Green roof benefits, opportunities and challenges – A review

Shafique, Muhammad; Kim, Reeho; Rafiq, Muhammad

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2018.04.006

Cited by 534 publications

(375 citation statements)

References 110 publications

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“…Due to the known effect of the type of substrate in the retention process [2,[38][39][40][41], each type of substrate was individually analyzed and evidenced average retention values of 69% for modules using the Extensive Substrate (CV = 52% and n = 72), 85% for modules using the Enhanced Substrate (CV = 29% and n = 727), 63% for modules using the Productive Substrate (CV = 54% and n = 54), and 92% for modules using the Intensive Substrate (CV = 18% and n = 339) (see Figure 5). …”

Section: Effect Of Substrate On Water Retention Efficiencymentioning

confidence: 99%

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: Effect Of Substrate On Water Retention Efficiencymentioning

confidence: 99%

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 roof aesthetics are relevant for people's well-being [12], moreover if the visual and static interaction frontier is crossed and a deeper involvement with the ecology of the site is searched [13]. However, green roofs are also able to provide a list of ecosystem services (as recently reviewed by Reference [14]), not necessarily associated to an aesthetically pleasant environment. These services can be, for example, storm-water retention [14][15][16], increased urban biodiversity [17], noise reduction, air quality improvement, and temperature regulation of buildings or even, at a larger scale, cities [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, green roofs are also able to provide a list of ecosystem services (as recently reviewed by Reference [14]), not necessarily associated to an aesthetically pleasant environment. These services can be, for example, storm-water retention [14][15][16], increased urban biodiversity [17], noise reduction, air quality improvement, and temperature regulation of buildings or even, at a larger scale, cities [18]. Therefore, green roofs can be built as: i) aesthetically appealing environments; ii) ecosystem services providers; and iii) both, if environmental conditions allow to retain the aesthetic value.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Green Roof Design Techniques to Improve Water Use under Mediterranean Conditions

et al. 2019

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Green roof typology can vary depending on buildings structure, climate conditions, substrate, and plants used. In regions with hot and dry summers, such as the Mediterranean region, irrigation plays an essential role, as the highest temperatures occur during the driest period of the year. Irrigation might reduce the heat island effect and improve the cooling of buildings during this period, however, the added cost of maintenance operations and additional energy consumption could outrun the benefits provided by the project. Moreover, in situations where water is scarce or primarily channelled to other uses (e.g., domestic, agriculture or industry) during drought occurrence, it is advisable to implement green roof projects with the lowest use of water possible. The objective of the present work is to investigate solutions to optimize water use in green roofs under Mediterranean conditions, such as those of southern Europe. Two case studies are presented for Portugal, and potential techniques to reduce irrigation requirements in green roofs were tested. These addressed the use of native plant species, including the extreme type of a non-irrigated green roof (Biocrust roof) and techniques for plant installation. Plant drought tolerance was found to be an advantage in green roofs under these climatic conditions and, for the species studied, aesthetic value could be maintained when irrigation decreased.

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“…Green roofs do not allow for infiltration [218], but take advantage of limited land availability in urban settings. Their location on building rooftops enables green roofs to provide various additional benefits including heat island mitigation, air quality improvements, thermal and noise insulation, increased roof longevity, and many more [213,219].…”

Section: Intended Purposementioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is a substantial body of work demonstrating the capacity of rain gardens to remove a wide range of pollutants from stormwater runoff including petroleum hydrocarbons [190,211], pesticides [221], toxic metals [28,222,223], nutrients [220,221], suspended solids [222], and bacteria [222,224]. And the potentially numerous benefits-in terms of pollutant removal, volume reduction, peak flow delay, and peak flow reduction-of rain gardens [220,222] and green roofs [219,225], combined with their aesthetic value, have resulted in their increased use for stormwater management and treatment.…”

Section: Intended Purposementioning

confidence: 99%

It Is Not Easy Being Green: Recognizing Unintended Consequences of Green Stormwater Infrastructure

Taguchi

Weiss

Gulliver

et al. 2020

Water

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Green infrastructure designed to address urban drainage and water quality issues is often deployed without full knowledge of potential unintended social, ecological, and human health consequences. Though understood in their respective fields of study, these diverse impacts are seldom discussed together in a format understood by a broader audience. This paper takes a first step in addressing that gap by exploring tradeoffs associated with green infrastructure practices that manage urban stormwater including urban trees, stormwater ponds, filtration, infiltration, rain gardens, and green roofs. Each green infrastructure practice type performs best under specific conditions and when targeting specific goals, but regular inspections, maintenance, and monitoring are necessary for any green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) practice to succeed. We review how each of the above practices is intended to function and how they could malfunction in order to improve how green stormwater infrastructure is designed, constructed, monitored, and maintained. Our proposed decision-making framework, using both biophysical (biological and physical) science and social science, could lead to GSI projects that are effective, cost efficient, and just.

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Green roof benefits, opportunities and challenges – A review

Cited by 534 publications

References 110 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

Green Roof Design Techniques to Improve Water Use under Mediterranean Conditions

It Is Not Easy Being Green: Recognizing Unintended Consequences of Green Stormwater Infrastructure

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