Tuesday, August 3, 2010: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
310-311, David L Lawrence Convention Center
OOS 12 - Rooftop Ecology: What Is a Green Roof and Why Should Ecologists Care?
Green roofs, long common in Europe, are becoming increasingly common in the United States. However, in contrast to countries like Germany, green roof standards are just being established in the US, and more research is needed to understand how green roofs perform. Green roof research can help inform design while at the same time contribute to our understanding of these emerging urban ecosystems. In this session, speakers will present recent findings on the ecosystem services provided by green roofs and discuss the role of ecologists in future green roof research. A number of services are attributed to green roofs, such as retention of rain water, mitigation of the urban heat island effect, and creation of habitat for local fauna. However, the extent of these services, especially in different bioregions, has yet to be fully evaluated. As green roof research is inherently cross-disciplinary, speakers will have a variety of educational backgrounds, including ecology, landscape architecture, horticulture, and education. From these diverse perspectives, speakers will present different aspects of green roof research and its applicability at different spatial scales; speakers will also address areas where future research is needed. Speakers will be asked to consider 1) What are sources of uncertainty in the assessment of green roof ecosystem services? 2) How might these services be affected by bioregional factors? and 3) How can we improve our assessment of green roof ecosystem services?
Organizer:Colleen M. Butler, Tufts University
Co-organizers:Olyssa Starry, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Colin M. Orians, Tufts University
Moderator:Andrea N. Melnychenko, Portland State University
8:00 AMOOS 12-1Reconciliation ecology opportunities reach new heights: Insect species composition and diversity on green roofs and adjacent ground-level habitat patches in an urban area
J. Scott MacIvor, Saint Mary's University, Jeremy Lundholm, Saint Mary's University
8:20 AMOOS 12-2Salt tolerance of common green roof and green wall plants
Leigh J. Whittinghill, Michigan State University, Brad Rowe, Michigan State University
8:40 AMOOS 12-3Scaling of greenhouse gas emissions with institution size for colleges and universities in the United States
Ned Fetcher, Wilkes University
9:00 AMOOS 12-4Linking photosynthetic plasticity to success of Sedum on a green roof
Colleen M. Butler, Tufts University, Colin M. Orians, Tufts University
9:20 AMOOS 12-5Practical knowledge gained from growing green roof plants
Ed Snodgrass, Emory Knoll Farms
9:40 AM Break
9:50 AMOOS 12-6Spatial variation in greenroof potential and associated effects on stormwater retention at the watershed scale
Olyssa Starry, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Shannon Lloyd, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Richard V. Pouyat, US Forest Service
10:10 AMOOS 12-7Green roofs: Can they sequester carbon?
Bradley Rowe, Michigan State University, Kristin Getter, Michigan State University
10:30 AMOOS 12-8Plants on green roofs: Identity and diversity affect ecosystem functioning
Jeremy Lundholm, Saint Mary's University, J. Scott MacIvor, Saint Mary's University, Zachary MacDougall, Saint Mary's University, Melissa A. Ranalli, University of Regina
10:50 AMOOS 12-9Evaluating the performance of model green roofs in a semi-arid urban ecosystem
Mitchell Pavao-Zuckerman, University of Arizona, Margaret Livingston, University of Arizona, Steven E. Smith, University of Arizona, Ronald Stoltz, University of Arizona
11:10 AMOOS 12-10Students as sustainable designers: Integrating green roof design principles into high school curriculum
Michael P. Moretti, Prospect Hill Academy Charter School

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See more of The 95th ESA Annual Meeting (August 1 -- 6, 2010)