Quantifying the benefits of incorporating biochar in green roof substrates: field study on the highrise rooftop in temperate climate setting

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F67985874%3A_____%2F25%3A00603469" target="_blank" >RIV/67985874:_____/25:00603469 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42773-024-00409-z" target="_blank" >https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42773-024-00409-z</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s42773-024-00409-z" target="_blank" >10.1007/s42773-024-00409-z</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Quantifying the benefits of incorporating biochar in green roof substrates: field study on the highrise rooftop in temperate climate setting

Original language description

Biochar is a promising material with a wide range of applications. One area of application is as an additive in substrates for green roofs. Green roofs are a way of mitigating climate change, with biochar offering an opportunity to further enhance this benefit and upscale practice. In this field study, the effect of a 5-vol.% addition of wood-based biochar to a green roof substrate is evaluated with respect to a water balance (reduced runoff, increased evapotranspiration, increased plant available water) and hydrophysical properties. Substrate, with and without biochar amendment, was used in different green roof sections. Laboratory hydrophysical analysis, in-situ Volumetric Water Content and meteorological measurements, alongside vegetation monitoring, enabled the development of a 1D Hydrus water balance model and revealed differences between both of the surveyed green roofs. The study demonstrated that the addition of biochar to the substrate improved its hydrophysical properties, leading to increased water retention (7.7% increase in maximum water capacity) and enhanced vegetation growth The biochar amendment resulted in the minor changes in grain size distribution (increase in the 0.01 to 0.1 mm fraction) and increased substrate moisture, which is related to an increase in the plant-available water content (14.2%). This was observable in the retention curves and resulted in an increased moisture availability for plants, leading to an increase in vegetation cover in areas with biochar. The numerical analysis using Hydrus-1D soil hydraulic model showed that the inclusion of biochar in the substrate resulted in a 23.5% increase in evapotranspiration and a 54.7% decrease in runoff. These findings suggest that the addition of biochar to the green roof substrate could enhance the system's capacity to retain water, reduce runoff and bulk density, and increase the amount of water available for plant growth. The study provides evidence for the potential of wood-based biochar as a sustainable and effective addition to green roof substrates, contributing to the development of more resilient and sustainable urban environments.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10501 - Hydrology

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Biochar

ISSN

2524-7972

e-ISSN

2524-7867

Volume of the periodical

7

Issue of the periodical within the volume

3 January

Country of publishing house

DE - GERMANY

Number of pages

15

Pages from-to

7

UT code for WoS article

001389169900002

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85214136750