System Build-up “Irrigated Extensive Green Roof” – for Biodiverse Green Roofs in Regions with Extended Dry Periods

While the automated irrigation of extensive green areas was always more common in regions around the Mediterranean, it is now becoming more important in other regions too. Due to the ongoing climate change, many regions are increasingly having to deal with long periods of drought. This will lead to species-poor green roofs with plant growth being more or less up and down. Very often only succulents will survive with perhaps bare patches that are only temporarily green. Therefore, irrigation in many regions is the only way to achieve biodiversity on green roofs. This green roof build-up will help to strike a balance between a cost-effective solution and the permanent proper functioning of green roofs in dry climates.

As is the case with the “Urban Climate Roof” build-up, irrigation takes place beneath the substrate. As a result, the water is available where a plant needs it. However, unlike the “Urban Climate Roof” system build-up, the system supplies only the amount of water that the plants need for healthy growth. Thanks to the shallower substrate depth, the green roof build-up is not only lighter but also other plant communities are used.

System build-up

Notes: 

* The weight values stated above are considered to be exclusive of vegetation, see Info Sheet "Green Roof Ballast".