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Green roof ageing or Isolatic Technosol’s pedogenesis?

  • SUITMA 8: Soils and Sediments in Urban and Mining Areas
  • Published:
Journal of Soils and Sediments Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Green roofs (GR) offer a way to improve several ecosystem services in cities. However, the performances of GR are basically considered as steady over time whereas they are living media subject to ageing that are rarely managed by their owners. This study transposes a pedological approach to evaluate changes in GR physical structure and chemical composition over time.

Materials and methods

A full-scale experimental plot with various vegetation cover was studied. A dedicated sampling strategy was implemented to monitor substrate’s evolution over 4 years. Then, physical and chemical characterisation (carbon and nitrogen contents, particle size distribution, porosity, soil water retention) was conducted and compared to results on the original substrate.

Results and discussion

The upper layer of the substrate (0 to 5 cm depth) contained a large amount of fine and short roots whereas the root density was much smaller in the lower layer of the substrate (5 to 10 cm depth). There was a global drop of the organic carbon content from 5 % in the initial substrate to 2 % in the 4-year-old substrate. On the contrary, the nitrogen concentration has increased by 0.4 % during the same period. The mesoporosity decreased drastically from 0.11 to 0.02 cm3 cm−3. On the whole substrate, the <2-mm particles fraction was smaller after 4 years (12.5 %) than in the initial substrate (18.2 %) which was especially obvious in the upper horizon (9.5 %). Additionally, the monitored properties also varied significantly as a function of soil cover (sedum, moss and bare soil). Evidences of an early pedogenesis were highlighted such as poral evolution and fine particles eluviation.

Conclusions

In conclusion, the study demonstrated the effects of time, climate and vegetation on physical and chemical properties of green roof substrate. They are not only classified as Isolatic Technosols due to their composition and implementation; they also exhibit one of the major characteristic of young Technosols: a fast and intense pedogenesis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Sols et Environnement, UMR 1120 Université de Lorraine-INRA, 2 avenue de la Forêt de Haye, TSA 40602, 54518, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy Cedex, France

    Ryad Bouzouidja, Gustave Rousseau, Violaine Galzin & Geoffroy Séré

  2. CEREMA DTer Est, 71 Rue de la Grande Haie, 54510, Tomblaine, France

    Ryad Bouzouidja & Rémy Claverie

  3. Université de Lorraine, LEMTA, UMR 7563, 2 Avenue de la Forêt de Haye TSA 60604, 54518, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France

    David Lacroix

  4. CNRS, LEMTA, UMR 7563, 2 Avenue de la Forêt de Haye TSA 60604, 54518, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France

    David Lacroix

Authors
  1. Ryad Bouzouidja
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  2. Gustave Rousseau
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  3. Violaine Galzin
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  4. Rémy Claverie
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  5. David Lacroix
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  6. Geoffroy Séré
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Geoffroy Séré.

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Responsible editor: Jean Louis Morel

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Bouzouidja, R., Rousseau, G., Galzin, V. et al. Green roof ageing or Isolatic Technosol’s pedogenesis?. J Soils Sediments 18, 418–425 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-016-1513-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-016-1513-3

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