Abstract
Centipedegrass (Eremochloa ophiuroides) is a low-maintenance turfgrass. The first extensive green roof of centipedegrass was established in TongZhou Civil Squares in 2014. However, storm-water-runoff reduction, water-retention capacity, and plant-water requirements by a centipedegrass green roof has not yet been defined. The soil moisture dynamics, rainwater-retention capacity, runoff reduction, and plant evapotranspiration were investigated by simulated centipedegrass green roof plots, which were constructed in the same manner as the green roofs in TongZhou Civil Squares in 2018. The results showed that the centipedegrass green roof retained 705.54 mm of rainwater, which consisted 47.4% of runoff reduction. The saturated soil moisture was 33.4 ± 0.6%; the excess rainfall over the saturated soil moisture resulted in runoff. The capacity of rainwater retention was negatively related to the soil moisture before rain events and was driven by plant evapotranspiration. Drought symptoms only occurred three times over the course of a year when the soil moisture dropped down to 10.97%. Our results indicate that the rainwater retained in the soil almost met the needs of plant consumption; a further increase of rainwater retention capacity might achieve an irrigation-free design in a centipedegrass green roof.
Highlights
Floods are natural disasters and cause over one-third of global economic losses according to the report of United Nations [1]
Soil moisture of the green roof was decreased by evapotranspiration (ET) water loss during the dry days and increased by the rainwater infiltrated into the soil during rainy days
The capacity of rainwater retention was linearly related to the soil moisture before rain events, which was driven by evapotranspiration of centipedegrass
Summary
Floods are natural disasters and cause over one-third of global economic losses according to the report of United Nations [1]. Flood disasters occur more frequently in urban areas because most urban surfaces are impervious roofs and roads [2,3]. Nature-based solutions (NBS) use nature and ecosystem services to provide social, economic, and environmental benefits [4,5]. One NBS is a green roof, which could provide benefits of stormwater management and urban heat mitigation [6,7,8] without occupying precious and highly competitive land at ground level [9]. Sedum plants have attracted considerable attention for use in green roofs because of their superior drought tolerance and can survive without irrigation in most areas [14,15,16]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
