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Green Roofs as a Habitat for Birds: A Review
Abstract
Green roofs are a technology with a long tradition however, today are considered one of the most innovative developments for urban greening and constitute an opportunity for creating additional habitat for birds in the cities. Green roofs provide water and food mainly throughout insects, berries and seeds for feeding birds. Also provide space and cover that protect birds and their nests from predators. However, not all green roofs have the same ecological valueor equally favour the breeding of birds. It depends on the type of green roof, design, selected vegetation and maintenance. This encourages bird presence including of endangered species that permits urban people to obtain benefits such as aesthetic and psychological, ecological and some utilitarian ones. Conversely at the same time birds can damage plants that vegetate on green roofs especially in its establishment phase when the vegetated structure is more fragile or more rarely can act as disease reservoirs or cause accidents, e.g., mthe airport environments. Despite the worldwide increasing wide spread of green roofs in the last decades unhl now little attention has been paid to bird populations in relation to this kind of urban greening and few specific studies have been undertaken. This study carries out a broad review on green roofs as a habitat for birds in the urban environments and proposes a standardised methodology aimed at studying bird population on green roofs.
... For example, the research by Morash et al. and Biswal et al. concluded that herbaceous plant roots absorb essential organic elements like nitrogen and phosphorus from rainwater for growth while mitigating rainwater pollution by absorbing various heavy metal pollutants [76,92]. Furthermore, plants provide habitats for diverse organisms such as birds and insects [93]. Several studies also proved that the alternating wet and dry conditions within rain gardens support the survival of underground bacteria and algae, thereby enhancing biodiversity to a certain degree [11,12,76]. ...
Amidst rapid urbanization and escalating environmental degradation in China’s urban areas due to climate change, traditional drainage systems struggle to cope with rainfall, resulting in frequent flood disasters. In response, rain gardens have emerged as ecologically practical stormwater management solutions that integrate urban flood control with landscape design. Leveraging the dual benefits of rainwater purification and aesthetic enhancement provided by vegetation, herbaceous plant-based rain gardens have assumed a pivotal role in green infrastructure. However, dedicated research on the application of herbaceous plants in rain garden design is limited, especially within China’s water-stressed context. This study employs a literature review and case analysis to explore this critical issue. Initially, it delineates the concept of the sponge city introduced by the Chinese government. Subsequently, it reviews concepts and methods of plant biodiversity design in urban settings and rain gardens and elucidates the structure and function of rain gardens. Four Chinese rain gardens in different urban environments (old industrial areas, university campuses, urban villages, and urban highway green belts) were selected to examine the selection and arrangement of herbaceous plants while identifying deficiencies in their designs. Finally, feasibility suggestions are provided for the design of herbaceous plant diversity in Chinese rain gardens. This study’s findings can provide a reference for the planting design of herbaceous plants in rain gardens for other countries and regions with similar climates and environmental conditions.
... The Eurasian Oystercatcher is known for its flexibility in selecting breeding habitats, which may be sandy shores, pebble beaches, river mouths, and arable farmlands (Hockey et al. 2020). In addition, this species is reported using a wide variety of sites for nest location, including roofs, fence post tops, tree stumps, broken walls, and shallow hollows in trees to the point of colonising the roofs of inner-city houses (Paton et al. 1973;Reynolds et al. 2019, Fernández Cañero et al. 2010, see Duncan et al. 2001 for a review). ...
Eurasian Oystercatchers have increasingly adopted pole tops in the last decade in the Lagoon of Venice (NE Italy). At the end of the study, 7% of the breeding population of the Lagoon (n = 180) nested on pole tops. Nests built in these structures are safe from flooding due to extremely high tides, thus allowing a high hatching success: 42 clutches out of 43 (97.7%) hatched. We hypothesise that this is an adaptive behaviour to the increased frequency of extreme high tides in the last decade and is a good omen for the species. The good availability of pole tops suitable for nesting in the Lagoon allows breeding in areas otherwise unsuitable for nesting due to the lack of sites safe from flooding. Placement of artificial nests on pole tops is also feasible and could be an easy and cheap strategy for the conservation of the breeding population of Oystercatchers in the Lagoon of Venice as extreme high tides and spring storms will likely increase in the future.
... Green roofs are significant habitats for urban wildlife and are vital for conserving the urban ecosystem nexus's biodiversity [40]. These vegetated rooftops provide a sanctuary for various species such as birds, insects, and small mammals in predominantly concrete urban environments [41]. By erecting green spaces vertically, green roofs connect isolated habitats and sustain wildlife survival and movement. ...
Green roofs have gained popularity in many countries as they offer numerous advantages and benefits in urban environments in recent years. They effectively address water concerns, reduce energy consumption, and mitigate the heat island effect. Additionally, green roofs contribute to reducing urban sprawl, promoting food production, and providing various ecosystem services. This comprehensive review explores the role and positive impact of green roofs in the interconnectedness of water, energy, food, and ecosystems. Through case studies, it examines future challenges and directions, including trade-offs and synergies within the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) nexus. The review also highlights design considerations, implementation strategies, and policy actions. It underscores the potential of green roofs in creating sustainable and resilient cities, emphasizing the need for collaborative efforts and appropriate policies. Furthermore, this paper offers valuable insights for future research and policy development in the field of green roofs and the WEFE nexus.
... They absorb air pollution [14,28] and act as a sound barrier due to the thickness of the substrate and vegetation layers [29,30]. Green roofs also provide ecological benefits by supporting urban flora and fauna biodiversity and functioning as ecological corridors [6,[31][32][33][34]. Finally, some revision work highlights how green roofs can affect different types of ecosystem services [35,36]. ...
Extensive Green Roofs (EGRs) are nature-based solutions that provide several environmental, health, social, and economic benefits. This review of about 1430 scientific papers, based on the five Ws, When, Where, Why, Who, and Which, aims to understand how interest in these important green infrastructures originated and developed, as well as the nature of such academic research. Special attention was paid to the way researchers approached plant selection. Furthermore, this review made a detailed quantitative evaluation of the growth in interest for such green infrastructures within the scientific literature, which began mainly in Europe around the middle of the last century before spreading to America and Asia, growing rapidly during recent decades. The main impulse behind the study of EGRs came from the fields of engineering and architecture, especially on the themes of thermal mitigation and runoff reduction. In decreasing order, we found the categories aimed at ecological and environmental issues, substrate, and pollution reduction. We also found little evidence of collaboration between different disciplines, with the result that botanical features generally receive little attention. Despite the ecological benefits of plants, not enough attention has been given to them in the literature, and their study and selection are often limited to Sedum species.
... Also, experts emphasized the use of green roofs and green walls in creating biodiversity, which is in line with other studies as well [8,45]. In fact, the design of public urban green spaces in the third dimension not only helps visual diversity with the help of different plants, but research shows that it can be useful in improving the ecosystem and creating biological diversity such as the presence of various insects and birds [49][50][51]. ...
... With urbanization being one of the major drives of environmental changes in the present century, habitat fragmentation and lack of habitat heterogeneity in urban areas have become a very powerful phenomenon which is driving to change the distribution and occurrence of insects (Tscharntke et al., 2002;Steffan-Dewenter and Schiele, 2008;Steckel et al., 2014;Montagnana et al., 2021). Roof tops provides a barren area that can be modified to form a habitat echelon which can be utilized by many organisms, mainly in the urban setup (Fernández and González, 2010). These urban artificial green patches have been found to provide a novel habitat for insects and other arthropods (MacIvor and Lundholm, 2011;Schindler et al., 2011;Williams et al., 2014;Steck et al., 2015;Gonsalves et al., 2022). ...
The wasp species Bembecinus proximus was described by Handlirsch (1892) but the type locality of the specimen remains inconclusive and was supposed to have been collected from Barrackpore, West Bengal, India. The species is known to be distributed in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and India, but the current status of the genus and the species in India remains uninvestigated since the last publication of the species by Krombein 1984. This species has been rediscovered from India after a span of more than three decades from an urban roof-top garden and its ecological role in the urban habitat has been briefly explored and explained. Ziziphus mauritiana has been first reported as its nectaring plant. The significance of these artificial green habitats for urban entomofaunal conservation has been highlighted.
