Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Schauwecker, Timothy J.

Committee Member

Brzuszek, Robert F.

Committee Member

Fulford, Charles Taze, III

Date of Degree

5-9-2015

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Landscape Architecture

Degree Name

Master of Landscape Architecture (M.L.A.)

College

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Department

Department of Landscape Architecture

Abstract

Green roofs are an emerging technology promoted primarily for stormwater management but little has been published about their potential for biodiversity performance. This is the first study to explore the potential for creating prairie-like, non-succulent, native plant communities on unirrigated extensive green roofs in the southeastern United States. Ten experimental green roof platforms were used to: 1) identify native species and methods of establishment appropriate for green roof applications in the southeastern United States; 2) examine the effects of introducing natural soil into a commercially available green roof soil media mixture on the survival and establishment of native prairie species; and 3) examine the composition of early successional green roof plant communities. Eleven planted species were successfully established and 46 colonizing species were identified. It was found that the addition of native prairie soil did not significantly affect survival, overall cover, or biodiversity in terms of species richness and evenness.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/19519

Comments

cover||colonization||native soil||biodiversity||prairie community||green roofs||unirrigated||native plants

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