Chapter 2.3 - Green Roofs Classifications, Plant Species, Substrates

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Abstract

Green roof systems have been established all over the world as important construction nature-based strategies that offer interesting environmental, aesthetic, and economic benefits over conventional gray solutions in the urban environment. The market currently offers a complete set of solutions, from the eco-extensive to the intensive like gardens that allow covering the different architectural necessities all over the world. This chapter addresses the classification of green roofs, their fundamental structure by layers, and delves into the specific aspects of each of these layers, especially its function and materials used. Although the materials used for green roofs are fully recognized everywhere, there is still room for improvements in favor of sustainable construction.

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    The thickness and weight of the substrate vary with types of green roofs. For the semi-intensive green roof, the thickness of substrate ranges from 100 to 250 mm, and the weight at maximum water capacity should not exceed 350 kg m−2 (Pérez and Coma, 2018). Substrates usually consists of approximately 20% organic matter including peat, expanded clay, compost, coir, peat and pine bark, and 80% mineral matter including sand, zeolite, pumice, crushed brick, broken tiles and perlite (Lata et al., 2018; Peri et al., 2012; Vacek et al., 2017).

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