সারাংশ
হ্যান্ডলির্শ (Handlirsch) দ্বারা বর্ণিত বেম্বেসিনাস প্রক্সিমাস (Bembecinus proximus) বোলতার প্রজাতিটির টাইপ নমুনাগুলির সংগ্রহস্থানের কোনো উল্লেখ পাওয়া যায় না, এবং সহায়ক তথ্যের ভিত্তিতে ধরে নেওয়া হয় যে নমুনাগুলি ভারতবর্ষের অন্তর্ভুক্ত পশ্চিমবঙ্গ রাজ্যের ব্যারাকপুর থেকেই সংগৃহীত। এই প্রজাতিটির পরিব্যাপ্তি মূলত সৌদি আরব, পাকিস্তান, নেপাল, শ্রীলঙ্কা এবং ভারতবর্ষে। সুবিপুল পরিব্যাপ্তি থাকা সত্ত্বেও, ভারতবর্ষ থেকে এই প্রজাতিটির শেষ সন্ধান মার্কিন বৈজ্ঞানিক ক্রোমবেইন (Krombein) পেয়ে থাকেন ১৯৮৪ সালে এবং তার পর থেকে কোনো ভারতীয় কীট-পতঙ্গ গবেষককে এই গোত্র তথা প্রজাতিটি নিয়ে বিশ্লেষণ বা বৈজ্ঞানিক পত্রিকা প্রকাশ করতে দেখা যায় নি। এই তথ্যের ভিত্তিতে বর্তমান এই প্রবন্ধটি বেম্বেসিনাস প্রক্সিমাস বোলতাটিকে ভারতবর্ষ তথা পশ্চিমবঙ্গের কলকাতা শহরের অন্তর্ভুক্ত আই-ফর-নেচার পরিবেশ বান্ধব ক্লাবের গবেষণামূলক ছাদবাগান থেকে তিন যুগেরও পর পুনঃআবিস্কার করার দাবি রাখে, যেখানে আনুষাঙ্গিক তথ্য হিসাবে বোলতাটির আকৃতিগত ও গঠনমূলক বৈশিষ্ট্য, বাস্তুসংস্থানসংক্রান্ত তাৎপর্য এবং সাধারণ স্বভাবের বর্ণনা করা হয়েছে।
... Green roofs, as Nature Based Solutions (NBS), are an important tool for environmental compensation and mitigation in the urban context. The benefits of green roofs mainly concern: rain water management [1,2], improving air quality [3,4], the reduction and mitigation of the urban heat island phenomenon [5][6][7][8][9][10], reducing sound propagation [11], increasing roof system's durability [12], the integration of new kinds of green infrastructures providing ecosystem services [13], improving photovoltaic panels performance [14,15], and biodiversity enrichment [16][17][18][19][20]. In addition, greening systems provide an alternative method of visual access for the occupied space [21]. ...
Sustainability brings together three dimensions: environment, economy and society, as according to the Agenda 21, a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally, and locally by organizations of the United Nations System, governments, and major groups in every area in which humans impact the environment. To define whether an intervention or process is ‘sustainable’, these spheres must co-exist and be equally contemplated. Green roofs have been extensively studied from environmental and economic perspectives, but as far as the social dimension is concerned, the literature is limited. Indeed, to define these interventions as ‘sustainable’, the social dimension must also be investigated. Over time, Social-Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA), an extension of the better-known Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), has become widespread. S-LCA allows assessing the potential impact that a production process, and consequently a product, can have on people. This paper aims to propose a model for analyzing green roofs by identifying the possible categories of stakeholders involved in the implementation process, and the impact categories to be referred to. By defining these elements, it is possible to estimate the positive or negative social impact that interventions cause. The results of the survey offer insights into social issues related to the implementation of green roofs by focusing on the stakeholders involved within the entire life cycle.
... , it is mainly the aerial compartment (81%), and more specifically plants (55%) (e.g.Bubnova et al., 2012;Chow et al., 2019;Lundholm and Williams, 2015), followed by aerial invertebrates (11% on butterflies, bees, wasps, flies) (e.g. Passaseo et al., 2020) and on vertebrates (4% on birds and bats)(Fernández Cañero and González Redondo, 2010; Partridge et al., 2020). Soil biodiversity is studied in only 7% of the studies (e.g. ...
In view of the demographic revolution and the rapid development of urban environments, the installation of green roofs could be a tool to ensure human well-being (e.g., heat island reduction, rainwater management), or to increase urban biodiversity. However, the relationships between biodiversity and green roofs are not yet clear and little research has looked into this. We therefore reviewed studies on the overall biodiversity of green roofs. Our review has shown that there is a lack of knowledge of the biodiversity of green roofs, with recent consideration. We highlighted the importance of green roof contribution, in maintaining urban biodiversity through three lines of research: characterization, modes of use and design. Furthermore, we found that there were very few studies on soil biodiversity on this topic. We concluded that green roof construction guidelines should integrate soil communities into their design and aim to be heterogeneous at roof and landscape level. Future research should focus on the diversification and redundancy of rooftop conditions in the urban matrix. This would increase the area of green habitats and the success of species dispersal in cities.
... Green roofs provide numerous benefits to the urban built environment and offer a set of environmental, social, economic, and urban benefits [18]. The most prominent are the mitigation of urban air and noise pollution and increased air quality [19,22], reduction of the urban heat island effect in cities [23], reduction of building energy consumption [24][25][26], reduction of stormwater runoff [27,28], increase of biodiversity and habitats [21,29,30], and provision of more spaces for amenity and recreation [21]. Some executed examples of green roofs are shown in Figure 2. The high heat of the external air in the summer is transmitted into the buildin through the roof, which requires the use of a significant amount of energy to condition the building's interior [32]. ...
This study focuses on highlighting the major effects and challenges being faced in the implementation of the green roof technique in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Green roofs have proven to be energy efficient, environment friendly, and economical in a long run. Due to the increasing global environment temperature, it has become necessary to implement such sustainable methods that help in the achievement of urban sustainability. Saudi Arabia has seen some reluctance in the implementation of green roofs in buildings. The reasons for not adopting this system have not been reported as yet. To study the level of awareness among the public and the challenges they are facing regarding green roofs, this study was taken up. A survey questionnaire was designed with a high level of flexibility covering the key issues, including the related areas that are affected in the daily life of a resident and also the challenges faced by the general public in the installation of such systems in their existing or new buildings. An extensive literature review and a reconnaissance survey were performed before shortlisting the major factors and challenges to be included in the survey questionnaire. An overwhelming response was received from the people of Riyadh City. Almost 94% of people agreed to the fact that green roofs enhance the aesthetics of the building, and the same number of people agreed that they play a role in controlling the air quality. On the other hand, 91% of the respondents identified the climate of the area as the biggest challenge in implementing green roofs on the buildings. The study concludes with strong recommendations for the local authorities to plan quick actions. The study shall help the building owners, city planners, and policy makers in identifying the major hurdles being faced by the residents in adopting green roofs and will help them to provide solutions to these issues.
... Bird similarity and geographic distance between cities show a negative correlation (47); using a similarity network based on SDMs (Fig. 5D), distant cities retain a high similarity in urbanization hot spots (Fig. 5C), which implies that the distance effect is weakened under urbanization. The quality of urbanized areas can be improved by building more green infrastructure, which offers an opportunity for restoring urban biodiversity (48,49). The normalized difference vegetation index is a widely used proxy for urban green infrastructure and has been found to be related to bird species richness (50). ...
Although cities are human-dominated systems, they provide habitat for many other species. Because of the lack of long-term observation data, it is challenging to assess the impacts of rapid urbanization on biodiversity in Global South countries. Using multisource data, we provided the first analysis of the impacts of urbanization on bird distribution at the continental scale and found that the distributional hot spots of threatened birds overlapped greatly with urbanized areas, with only 3.90% of the threatened birds’ preferred land cover type in urban built-up areas. Bird ranges are being reshaped differently because of their different adaptations to urbanization. While green infrastructure can improve local bird diversity, the homogeneous urban environment also leads to species compositions being more similar across regions. More attention should be paid to narrow-range species for the formulation of biodiversity conservation strategies, and conservation actions should be further coordinated among cities from a global perspective.
... Roof gardens act as an extensive pollinator friendly habitat in cities. Presence of flowering plants allow introduction to bees and other pollinators (Sutton and Lambrinos, 2015). Presence of bird bath, fountain or any water reservoir increase insect and bird movement (Fernandez and Gonzalez-Redondo, 2010). Hence these variables were added to pollination indicator list. ...
Urbanization is continually taking place in the cities. Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital and the world's 11th largest megacity, is no exception to this trend. Cities relying on natural ecosystems outside the city boundaries also benefit from internal urban ecosystems as well. Rooftop gardens have the potential to be excellent urban ecosystem stimulators and play a significant role in urban landscape planning and management. An experimental survey was conducted on twenty rooftop gardens from two metropolitan areas (Mohammadpur and Dhanmondi) of Dhaka city. The goal was to examine the four categories of ecosystem services: Provisioning, supporting, regulating and cultural, supplied by ecosystems within the Rooftop Gardens (RTGs) and to evaluate their performances by examining through a Rapid Assessment Checklist (RAC) tool. The RAC was consisted of 47 proxy indicators (33 qualitative and 14 quantitative indicators) directly or indirectly representing various dimensions of ecosystem services. From a maximum of 100, the average score of total ecosystem services was 50 ± 12 which could be considered as an intermediate performance in ecosystem services provision. The highest score 60 ± 14 was obtained from the cultural services and the lowest score 41 ± 13 was from provisioning services. The assessment of RTGES would allow stakeholders to identify the weak and strong points of the existing rooftop gardens for their management and improvement. A proper understanding of RTGES and integrated participation of gardeners and urban planners could contribute to designing ecosystem service based roof gardens for making human settlements ecologically sustainable.
