Abstract
Abstract Despite their increasing popularity in an urban setting, we still know relatively little in how well-extensive green roofs support biodiversity in terms of vertical connectivity from terrestrial habitats. Most green roof biodiversity studies have not considered whether the roof height affects community composition and abundance of species present. This study focused on evaluating beetle diversity and abundance in relation to roof height, with emphasis on wildflower roofs. The key results of the study confirm previous studies found that extensive wildflower green roofs are capable of supporting fairly rich beetle communities, including some rare/scarce species. However, an increase of roof height was found to negatively impact both beetle abundance and richness, despite all recorded species being well adapted to active flight and thus dispersal. In addition forb cover decreased with roof height which consequently influenced beetle community structure. These results are therefore indicative that further research is required on species communities found on extensive green roofs that are less adapted to active flight and consequently vertical dispersal. This study further highlights the need for vertical and horizontal connectivity between green roofs and the surrounding natural habitats as a management tool to increase the general ecological value of urban green spaces.
Highlights
Though a relatively recent addition, modern green roofs have become an established part of the urban landscape since their invention in the 1960s (Banting et al 2005; Thuring and Grant 2016)
The results showed a general decrease of Coleoptera species abundance with increasing roof height
In the studied extensive green roofs, no clear trend was observed for Coleoptera richness overall in relation to increasing roof height, even though the number of species recorded was lowest for 7.5and 12.5-m high roofs
Summary
Though a relatively recent addition, modern green roofs have become an established part of the urban landscape since their invention in the 1960s (Banting et al 2005; Thuring and Grant 2016). With beneficial characteristics such as habitat creation/ mitigation, carbon sequestration, storm water retention, reduction of pollutant run off, energy savings via their insulating properties, aiding in the reduction of the urban heat island effect and improving the aesthetics of the urban landscape creating an improved sense of well-being
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