Working Group "Biodiversity"

Studies on vitality, growth performance and succession of cultivated and spontaneous plant communities on green roofs and evaluation of their suitability for meeting climatic-ecological requirements

Swamp plant area with staked grid
Localization and determination of plant ecological parameters of marsh plants in the roof area with intensive water evaporation (Photo: P. Otto).

In accordance with the hydrological-climatic focus of the overall project and taking into account nature conservation aspects, roof plantings already in use are to be evaluated on the one hand, and new planting types are to be tested for their suitability on the other.

The aim is to identify native, species-rich, productive, stable and extensively maintained plant communities with good performance in terms of transpiration and immission reduction. In this context, the growth performance, reproduction and dispersal ability of the planted species will be investigated and the spontaneous vegetation, including mosses, will be determined and evaluated.

Furthermore, comparative studies on the influence of maintenance measures will be carried out. The above-mentioned studies will be carried out on the UFZ research green roof with a constructed wetland area as well as on green roofs of the city of Leipzig.

Maintenance of the plant stands on the green roof
Maintenance of the plant stands on the green roof (picture: A. Künzelmann, UFZ)

Head of the working group:

Dr. Peter Otto

University of Leipzig, Institute of Biology, AG Molecular Evolution and Systematics of Plants