... In a constructed ecosystem that mixtures of plant life-forms can strengthen green roofs performance [2], complex vegetation structure can enhance arthropod diversity [3]. Green roofs have a greater diversity of species than traditional roofs [4], they provide potential habitats for urban biodiversity conservation, and a large number of Invertebrates (arthropod, mollusc) and Chordates (reptile, birds) researches support this viewpoint [5][6][7]. Common species found on green roofs like spiders, beetles, bees, butterflies and so on, there are 236 species of Apidae alone in the world (151 in Europe, 72 in North America and 2 in Asia), eleven species have been recorded in Europe and North America [8]. Invertebrates on green roofs have many ecological benefits such as 'substrate stabilization', 'pollination', 'pest control', and 'enhanced food web' [9], researching pollination on roofs in particular have gradually increased in recent years ( Figure 1). ...
Bees provide a variety of ecological services for urban ecosystems, while green roofs can also be of high value to bees through providing habitats and foraging sites. In this study, four hypotheses about impacts on abundance and diversity of pollinators were proposed from the roof and the surrounding environment. The evidences revealed that the height of the building affected the diversity of some bee species; increasing proportions of surrounding green space helped to increase abundance of bees and wasps; the colonies of bees were significantly affected by habitat connectivity, a frequent movement of bees and other mobile insects between roofs and ground guaranteed pollination of plants; plentiful plants combination was better than a single species in roof ecosystem services, and native forbs were beneficial for pollinations and foraging of pollinators; using fine substrate on green roofs may have a greater ecological value than common soil.
... The green roof also supported a significantly higher level of avian diversity than the conventional roof. Around the globe, birds have been shown to use green roofs to hunt prey, as habitat and as locations to build nests [27]. Our results suggest that green roofs support urban avian biodiversity, aligning with previous work that has highlighted that urban green spaces are locations of significant conservation value [16,17]. ...
Urban green spaces can provide habitat and resources for urban dwelling fauna. Suburban green spaces occur most commonly as parks and roadside vegetation, but as human populations grow and space in cities becomes increasingly limited, space-efficient green solutions like green roofs and walls in metropolitan areas are becoming increasingly common. However, knowledge of the efficacy of these forms of green infrastructure in attracting and promoting biodiversity remains limited. To address this, we compared arthropod, gastropod, and avian species richness and diversity between green and conventional roofs on neighbouring and identical buildings in metropolitan Sydney, Australia. By monitoring local biodiversity using motion sensing camera traps and regular insect surveys, we found that the green roof supported four times the avian, over seven times the arthropod, and twice the gastro-pod diversity of the conventional roof. Only the green roof attracted locally rare species including blue banded bees (Amegilla Cingulata) and metallic shield bugs (Scutiphora pedicellata). Our results suggest that green roofs, like other urban green spaces, can have ecological significance by attracting and supporting urban fauna that may then add important functional capacities to previously depauperate spaces. This study demonstrates the potential for the widespread adoption of green roofs to create more biologically diverse cities.
... They are often inaccessible, thus offering an undisturbed habitat. Various species such as birds, spiders, bees and arthropods are observed on green roofs (Fernandez-Canero & Gonzalez-Redondo, 2010;Parkins & Clark, 2015;Williams et al., 2014). However, their richness and abundance are dependent on various factors such as plant diversity, proximity of green roofs to other green roofs or green spaces, height and area of the roof (Mayrand & Clergeau, 2018). ...
Improving biodiversity in urban areas is widely recognised as part of sustainable smart cities development framework. Due to unprecedented urbanisation, there is a lack of adequate green spaces which has in turn affected the urban biodiversity. Green roofs are argued to enhance and support the biodiversity by systematic inclusion into the urban ecological network. However, its connection to the existing natural ecological areas and connectivity are not discussed at a city scale. Thus, in this study, we aim at identifying the connectivity of potential areas for developing green roofs in strengthening the biodiversity and ecological network in cities. Altogether, we observe that the potential roofs are in the near proximity of these zones. The zones with dry lawns and meadows like environment are quite limited and spatially far from each other. Thus, developing green roofs can help in connecting these spaces. In this paper, we mainly focused on bees as they play an important role in pollination and are also declining in the urban areas. Further research can incorporate more detailed analysis on foraging distances of other species. A methodology can be developed to select which zones can be targeted for specific species.
... In humid weather, the adoption of GRs has the perceived disservice of attracting mosquitoes, though this risk is less than in gardens with open water bodies [155]. GRs can attract birds to the city, and while this could theoretically increase the chances for disease transfer to humans, such a risk has not been reported thus far [156]. Possible approaches to these issues may arise from existing strategies that have been adopted in parks and natural reserves [157,158]. ...
Water in the city is typically exploited in a linear process, in which most of it is polluted, treated, and discharged; during this process, valuable nutrients are lost in the treatment process instead of being cycled back and used in urban agriculture or green space. The purpose of this paper is to advance a new paradigm to close water cycles in cities via the implementation of nature-based solutions units (NBS_u), with a particular focus on building greening elements, such as green roofs (GRs) and vertical greening systems (VGS). The hypothesis is that such “circular systems” can provide substantial ecosystem services and minimize environmental degradation. Our method is twofold: we first examine these systems from a life-cycle point of view, assessing not only the inputs of conventional and alternative materials, but the ongoing input of water that is required for irrigation. Secondly, the evapotranspiration performance of VGS in Copenhagen, Berlin, Lisbon, Rome, Istanbul, and Tel Aviv, cities with different climatic, architectural, and sociocultural contexts have been simulated using a verticalized ET0 approach, assessing rainwater runoff and greywater as irrigation resources. The water cycling performance of VGS in the mentioned cities would be sufficient at recycling 44% (Lisbon) to 100% (Berlin, Istanbul) of all accruing rainwater roof–runoff, if water shortages in dry months are bridged by greywater. Then, 27–53% of the greywater accruing in a building could be managed on its greened surface. In conclusion, we address the gaps in the current knowledge and policies identified in the different stages of analyses, such as the lack of comprehensive life cycle assessment studies that quantify the complete “water footprint” of building greening systems.
... there is a high risk of nest predation). In fact, several species of terns use flat roofs for nesting worldwide (Fisk, 1978;Fernández-Canero and González-Redondo, 2010). In Europe, there are records of common terns (S. hirundo) nesting on roofs in Finland, Estonia, United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands and France (Source: https://www.birdlife. ...
The selection of anthropogenic habitat by wildlife as an ecological consequence of rural exodus: empirical examples
from Spain. The increasing urbanization of the landscape is a major component of global change worldwide.
However, it is puzzling that wildlife is selecting anthropogenic habitats despite the availability of apparently high–
quality semi–natural (i.e. less intensively modified) habitats. Definitive explanations for this process are still lacking.
We have previously suggested that colonization of the urban habitat is initially triggered by ecological processes
that take place outside urban areas as a consequence of past rural exodus. Here we present a diverse array
of examples of selection of several types of anthropogenic habitat by wildlife in Spain (including transportation
infrastructure, human–exclusion areas, urban areas under construction, cities, reservoirs, quarries and landfills)
in support of this idea. Wildlife is moving out of its historical ecological refuges and losing fear of harmless urban
humans. Mesopredators are rebounding by mesopredator release, due to ceased human persecution, and shrubs
and trees are claiming former agricultural habitats. Together, these factors force many species to move to urbanized
areas where they find open habitats, food associated with these habitats, and protection against predation.
Hence, the classical balance of costs and benefits that takes place once inside urban areas, would actually
be a second step of the process of colonization of urban areas. A better understanding of the initial triggers of
urban colonization could help us increase the biological value of human–made habitats for wildlife in the future.
... Green roofs bring several potential benefits including reduction of storm water runoff by retaining precipitation 13,14,16,17 , reduction of energy demand for the cooling of buildings 18,19 , mitigation of the urban microclimate 19,20 . Moreover, by supporting vegetation growth, they enhance sequestration of carbon dioxide and pollutants from the atmosphere 21,22 , reduce noise in buildings 23 , provide usable spaces for social activities and horticulture [24][25][26] and for wildlife habitat, especially birds and pollinators 27,28 . Because of these multiple benefits, green roofs can be an important urban management measure, meeting the aspirations of the European green deal on buildings renovation 29 . ...
Urban greening is an effective mitigation option for climate change in urban areas. In this contribution, a European Union (EU)-wide assessment is presented to quantify the benefits of urban greening in terms of availability of green water, reduction of cooling costs and CO 2 sequestration from the atmosphere, for different climatic scenarios. Results show that greening of 35% of the EU’s urban surface (i.e. more than 26,000 km ² ) would avoid up to 55.8 Mtons year ⁻¹ CO 2 equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions, reducing energy demand for the cooling of buildings in summer by up to 92 TWh per year, with a net present value (NPV) of more than 364 billion Euro. It would also transpire about 10 km ³ year ⁻¹ of rain water, turning into “green” water about 17.5% of the “blue” water that is now urban runoff, helping reduce pollution of the receiving water bodies and urban flooding. The greening of urban surfaces would decrease their summer temperature by 2.5–6 °C, with a mitigation of the urban heat island effect estimated to have a NPV of 221 billion Euro over a period of 40 years. The monetized benefits cover less than half of the estimated costs of greening, having a NPV of 1323 billion Euro on the same period. Net of the monetized benefits, the cost of greening 26,000 km ² of urban surfaces in Europe is estimated around 60 Euro year ⁻¹ per European urban resident. The additional benefits of urban greening related to biodiversity, water quality, health, wellbeing and other aspects, although not monetized in this study, might be worth such extra cost. When this is the case, urban greening represents a multifunctional, no-regret, cost-effective solution.
