Green Roofs and Green Walls for Biodiversity Conservation: A Contribution to Urban Connectivity?

Flavie Mayrand and Philippe Clergeau
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Flavie Mayrand: Centre d’Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation, Sorbonne Université/MNHN/CNRS, 75005 Paris, France
Philippe Clergeau: Centre d’Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation, Sorbonne Université/MNHN/CNRS, 75005 Paris, France

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: Green roofs and walls have recently emerged as conservation tools, and they offer promising additional opportunities to enhance biodiversity in cities. However, their ecological conditions remain poorly considered when planning wildlife corridors. To discuss the role of vegetated buildings in landscape connectivity, we reviewed the ecological and technical specificities of green walls and green roofs in light of the key factors concerning urban wildlife (patch size, quality, abundance, and isolation). Green roofs and walls show limited patch sizes, distinct habitat quality at the building scale, and limited redundancy of patch quality within the landscape. We also highlight that the abundance of roof and wall patches is often low. Future research is needed to establish if walls can be vertical corridors for wildlife, thereby reducing the isolation of green roofs. We argue that creating 3D ecological connectivity within the city requires substantial modifications of the design and maintenance of existing green building systems. We suggest that research is needed to integrate the biotic and abiotic characteristics of green buildings to make them more closely resemble those of open green spaces.

Keywords: urban biodiversity; green roofs; green walls; species dispersal; ecological connectivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

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