RT Journal Article
T1 Selecting Potential Moss Species for Green Roofs in the Mediterranean Basin
A1 Carvalho, Ricardo Cruz de
A1 Varela Río, Zulema
A1 Paço, Teresa Afonso do
A1 Branquinho, Cristina
K1 Mosses
K1 Sustainability
K1 Nature-based solutions
K1 Traits
K1 Urban ecology
AB Green roofs are important infrastructures to address the effects of climate change in urban areas. However, most studies and applications have been done in cooler and wetter regions of the northern hemisphere. Climate change will lead to more extreme weather events, such as increased drought and decreased precipitation with intense flash rain events. Increase desertification is expected especially in the Mediterranean Basin, where in summer, radiation and temperature are high and water is scarce. Therefore, while vascular plants increase water consumption in green roofs during warmer periods, mosses present themselves as potential candidates due to their poikilohydric nature, responding to the environmental availability of water, completely drying out and recovering upon rehydration. Although criteria for the selection of vascular plants adapted to the Mediterranean and suitable for green roofs have been developed, no information is available regarding the selection of mosses based on scientific criteria. Here we propose selection criteria for moss species based on ecological preferences according to Ellenberg’s values and help to define moss traits suitable for a nonirrigated, nature-based green roof that tolerates the Mediterranean climate. The main result is a table of potential candidate mosses that can be either used as standalone or in conjunction with vascular plants to decrease water usage and/or manage stormwater through an easily applicable selection methodology. For green roof practitioners, we proposed that acrocarpous mosses exhibiting turf/cushion life forms and colonist or perennial life strategies best fit the requirements for such a green infrastructure in extreme climate regions with scarce water resources
PB MDPI
YR 2019
FD 2019
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/23496
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/23496
LA eng
NO Cruz de Carvalho, R.; Varela, Z.; do Paço, T.A.; Branquinho, C. Selecting Potential Moss Species for Green Roofs in the Mediterranean Basin. Urban Sci. 2019, 3, 57
NO This study and R. Cruz de Carvalho postdoctoral research grant were supported by the project MedMossRoofs (PTDC/ATP-ARP/5826/2014) funded by the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology), Portugal. Z. Varela was supported by a postdoctoral research grant awarded by the Autonomous Government of Galicia (Spain)
DS Minerva
RD 27 abr 2026