... Globally, research on the adoption of Green (vegetated) roofs (GRs) and their benefits to the urban residents is limited (Simmons et al., 2008;Fernández Cañero & González Redondo, 2010). Much of the scientific studies and literature on GRs that could be obtained for this research paper were based on the first world countries like Germany where the first study on green roof technology was published in 1850s (Köhler, 2008). ...
ABSTRACT
This research investigated green (vegetated) roofs in the city of Nairobi in terms of adoption and maintenance as part of the urban green spaces. The information drawn from worldwide studies show that vegetated roofs are integral in urban green spaces and urban infrastructure and has the potential to address the dynamic multifaceted environmental threats caused by urban population. These threats include reduced urban biodiversity, urban flash floods and impacts of changes in climate in the urban areas. This paper makes a general argument that the rooftops of the contemporary urban buildings can be used as green (vegetated) roofs. This would increase chances of having more green spaces in the city of Nairobi and solve the issue of loss of green spaces. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of adoption and management of green roofs in the city of Nairobi. The study’s specific objectives were; 1) to investigate the location, type and nature of green roofs in the city of Nairobi, 2) to establish how the city of Nairobi residents perceive the maintenance and adoption of green roofs in terms of (technology, costs, maintenance, and installation, 3) to review the existing policies, planning guidelines, regulations, and laws that discourage or encourage maintenance and adoption of green roofs in the city of Nairobi and, 4) to identify strategies and practices that can be pursued in the promotion of the adoption and maintenance of green roofs in the city of Nairobi. This research used case study research design whereby six case studies of accessible and available vegetated roofs were identified; 1) the Haveli Towers in Parklands, 2) the former Coca-Cola Building in Upper Hill, 3) the Swiss Embassy in Gigiri, 4) the French Embassy in Westlands, 5) the Morningside office in Kilimani, and 6) GTC in Westlands. The IEBC demarcation data was used in mapping the distribution of the green (vegetated) roof case studies across the city of viii Nairobi. Qualitative data was collected and analyzed based on this mapping. This study found that the existing urban policies neither do they promote nor discourage the adoption and maintenance of green (vegetated) roofs in the city of Nairobi. Therefore, the few green (vegetated) roofs installed in the city of Nairobi have been adopted without any specific government policy. Apart from the lack of urban legal framework, the study identified other barriers within the city of Nairobi that discourage the adoption of green (vegetated) roofs in the city of Nairobi; 1) Challenges in repair of GRs which make leak detections almost impossible, 2) lack of skilled manpower to install and maintain the green (vegetated) roofs, 3) high cost of both installation and management of the vegetated roofs. Further, this study found out that most residents of the city of Nairobi are not aware of the green (vegetated) roofs. The distribution of green (vegetated) roofs in the city of Nairobi was found to be uneven. Most of the case studies were found to be in the western part of the city of Nairobi. The study recommends; 1) provision of favorable policies, laws, planning guidelines as well as incentives by the Nairobi County government to encourage city of Nairobi residents and investors to adopt green (vegetated) roofs, 2) The issuance of EIA licenses by NEMA should include a condition to encourage the city developers to use a section of their rooftops as a green roof, 3) More research is to be done to quantify the challenges facing maintenance and adoption of green (vegetative) roofs in the city of Nairobi.
... In contrast, an intensive green roof is characterized by a deeper substrate, taller vegetation varieties, and therefore higher maintenance and usually more advanced irrigation systems. Green roofs have the potential to offer a wide range of benefits [26][27][28], such as: (i) stormwater management [29], since they absorb and hold rainfall, thereby preventing or at least mitigating flooding episodes, with the possibility of reusing the water retained for irrigation [30]; (ii) increase building insulation, keeping it warmer in the winter and cooler during summer, thereby reducing energy consumption [26,31]; (iii) mitigating the urban heat island effect [32,33]; (iv) sequestering air pollutants such as CO2 [34]; and (v) creating habitats for flora and fauna, mainly insects and birds [35][36][37]. They may also be partially noise absorptive. ...
Green roofs can be an innovative and effective way of mitigating the environmental impact of urbanization by providing several important ecosystem services. However, it is known that the performance of green roofs varies depending on the type of vegetation and, in drier climates, without resorting to irrigation, these are limited to xerophytic plant species and biocrusts. The aim of this research was therefore to compare differently vegetated green roofs planted with this type of vegetation. A particular focus was their ability to hold water during intense stormwater events and also the quality of the harvested rainwater. Six test beds with different vegetation compositions were used on the roof of a building in Lisbon. Regarding stormwater retention, the results varied
depending on the composition of the vegetation and the season. As for water quality, almost all the parameters tested were higher than the Drinking Water Directive from the European Union (EU) and Word Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for drinking-water quality standards for potable water. Based on our results, biocrusts and xerophytic vegetation are a viable green roof typology for slowing runoff during stormwater events.
... Table S1 Certain types of birds are confined to specific habitats such as agricultural fields, shrubs or forests, etc. These ranges of habitat provide different kinds of food, easy availability of water and mates for nesting or reproduction (Baschuk et al. 2012;Fernández Cañero and González Redondo 2010) thus are distributed heterogeneously. We observed a negative correlation of species richness with distance to the nearest water source (GLM; summer, r = -0.004, ...
Community structure of birds at different habitat types is underexplored in the montane environment of the central Himalaya. Therefore, this study explored bird community structure in different habitat types in Mardi Himal of the Annapurna Conservation Area, central Nepal, and tested the association of different feeding guilds with the habitats. Data on the avian richness and abundance were collected in the winter and the summer of 2019 by point count method along the elevational gradient in every 100 m rise and analyzed using ordination methods. A total of 673 individuals of 112 bird species from 35 families under 13 orders were recorded. Among the observed orders and families, the order Passeriformes (77 species) and family Muscicapidae (16 species) were the most dominant. A linear species accumulation curve was obtained in both seasons. Species richness and abundance were found higher at forest edges of mid-elevations and insectivores were the most abundant birds. Frugivorous and carnivorous birds showed no specific association with habitat types, whereas, insectivores and omnivores were more abundant in pastureland and forest, respectively. Our results revealed that the community composition of birds varies with the habitat types and their feeding specialization is one of the major determinants.
... Green roofs have largely shown to be capable of recreating a good habitat for many animal species, including insects and invertebrates (MacIvor and Ksiazek, 2015), pollinators such as urban bees (Colla et al., 2009) and birds (Baumann, 2006;Fernández Cañero and González, 2010). The choice of the plants is very important for the creation of a suitable habitat for different species. ...
Green roofs are strategic tools that can play a significant role in the creation of sustainable and resilient cities. They have been largely investigated thanks to their high retention capacity, which can be a valid support to mitigate the pluvial flood risk and to increase the building thermal insulation, ensuring energy saving. Moreover, green roofs contribute to restoring vegetation in the urban environment, increasing the biodiversity and adding aesthetic value to the city. The new generation of multilayer green roofs present an additional layer with respect to traditional ones, which allows rainwater to be stored, which, if properly treated, can be reused for different purposes. This paper offers a review of benefits and limitations of green roofs, with a focus on multilayer ones, within a Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem nexus context. This approach enables the potential impact of green roofs on the different sectors to be highlighted, investigating also the interactions and interconnections among the fields. Moreover, the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem nexus approach highlights how the installation of traditional and multilayer green roofs in urban areas contributes to the Development Goals defined by the 2030 Sustainable Agenda.
... Nonetheless, the consistent decrease in pollen dispersal we observed with increasing distance from the pollen donor suggests pollen dispersal patterns and overall gene flow in urban populations may be broadly similar to populations growing in less-urban areas. The results of our study add to the limited research on pollen dispersal patterns in urban environments (e.g., Van Rossum et al., 2013;Noreen et al., 2016;Diniz et al., 2019), as well as on the ecology of green roof sites (e.g., Fernandez-Canero and Gonzalez-Redondo, 2010;John et al., 2014;Aloisio et al., 2017). Specifically, our study adds to research on pollinators, pollen dispersal, and gene flow on green roofs (Ksiazek-Mikenas et al., 2019;Wu, 2019). ...
Premise:
Pollen dispersal, the main component of overall plant gene flow, generally decreases with increasing distance from the pollen source, but the pattern of this relationship may differ among sites. Although site-based differences in pollen dispersal may lead to over- or underestimation of gene flow, no studies have investigated pollen dispersal patterns among differing urban site types, despite the incongruent range of habitats in urban areas.
