Application of industrial wastes in substrates for ecological green roofs

Abstract

Green roofs are systems that can help to solve some urban environmental problems. A multi-layer green roof has five layers: from waterproof membrane till substrate and vegetation. Substrate is arguably the most important component of green roofs but there is still much to optimize and exploit. Also, world needs to avoid uncontrolled dispersal of waste. This new approach can be applied to substrates production. The main objective of this study is to compare and evaluate 8 substrates incorporating industrial wastes with a commercial substrate. Employed plants were Armeria welwitschii, Festuca glauca and Sedum sediforme. Alongside, the rhizosphere eu-karyotic biocenosis (protists communities) were observed in optical microscope. Preliminary results revealed that some industrial wastes may replace commonly used materials on green roofs substrate increasing plant growth. With regards to eukaryotic biocenosis, the performed observations, point out that, these organisms can be good bioindicators for green roof technology.