant cover area as part of their experimental procedures (Jelinkova et al., 2016; Snir et al., 2016; Pineda et al., 2020).…”