Methods:
We used paternity assignment to assess pollen dispersal patterns in a wind-pollinated species (waterhemp; Amaranthus tuberculatus) and in an insect-pollinated species (tomato; Solanum lycopersicum) in experimental arrays at four disparate sites (two roof-level sites, two ground-level sites) in the New York (New York, USA) metropolitan area.
Results:
The number of seeds or fruits, a proxy for the number of flowers pollinated, decreased with increasing distance from the pollen donors at all sites for both species. However, the mean number of Amaranthus tuberculatus seeds produced at a given distance differed two-fold among sites, while the slope of the relationship between Solanum lycopersicum fruit production and distance differed by a factor of four among sites.
Conclusions:
Pollen dispersal patterns may differ substantially among sites, both in the amount of pollen dispersed at a given distance and in the proportional decrease in pollen dispersal with increasing distance, and these effects may act independently. Accordingly, the capacity of plant species to adapt to climate change and other selection pressures may be different from predictions based on pollen dispersal patterns at a single location.
... Green roofs, although not equivalent to natural habitats, can contribute to mitigating the loss of ecosystems in urban areas. Green roof potential in conserving habitats for birds is highlighted by Canero, R. Fernandez and Redondo (2010) and Marinelli (2006). Marinelli (2006) observed the ability of green roofs to conserve fully protected and rare breeding birds such as the black redstart. ...
Climate change is a threat to the world. Problems resulting from climate
change such as global warming, floods, environmental pollution, high carbon
dioxide emissions, and loss of biodiversity may be solved by the
implementation of green roofs. Green roof benefits the environment, economy,
aesthetics, and recreation, and proven through studies conducted
from around the world. This paper reviews the existing literature on green roof
benefits and performance and specifically focuses on their potential to address
climate change issues. A review of significant literature on green roof
performance and benefits is the method of this study. From the review, it is
proven that green roofs have the potential to reduce problems related to climate
change. The depth of a green roof substrate is a key factor that can optimize
potential benefits. Thus, intensive types of green roofs provide a significant
contribution towards reducing storm water runoff; mitigate the urban heat
island effect and pollution; increased biodiversity; and carbon sequestration.
Local research is highly encouraged in mitigating climate change because the
optimal performance of green roofs is subject to local climate and conditions.
... Furthermore, in urban environments, vegetation of vegetated roofs are able to absorb small air pollutants through the leaves' stomata, thus, improving the air quality [16][17][18]. Finally, vegetated roofs provide habitat space for birds [19,20] and insects [21,22] and provide a visually pleasant environment [23,24]. ...
Vegetated roof systems can act as absorbers to mitigate traffic noise. Various properties of vegetated
roofs, such as open porosity, are important for sound absorption and scattering in urban environments.
Substratum has been identified as the major contributor to the acoustic absorption of vegetated roofs.
However, the coverage of the substratum by plants may have a significant effect on its acoustic absorption. Most existing studies on the determination of the acoustic absorption of vegetated roofs are based
either on laboratory experiments or numerical models. So far, little research has focused on the prediction of vegetated roofs’ impedance based on in-situ measurements. This research modified the existing
Nordtest Method for measurements at vegetated roofs. It was modified to an extended reacting
double-layer medium with a variable reference surface, surface roughness was included and the threeparameter Miki impedance model was used. Using measurements on four different in-situ green roofs,
a good agreement between measured and predicted results was obtained with the modified Nordtest
Method. Finally, some simplifications in the modified Nordtest Method were found to reduce the complexity of the prediction without sacrificing accuracy too much
... There are many benefits that diverse plantings on green roofs can provide, specifically when local native species are the main plantings or when they supplement traditional plantings of Sedum and other succulent species. For example, green roofs planted to mimic local natural habitats can attract many species of birds (Bumann 2006, Brenneisen 2006, Fernandez-Canero and Gonzalez-Redondo 2010 and insects (Colla and Willis 2009, Kadas 2006, Ksiazek et al. 2012, Tonietto et al. 2011) which may use the roofs for nesting, mating, or foraging sites and may serve as components of larger migration corridors. Plantings of native species such as grasses and forbs are more effective at retaining stormwater than succulent species (Dunnett et al. 2008, MacIvor and and contribute positively to overall ecosystem function (Lundholm and MacIvor 2010). ...
... For some buildings, thermal mass increased by thick substrate layers on the building and the downward movement of heat leads to higher cooling costs [37]. If green roofs are located too high above the ground, they can offer ecological traps for many species [38] or attract nuisance wildlife [39]. ...
Green roofs have received much attention in recent years due to their ability to retain rainwater, increase urban diversity, and mitigate climate change in cities. This interdisciplinary study was carried out on three historical green roofs covering bunkers in Wrocław, located in southwestern Poland. It presents the results of a three-year investigation of the water storage of these roofs. The study also presents soil conditions and spontaneous vegetation after their functioning for over 100 years. The soils covering the bunkers are made of sandy, sandy-loam, and loamy-sand deposits. This historical construction ensures good drainage and runoff of rainwater, and is able to absorb torrential rainfall ranging from 100 to 150 mm. It provides suitable conditions for vegetation growth, and forest communities with layers formed there. In their synanthropic flora, species of European deciduous forests dominate, which are characteristic of fresh or moist and eutrophic soils with a neutral reaction. Some invasive species, such as Robinia pseudoacacia, Padus serotina, and Impatiens parviflora, also occur with high abundance. Nowadays, historical green roofs on fortifications, although they have lost their primary military role, are of historical and natural value. These roofs can promote the nonmilitary functions of historical fortifications in order to strengthen the ties between nature and heritage. Protecting and monitoring historical green roofs should be included in the elements of the process of sustainable development and the conservation of these structures in order to mitigate climate change in the outskirts of the city. For this, it is necessary to ensure proper conservational protection, which, in addition to maintaining the original structure, profiles, and layout of the building, should include protection of their natural value.
... Insect pollinators are important indicators of biodiversity across land uses including urban environments, while beekeeping contributes directly to food production (Tommasi et al., 2004;Broadway, 2009;Plakias, 2016;Bretzel et al., 2017;Hall et al., 2017). Studies of green roofs report that management, plant selection, and substrate properties have strong influence on species composition and abundance for wild flora, birds, invertebrates, and the substrate microbial community, emphasizing the need of empirical studies specific to rooftop farming Dvorak and Volder, 2010;Fernández Cañero and González Redondo, 2010;McGuire et al., 2013McGuire et al., , 2015Williams et al., 2014;MacIvor and Ksiazek, 2015;Bretzel et al., 2017;Ksiazek et al., 2018;Aloisio et al., 2019). ...
Urban green infrastructure includes both natural inputs and artificial supplements, including irrigation, synthetic substrates, and drainage layers. Green infrastructure aims to make cities more resilient and less dependent on outside resource inputs through more efficient use. Over the past 2 decades, these constructed ecosystems have expanded to include green roofs, elevated urban parks, and rooftop vegetable farms. This paper outlines opportunities and challenges for advancing the science of these constructed ecosystems with particular emphasis on rooftop agriculture. Although in concept rooftop agriculture could contribute to urban food security, water management, and biodiversity, research comparing design and management strategies across climate zones and regional economies is necessary to fully integrate ecological understanding into urban planning policy.
Because of the immense amount of infrastructure in cities, the introduction of vegetation into these constructions is expected to play a critical role in reducing the heat island effect, in mitigating the effects of climate change, and in supporting habitat connectivity and associated biodiversity. Although there is the perception that these solutions can improve the biodiversity of cities, their real value is still unclear. This paper focuses on two aspects of urban greening: green roofs and green walls. It provides a systematic review on biodiversity present in green roofs and walls, through an exhaustive worldwide literature analysis. Arthropods, bats, and birds were the three taxonomic groups analyzed in the papers included in our review. We observed a strong increase in the number of recent publications, thus demonstrating a growing interest in this topic. In summary, we found that green roofs/walls offered additional opportunities for plants and animals to thrive in urban environments because of habitat creation and greater spatial connectivity. In addition, the enhancement of other ecosystem services such as stormwater management and heat island mitigation was noted. By incorporating green features into urban design and planning, cities can support biodiversity while also improving the overall sustainability and livability of urban spaces.
Green roofs (GRs) belong to the third type of NbS, namely, the creation of new ecosystems synthetically defined as surfaces detached from the ground, spontaneously colonised by plants, or intentionally greened. Their strength lies in the multiple benefits (co-benefits) they offer to single buildings and the urban environment as a whole: from the absorption of air pollutants and the reduction of energy consumption in buildings to the provision of biodiversity. Concerning the latter service, if GRs are designed according to the principle of restoration ecology following the habitat template approach, they can play a key role as stepping stones to becoming part of the urban ecological network and the urban green infrastructure. Conceiving GRs as landscapes instead of flat homogeneous surfaces will improve biodiversity, for example, by varying substrate type and thickness, adding small temporary ponds and foreseeing areas with scattered vegetation. Among others, a way to select plant species and communities for green roofs is to take the phytosociological classification as a template given by the characteristic, diagnostic and recurrent species of natural stands. An accurate preliminary site analysis is essential to select the proper natural template and to replicate the edaphic conditions characterising it.
