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Vegetative roof germination of Ohio native coastal species in reclaimed soils: A field study assessing Doellingeria umbellata and Sporobolus compositus

Skilton, Alyssa Marie
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1649452558818678

Abstract Details

2022, MS, Kent State University, College of Architecture and Environmental Design.
Increasing human population density in cities leads to population decline in local native plant communities. To address this condition, roofs designed to host native species offer a solution for restoring native local plant communities. Although most roof environments use engineered growing media for vegetation, a potentially more sustainable approach would be using a combination of local soils and adaptive seeds to better mimic natural habitats that may assist in creating abiotic and biotic conditions that enable plant development (Best et al. 2015; Coffman, 2009). To further an understanding of seeding rooftop environments, a field study assessing germination was conducted on two locally sourced substrates at the Lakefront Dune Roof (Lake Erie Coast, Cleveland, Ohio). The germination rates of two warm-season native species hand-seeded into two locally sourced substrates (beach stone and local sand) was observed from May 14th to August 21st, 2021. Doellingeria umbellata is a wildflower native to wet sandy prairies in Canada and the eastern region of the United States and Sporobolus compositus is a perennial grass native to dry prairies along the eastern region of the United States. Germination was recorded in four experimental treatments (4 m2): Treatment A contains thick local sand, Treatment B contains thick beach material, Treatment C contains thin local sand, and Treatment D contains thin beach material. Each treatment has varying slopes and substrate depths due to the assembly of the roof. Results show that local sand was the more productive substrate for S. compositus growth which showed a marginal germination rate in Treatment A 25.8% and Treatment C 33.2%. D. umbellata had less productive germination rates in local sand, with Treatment A 0.05% and Treatment C 0.06%, which were lower germination rates than S. compositus. I also found that beach stone was less effective at supporting S. compositus and D. umbellata combined, with the highest germination rates observed in Treatment B 0.03% and Treatment D 0.1%. These findings support the current understanding that some native vegetation can germinate from sown seeds in roof environments while suggesting that local soils may offer germination success for select plant species. Understanding native seed germination allows us to further develop sustainable and affordable sourcing of materials for urban conservation projects.
Reid Coffman (Advisor)
Diane Davis-Sikora (Committee Member)
David Ward (Committee Member)
104 p.
Architectural; Architecture; Conservation; Design; Ecology; Environmental Science; Horticulture; Landscape Architecture; Plant Sciences; Soil Sciences; Wildlife Conservation
green roof; vegetative roof; living architecture; soils; conservation; germination

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Skilton, A. M. (2022). Vegetative roof germination of Ohio native coastal species in reclaimed soils: A field study assessing Doellingeria umbellata and Sporobolus compositus [Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1649452558818678

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Skilton, Alyssa. Vegetative roof germination of Ohio native coastal species in reclaimed soils: A field study assessing Doellingeria umbellata and Sporobolus compositus . 2022. Kent State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1649452558818678.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Skilton, Alyssa. "Vegetative roof germination of Ohio native coastal species in reclaimed soils: A field study assessing Doellingeria umbellata and Sporobolus compositus ." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1649452558818678

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1649452558818678
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This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.