Architecture Commons^™

Rethinking Extensive Green Roofs To Lessen Emphasis On Above-Ground Biomass, Richard K. Sutton

Landscape Architecture Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

In the future, most green roof applications will not be highly visible, yet these roofs will still provide the benefits of heat island reduction, stormwater control and biodiversity for hard-surfaced cities. However, human bias in wanting more biomass and visible blooms leads green roof horticulturalists and their approach of maximizing those aspects down a slippery slope that, in turn, leads to increased hours of labor, over-watering and fertilizing and specifying too many cultivars