Urban ecosystems play a crucial role in providing a wide range of services to their inhabitants, and their functioning is deeply intertwined with the effects of climate change. The present review explores the dynamic interplay between urban ecosystem services and climate change, highlighting the reciprocal relationships, impacts, and adaptation strategies associated with these phenomena. The urban environment, with its built infrastructure, green spaces, and diverse human activities, offers various ecosystem services that enhance the well-being and resilience of urban dwellers. Urban ecosystems offer regulatory services like temperature control, air quality upkeep, and stormwater management, plus provisioning like food and water.They also provide cultural benefits, promoting recreation and community unity. However, climate change poses significant challenges to urban ecosystem services. Rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and increased frequency of extreme weather events can disrupt the functioning of urban ecosystems, impacting the provision of services. Heatwaves and urban heat island effects can compromise human health and energy demands, while changes in rainfall patterns can strain stormwater management systems and lead to flooding. Moreover, climate change can disrupt biodiversity and ecological processes, affecting the overall resilience and sustainability of urban ecosystems. To address these challenges, cities are adopting various adaptation strategies that recognize the interdependence between urban ecosystems and climate change. Green infrastructure interventions, such as the creation of urban parks, green roofs, and community gardens, aim to mitigate the impacts of climate change by enhancing the regulation of temperature, improving air quality, and reducing stormwater runoff. Additionally, urban planning and design approaches prioritize compact and walkable neighbourhoods, promoting public transportation and reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Furthermore, engaging communities in the management of urban ecosystems and climate change adaptation measures is crucial for ensuring equitable distribution of ecosystem services and building social resilience. Therefore, the review article highlights a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic interrelationship between urban ecosystem services and climate change and their implications. By recognizing and integrating the contributions of urban ecosystems, cities can develop sustainable and resilient strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change, ensuring the well-being and habitability of urban environments for present and future generations.
Rapid urbanization is among the factors that decrease insect diversity. However, by offering suitable habitats, green roofs could lessen this adverse effect. Certain factors, like a nearby public garden, could be useful predictor variables to analyze
to what extent green roofs can support insect communities. The study aimed to measure the insect diversity on intensive green roofs located near public gardens and on more isolated green roofs, within an urban setting. Insect species richness,
abundance, and assemblages on the green roofs near public gardens differed from those on isolated green roofs. Results indicate that green roofs near public gardens will host more species, especially pollinators, consequently lessening urbanization’s
negative effect. To properly understand how landscape factors impact insect communities on green roofs, future studies on green roofs’ biodiversity should consider public gardens and their influence on urban biodiversity.
Future climatic scenarios forecast increases in average temperatures as well as in the frequency, duration, and intensity of extreme events, such as heatwaves. Whereas behavioral adjustments can buffer direct physiological and fitness costs of exposure to excessive temperature in wild animals, these may prove more difficult during specific life stages when vagility is reduced (e.g., early developmental stages). By means of a nest cooling experiment, we tested the effects of extreme temperatures on different stages of reproduction in a cavity-nesting Mediterranean bird of prey, the lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni), facing a recent increase in the frequency of heatwaves during its breeding season. Nest temperature in a group of nest boxes placed on roof terraces was reduced by shading them from direct sunlight in 2 consecutive years (2021 and 2022). We then compared hatching failure, mortality, and nestling morphology between shaded and non-shaded (control) nest boxes. Nest temperature in control nest boxes was on average 3.9°C higher than in shaded ones during heatwaves, that is, spells of extreme air temperature (>37°C for ≥2 consecutive days) which hit the study area during the nestling-rearing phase in both years. Hatching failure markedly increased with increasing nest temperature, rising above 50% when maximum nest temperatures exceeded 44°C. Nestlings from control nest boxes showed higher mortality during heatwaves (55% vs. 10% in shaded nest boxes) and those that survived further showed impaired morphological growth (body mass and skeletal size). Hence, heatwaves occurring during the breeding period can have both strong lethal and sublethal impacts on different components of avian reproduction, from egg hatching to nestling growth. More broadly, these findings suggest that the projected future increases of summer temperatures and heatwave frequency in the Mediterranean basin and elsewhere in temperate areas may threaten the local persistence of even relatively warm-adapted species.
Green roof retrofits offer a promising avenue to increase greenspace and thus biodiversity in the city. The successful colonisation and establishment of plants and animals on green roofs is limited by the location and context of the green roof. Here we use a before, after, control, impact (BACI) design to monitor the colonisation of a new retrofit roof in Melbourne CBD. We find that colonisation for some taxa occurs rapidly, with honeybees (Apis mellifera) arriving four days after flowers had been planted. Other insect taxa, such as native bees, did not colonise the impact roof but were present on the green roof reference site, which was lower in height and planted with native plants. Invertebrate abundance increased for all sites after the retrofit was built, however this sampling period was in late spring when more insects are expected to be active. Bird richness and abundance didn’t change in response to roof greening, but invertebrate richness was significantly higher on reference sites and increased after the green roof retrofit was built for the impact site. There was an apparent ‘spill over’ effect onto the nearby green roof control, which also increased in invertebrate diversity. Overall, invertebrate composition across roof types was driven by floral density. Floral density and richness increased on the impact roof as vegetation matured, subsequently correlating with higher abundance and richness of invertebrates. We use these findings to discuss colonisation of green roofs and argue for strategic placement of new green roof retrofits to maximise their biodiversity potential.
La urbanización ha transformado el paisaje e impactado ecosistemas del planeta. Para brindar evidencia científica que permita manejar el ambiente urbano para conservar aves, evaluamos las respuestas de la comunidad de aves a variables del hábitat local y del paisaje en la ciudad de Santiago, Chile. Evaluamos 118 sitios de 1 km2 distribuidos en la ciudad, que variaron en porcentaje de cobertura y agregación de vegetación leñosa. En cada sitio registramos aves y variables ambientales en cuatro puntos de muestreo en época reproductiva y no reproductiva. Con índices comunitarios (diversidad de Shannon y equitatividad de Pielou) cuantificamos el efecto de las variables del paisaje (porcentaje de cobertura y agregación de vegetación leñosa en 1 km2) sobre la comunidad de aves. Luego, identificamos gremios de aves categorizados según dieta, sustrato de forrajeo, sustrato del nido y tamaño corporal. Utilizando análisis de correspondencia canónica observamos las relaciones entre los gremios de aves y variables ambientales cuantificadas a escala local y de paisaje. Registramos 42 especies de aves. Encontramos una comunidad de aves más diversa y equitativa a mayor cobertura y agregación de vegetación leñosa en el paisaje. Aves granívoras y forrajeadoras de suelo dominaron el ensamble, asociándose positivamente con variables del ambiente construido. La cobertura vegetal a escala local y de paisaje tuvo efectos positivos sobre la mayoría de los gremios identificados, incluyendo aves que se alimentan de invertebrados, omnívoros, carnívoros, nectarívoros, forrajeadores de la vegetación, nidificadores en la vegetación, nidificadores en suelo, parásitos de nido y aves medianas y muy grandes. Nuestros resultados demuestran que la comunidad de aves responde a variables ambientales a escala local y de paisaje. Una mayor cobertura vegetal en ciudades contribuiría a una mayor diversidad y equitatividad de la comunidad de aves, promoviendo la abundancia de diferentes gremios, incluyendo aquellos sensibles al ambiente construido.
We human beings are becoming urban citizens. More and more people spend their lives in urban environments, so that the conservation and improvement of urban biodiversity is an increasingly hot topic. On the one hand, as cities grow bigger and more populated they can become more hostile for some birds, but cities can also be safer than the surrounding rural environment for others. On the other hand, factors affecting negatively or positively wild birds may also influence human’s health, either directly (e.g. pollution) or indirectly (enjoying wildlife diversity could contribute to improve our wellbeing). We review current state of knowledge on factors determining the abundance, diversity and health of urban birds, and derive methods for diagnosing what factors are acting in each particular case. Diagnoses are essential to design effective and efficient ways to manage urban bird diversity and improve it adaptively. We also address whether factors affecting birds could affect citizenship directly, so that urban birds can be used as indicators for healthy urban environments. Investigating and improving urban bird life can also improve human wellbeing through people’s involvement on citizen science programs. Monitoring approaches taken by both authorities and NGOs are still too general and badly designed, but collaboration among scientist, volunteers and authorities will contribute to make them effective. Improving citizen involvement will in turn contribute to improve urban bird diversity, closing a win-win loop for both people and wildlife wellbeing.
