The results of the study can be applied everywhere to create unique options for green roofs.
Roof gardening is increasingly being used in landscape construction. At the same time, for Russia it remains an infrequent practice; you can see a few examples of green roofs, as a rule, in large cities. To decorate the roof, special mats of stonecrops are used - succulent plants with fleshy leaves and star-shaped flowers. These landscaping options initially became widespread in European countries and the USA.
- Such roofs can be seen in different cities of the world. They look the same everywhere, devoid of uniqueness. We were interested in the regional aspect, the use of plants of the natural flora of our forest and meadow communities in roof gardening, - Irina Konovalova, an employee of the Botanical Garden scientific and educational center, Vyatka State University, candidate of biological sciences, said.
Work began on the order of the Freya landscape company as part of the Living Roof project. The scientists were faced with the task of designing plant coverings from plants of the natural flora of Russia with subsequent monitoring of their growth and development on experimental sites with different slope exposures.
Irina Alexandrovna said:
- The study began with the selection of plants. We started, firstly, from the conditions that form on the roof: there is quite bright lighting and it is dry, because evaporation occurs more intensively than from the surface of the earth. Therefore, preference was given to heliophytes - plants that love the sun. We paid great attention to the underground organs, realizing that under the conditions of the roof we cannot afford a massive substrate. We were attracted primarily by long-rhizome and creeping species; for example, oak veronica, white clover. We then noted the plants that form above ground stolons; such as wild strawberry, creeping tenacious.
As a result, an assortment of natural plants of the Kirov region was selected, a list of 26 species belonging to 13 flora families of the middle taiga subzone was compiled. They were used in the design of vegetation cover by making experimental sites that simulate the southern, northern and western orientations of sloped roofs. Each platform was a wooden box, the bottom of which was covered with a film with a hole for excess moisture to escape. Geotextiles were placed on top, which prevented the displacement of soil along an inclined plane and participated in the formation of turf. The soil was laid directly on it and compacted up to 8-10 cm thick. Then, the plants were planted, getting removed from their natural environment and freed from the vegetative reproduction organs of unwanted species.
In the course of the study, Vyatka State University scientists were convinced that the plants they proposed retain high vitality in the new conditions. They can be used to create plant mats of various sizes.
- Such coatings can be used not only on a large area, but also on minimal areas. Even landscaping, say, a farm building in a summer cottage will create beauty, the effect of unity with nature, - noted Irina Konovalova.
The researcher emphasized that this is an extensive type of landscaping. Such plants are independently distributed on the surface of the mat. They do not require care, they do not need to be watered and mowed.
Scientists from the REC "Botanical Garden" of Vyatka State University are confident that this approach can be used in different regions of Russia. The updated technology can be widely used, including becoming a starting point for various start-ups.
Translation by Artemy Sizov
