Using chlorophyll a fluorescence imaging to select desiccation-tolerant native moss species for water-sustainable green roofs

  • Articles in SCI Journals
  • Dec, 2020

de Carvalho, R.C., do Paco, T.A., Branquinho, C. & da Silva, J.M. (2020) Using chlorophyll a fluorescence imaging to select desiccation-tolerant native moss species for water-sustainable green roofs.

Water, 12(6), 1748. DOI:10.3390/w12061748 (IF2020 3,103; Q2 Water resources)
Summary:

Green roofs have been more thoroughly investigated in the last few years due to the potential benefits they offer to ecosystems in urban areas (e.g., carbon sequestration, particle retention, heat island effect attenuation). However, current climate change models predict an increase in desertification, with an increase in temperature and decrease in rainfall, which means there is an increasing demand for green roofs with lower water consumption. Vegetation with very little water requirements, such as desiccation-tolerant mosses, has shown a potential to complement or substitute for vascular species, increasing the sustainability of lower water use in green roofs. In this study, we use chlorophyll a fluorescence imaging to screen for bryophytes with adequate physiology to be used in green roofs placed in at-risk areas with prolonged drought episodes. Apart from Hypnum cupressiforme, all selected species presented a high potential for use in those conditions, particularly Didymodon fallaxGrimmia lisaePleurochaete squarrosa, and Targionia hypophylla. Chlorophyll a fluorescence imaging technology proved to be a simple and non-invasive tool for a fast screening of these poikilohydric organisms, to be used in future studies of bryophyte biology, but more importantly in the green roof industry.


https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/6/1748

Team

  • Using chlorophyll a fluorescence imaging to select desiccation-tolerant native moss species for water-sustainable green roofs Cristina Branquinho Ecology of Environmental Change - eChanges
  • Using chlorophyll a fluorescence imaging to select desiccation-tolerant native moss species for water-sustainable green roofs Ricardo Filipe Duarte da Cruz de Carvalho Ecology of Environmental Change - eChanges