Installing green roofs and green walls in urban areas is suggested to supply multiple ecosystem services of benefit to human health and well-being. In a three-step literature review, we examined current knowledge on the link between public health and green roofs and green walls. A systematic search identified 69 scientific articles on green roofs/walls with a public health discourse. These articles were categorized according to type of health path covered (reduction of temperature, air pollution, noise or environmental appraisal) and coverage of issues of relevance for strategies on planning, design/construction, and maintenance of green roofs and green walls. Articles identified through the structured search were complemented with reviews (with no explicit public health rationale) covering reduction of noise, temperature, or air pollution and environmental appraisal. Other relevant studies were identified through snowballing. Several of the articles provided guidelines for optimizing the effect of green roofs/walls in supporting ecosystem services and maximizing well-being benefits to support health pathways identified. These included specifications about planning issues, with recommended spatial allocation (locations where people live, sun-exposed for maximum ambient temperature reduction) and with physical access needed for environmental appraisal. Recommendations regarding design parameters covered substrate depth (deeper generally being better), plant choices (more diverse roofs providing more services), and maintenance issues (moist substrate positively correlated with heat reduction).
This study aims to estimate the extent to which vegetation can encourage the presence of birds in the urban city area. Forest area, urban plantation, grove area, and residential area are The Muhammad Sabki Urban Forest location for bird and plant observed in some circular plots (r=25 m) in the morning and afternoon. Bird directly and identified using a field guide and marked plant species immediately identified using the Plantamor website. The data were analyzed using the Shannon-Wiener Index (H’), The Margalef Index (Dmg), and some using Correlative and regression analysis with IBM SPSS Statistics 28. The results obtained 23 species and a total of 534 individual birds from all observed urban space habitats. All Shannon-Wiener Index (H’) values in each studied habitat type showed a moderate diversity level and low species richness (Dmg). There are 22 plant species that have been identified as places of bird activity. Correlation analysis of the number of plant species on bird species and the number of bird species on bird individuals shows a strong relationship. However, regression analysis shows that the partially analyzed variables have no significant effect, so additional values are needed from other factors.
Cities are considered hotspots of biodiversity due to their high number of habitats such as ruderal areas, wastelands and masonry works hosting peculiar biocoenoses. Urban biodiversity represents a challenging and paradigmatic case for contemporary ecology and nature conservation because a clear distinction between nature reserves and anthropogenic lands is becoming obsolete. In this context, extensive green roofs may represent suitable habitat for ground-nesting birds and wild plants, providing suitable conditions occur. In this paper, case studies are used to show how existing extensive green roofs can be improved in order to make them function as replacement habitat for endangered ground-nesting birds. The setup of an uneven topography, combined with hay spreading and seed sowing, significantly enhanced the reproductive performance of the northern lapwing ( Vanellus vanellus ), one of the most endangered ground-nesting birds in Switzerland.
With global populations becoming increasingly urbanized, green infrastructure (GI) is progressively being recognized as a sustainable approach to mitigating urban environmental problems. Unlike traditional ‘hard’ engineering approaches that historically viewed problems in isolation and solutions in singular terms, implementation of GI promises some deferment from the effects of urbanization by providing a multitude of benefits such as reduced stormwater runoff and flooding, decreased heat waves, and enlivened local environments and ecological habitats. These benefits are important considering many cities are projected to be more vulnerable to the effects of urbanization with climate change, especially as the vast amount of the global population lives in coastal urban environments. However, the diversity of GI benefits has not been fully characterized, and they are increasingly applied in residential settings. Furthermore, current research has not fully explored the beneficial role of GI in achieving sustainable and resilient communities. Using an Integrated Water: Energy Monitoring System measuring meteorological, water, and energy fluxes over two years (July 2014-June 2016) on a sustainable home in Rockville, Maryland, U.S., the following objectives were explored: (1) Examined how a sloped modular extensive green roof, constructed wetland and bioretention designed in-series affected site hydrology. Furthermore, we studied the effect of season, antecedent substrate water content, storm characteristics (size, intensity, frequency), and vegetation development (green roof only) on hydrological performance. (2) Characterized the seasonal thermal performance of the green roof (to the building and surrounding environment) relative to the cool roof. Evaluated how green roof thermal performance related to evapotranspiration, solar reflectance (albedo) and thermal conductance (U-value). Additionally, the effect of substrate water content, vegetation development, and microclimate on evapotranspiration, albedo and U-values was assessed. (3) Green roof evapotranspiration was measured and compared to values predicted with the FAO-56 Penman-Monteith model. Furthermore, the effects of substrate water content, vegetation characteristics and microclimate on evapotranspiration rates was also evaluated. (4) Finally, using emergy theory, GI sustainability and resilience relative to a gray wastewater system and natural forest was explored.
Sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS), or urban green infrastructure for stormwater control, emerged for more sustainable management of runoff in cities and provide other benefits such as urban mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Research in Spain began a little over twenty years ago, which was later than in other European countries, and it began in a heterogeneous way, both in the SUDS typology and spatially within the peninsular geography. The main objective of this work has been to know through bibliographic review the state of the art of scientific research of these systems and their relationship with the different types of climates in the country. These structures have a complex and sensitive dependence on the climate, which in the Iberian Peninsula is mostly type B and C (according to the Köppen classification). This means little water availability for the vegetation of some SUDS, which can affect the performance of the technique. To date, for this work, research has focused mainly on green roofs, their capabilities as a sustainable construction tool, and the performance of different plant species used in these systems in arid climates. The next technique with the most real cases analyzed is permeable pavements in temperate climates, proving to be effective in reducing flows and runoff volumes. Other specific investigations have focused on the economic feasibility of installing rainwater harvesting systems for the laundry and the hydraulic performance of retention systems located specifically in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula. On the contrary, few scientific articles have appeared that describe other SUDS with vegetation such as bioretention systems or green ditches, which are characteristic of sustainable cities, on which the weather can be a very limiting factor for their development.
Green roofs and green walls are effective resilient and adaptive solutions that provide multiple ecosystem services when implemented in urban environments. In the past years, research efforts have been made to understand the real value of these solutions. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive calculation of the economic merit of green roofs and walls, which have restricted the decision-making process. The objective of this study is to provide a state-of-the art of green infrastructure economics, namely, to identify research methods, summarize range values for each green system and highlight research gaps. A systematic review with a particular focus on green roofs and walls is conducted as well as a qualitative and quantitative analysis of 79 scientific articles. Overall findings suggest that green infrastructure is preferable to traditional alternatives. Financial performance is typically low, quite often negative. However, economic evaluation improves when adding ecological and social benefits. The current weight of evidence suggests that balancing costs against benefits plays a significant role in the implementation of green infrastructure. However, this evidence is still not clear as studies have been reporting contradictory results. Firstly, the listed benefits are not always supported with empirical data, especially intangible ones, where valuation can be extremely difficult. Also, there seems to be a lack of awareness about the multiple benefits and co-benefits of green infrastructure as studies analyze just a few in-depth. Thus, the full potential of green infrastructure is not fully exploited. Secondly, results depend on the dynamic behavior of green roofs and walls. A wide range of possible values for the benefits and costs come out of different study conditions, depending on the influence of design characteristics and external factors on systems performance. Lastly, research methods are not systematically laid out. All this hampers the discussion and comparison of results and further progress. This review is expected to contribute to the body of knowledge on green infrastructure, by helping to set general guidelines to assess their value, identify research gaps and, thus, better support the decision-making process of greening the built environment. Current analyses focus primarily on the most acknowledged benefits, but also extrapolation of results from previous modeling. Future research should be inclusive and based on local studies, using a more collaborative and interdisciplinary approach.
This chapter investigates the theoretical background of environmental and ecological factors that can be used to inform the design of ecoregional green roofs. Ecoregions are defined by major or minor delineations of plant communities and their interactions with other resident or transient organisms. By observing and learning how native vegetation adapts and thrives in its natural settings, green roof researchers, educators, and designers can learn how to make decisions about the resourceful use of native vegetation on green roofs. This chapter discusses how green roofs must respond to environmental factors such as heat stress, drought, and varied slope and soil conditions, and how these factors can inform the design of green roofs with native vegetation. The chapter ends with a discussion regarding how ecoregions are defined in this book and are employed in the case studies in Part II of this book.
The purpose of this chapter is to discuss critically, based on a review of recent literature on the topic, the challenges faced by urban tourism destinations with regards to eTourism and new technologies.
Iswandaru D, Novriyanti N, Banuwa IS, Harianto SP. 2020. Distribution of bird communities in University of Lampung, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 2629-2637. University of Lampung (UNILA), Indonesia holds a variety of potential biodiversity, especially birds, species that are sensitive to environmental changes. It is necessary to detect early bird communities spread across UNILA before the physical of this higher institution of education (including vegetation distribution that supplies birdlife) begins to change even further. The method used is the Field Method and Concentration Count Method. Research and Experimental Garden (ST1), Integrated Field Laboratory (ST2), Soccer Field (ST3), Deer Breeding (ST4), Arboretum and Green Lane (ST5) were observed for 2 months. The results showed that 37 bird species from 21 families and 8 orders were spread in each study location. The Passeriformes group dominated in all five study sites with the number of species and the number of families reaching 57% of all species found. Most bird communities (individuals, species, and families) can be found in the Integrated Field Laboratory (ST2) compared to the other four locations. Diversity index numbers (H '), Evenness (E), and Dominance (D) types at this location also support it even though the overall results of the analysis show that the distribution of bird species is evenly distributed and that no bird species dominate in community building.
Vacant spaces, such as unplanted, unmanaged, or infrequently accessed green roofs, may play a critical role in sustaining biodiversity in cities. Initial plant composition of these spaces likely is contingent on seed dispersal and growing medium, yet no studies have directly characterized the effects of location or growing medium depth on plant diversity of unplanted green roofs. To address this gap, we studied first-year community composition of five unplanted green roofs in New York City (NY, USA). On each roof, 12 plots were established with media depths ranging from 5 to 13 cm. Four months after installation, all plants were harvested. We observed 29 species across locations; five species were found on all five roofs, while 13 species each were observed on a single roof. Introduced species accounted for 14 of the 29 species found across roofs. Species richness and composition differed among roofs, while functional richness varied within, but not among, roofs. About 80% of the variation in species richness was accounted for by total green space in the neighborhoods within 100 to 200 m of each roof. Functional richness and plant cover increased with increased growing medium depth, as did the relative abundance of annual and forb species. Our results suggest both location and growing medium depth will affect initial community composition of unmanaged green roofs, but with differential effects on community assembly. These results also highlight the potential role of unmanaged vacant roofs as reservoirs of plant diversity, both native and invasive, in urban spaces.
Green roofs (roofs with a vegetated surface and substrate) provide ecosystem services in urban areas, including improved storm-water management, better regulation of building temperatures, reduced urban heat-island effects, and increased urban wildlife habitat. This article reviews the evidence for these benefits and examines the biotic and abiotic components that contribute to overall ecosystem services. We emphasize the potential for improving green-roof function by understanding the interactions between its ecosystem elements, especially the relationships among growing media, soil biota, and vegetation, and the interactions between community structure and ecosystem functioning. Further research into green-roof technology should assess the efficacy of green roofs compared to other technologies with similar ends, and ultimately focus on estimates of aggregate benefits at landscape scales and on more holistic cost-benefit analyses.
Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) conjunctivitis is an example of the rapid geographic spread that can result from disease emergence in naive populations. That event was neither novel nor transient relative to its occurrence or effects. Disease emergence and reemergence are hallmarks of the latter part of the twentieth century (Center for Disease Control 1994, Levins et al. 1994, DaSilva and Laccarino 1999, Gratz 1999). Current examples involving domestic animals include the problems in Europe with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or ‘‘mad cow disease’’) (Brown 2001) and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) (Kitching 1999). Human health has been affected by diseases caused by an array of viruses (Morse 1993, Nichol et al. 1993, Murphy and Nathanson 1994), bacteria (Dennis 1998, DaSilva and Laccarino 1999), rickettsia (Walker and Dumier 1996, Azad et al. 1997), protozoans (Tuerrant 1997, Saini et al. 2000), and metazoan parasites (Hildreth et al. 1991, Gubler 1998), as well as other causes. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has received the most notoriety of those diseases (Hahn et al. 2000, Schwartlander et al. 2000). A similar pattern exists on a global scale for free-ranging wildlife populations (Table 1) (Friend 1994, 1995; Epstein et al. 1998, Daszak et al. 2000). However, in comparison to disease emergence affecting humans and domestic animals, response to emerging diseases of wildlife is generally superficial. We present concepts and data to support our contention that failure to adequately address disease emergence in free-ranging wildlife is resulting in a diminished capability to achieve and sustain desired geographic distributions and population abundance for species of wild birds, including some threatened and endangered avifauna.
Bird species in Switzerland are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation due to increasing urbanization. New research is showing that green roofs can provide food habitat for some bird species. But little research has been done on the potential of green roofs for providing nesting locations for birds, particularly ground-nesting species. This preliminary two-year study (part of a larger, multiyear project) examined the breeding success of the little ringed plover (Charadrius dubius) and northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) on flat green roofs in five sites in Switzerland surrounded by varied levels of development. Results show that northern lapwings have begun to breed consistently, though as of yet unsuccessfully, on some green roofs. Because the observation time was short, the available data are incomplete. Nonetheless, they show certain tendencies with regard to the habitat selection and behavior of young and adult birds—important information that can be applied to future research and green roof design.
The extent and continued expansion of urbanisation has focused attention on the significance for native biodiversity of those green spaces remaining within such areas and the most appropriate methods of managing them. In the UK, a high proportion of urban space is comprised of the private or domestic gardens associated with residential dwellings, and many recommendations have been made for simple changes to improve their value for biodiversity (wildlife gardening). Here, we report the results of replicated experimental tests of five such common recommendations, involving the introduction to gardens of (i) artificial nest sites for solitary bees and wasps; (ii) artificial nest sites for bumblebees; (iii) small ponds; (iv) dead wood for fungi and other saproxylic organisms; and (v) patches of nettles Urtica dioica L. for butterfly larvae. The broad conclusion is that whilst some methods for increasing the biodiversity of garden environments may be very effective, others have a low probability of success on the timescales and spatial scales likely to be acceptable to many garden owners. If one of the functions of small scale biodiversity enhancement is to develop and encourage awareness of biodiversity and its conservation, then encouragement to conduct particular activities must be balanced with a realistic appraisal of their likely success.
Sixty wild birds for each of pigeons and starlings were captured in Mosul and examined clinically and serologically for avian influenza virus (AIV) infection. ELISA and haemagglutination inhibition (HI) tests were used for the detection of (AIV) antibodies in both types of examined birds. Clinically the pigeons appeared dull with loss of appetite. The percentage of positive serum antibodies titers against (AIV) was 81.8 and 50% with ELISA and HI tests, respectivly. The starlings did not show any abnormal clinical signs and all serum samples showed negative results by ELISA and HI tests. In conclusion, pigeons only showed ability to be infected with AIV subtype H9N2 and they may play an important role in spreading (AIV) as natural carriers.
Following a promotional campaign in 1996, green roofs have become an important factor in urban planning in the city of Basel, Switzerland. An investigation based on an urban ecological assessment proved the significance of green roofs for modern town-planning strategies. It showed that the extent of the area with a high environmental load could be reduced from 19% to 2% of the total. Furthermore, bio-ecological surveys underlined the need for the development of green roof concepts at the scale of the town. The wide range of vegetation found on green roofs and the variety of designs available provides examples of ecological compensation that can be varied according to the natural and social surroundings.
The influence of extensive sedum-moss vegetated roofs on runoff water quality was studied for four full scale installations located in southern Sweden. The aim of the study was to ascertain whether the vegetated roof behaves as a sink or a source of pollutants and whether the age of a vegetated roof influences runoff quality. The runoff quality from vegetated roofs was also compared with the runoff quality from non-vegetated roofs located in study areas. The following metals and nutrients were investigated: Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, Pb, Zn, NO3-N, NH4-N, Tot-N, PO4-P, and Tot-P. The results show that, with the exception of nitrogen, vegetated roofs behave as source of contaminants. While in lower concentrations than normally found in urban runoff, some metals appear in concentrations that would correspond to moderately polluted natural water. Nitrate nitrogen is retained by the vegetation or soil or both. Apart from the oldest, the studied vegetated roofs contribute phosphate phosphorus to the runoff. The maintenance of the vegetation systems on the roofs has to be carefully designed in order to avoid storm-water contamination; for instance, the use of easily dissolvable fertilizers should be avoided.
Urbanization - the anthropogenic conversion of natural ecosystems into human-dominated ecosystems - has occurred on global scales. The human-dominated landscape presents particular challenges to researchers because the effects of urbanization on ecological processes are not well understood. We investigated the influence of urbanization on predation by conducting an artificial nest experiment along an urban gradient of six sites ranging from natural to urbanized ecosystems. Previous hypotheses suggest that predation pressures in urban environments will either 1) increase because of the high abundance of exotic species which act as predators or 2) decrease due to the lack of natural predators. To determine relative predation pressures among sites along the urban gradient, we monitored the fates of 16 artificial avian nests at each of the six sites for a total of 96 nests in each year (1996, 1997). We analyzed the dependency of nest fate (depredated or undisturbed) on intensity of urbanization (sites along the urban gradient), nest height (ground, above-ground), and year using loglinear models. The frequency of nest predation was strongly dependent on site along the urban gradient, indicating that urbanization intensity was an important determinant of nest fate. Predation pressure exhibited an overall decline from natural to urban sites in both years, suggesting that urban environments have low predation pressures relative to natural areas. The predatory relaxation in urban environments may partially explain the greater abundance of some species in urban environments, particularly urban exploiters such as european starlings Sturnis vulgaris, house sparrows Passer domesticus, and rock doves Columba livia.
Look down on any town or city from above, and you will see many grey and dreary roofs, there to protect buildings and their occupants from the elements. Imagine, though, if all these roofs were covered in a variety of wild plant species. These forgotten, wasted areas would suddenly become islands of wildlife amidst the hustle and bustle of our cities.
