Green roofs : urban habitats for ground-nesting birds and plants

• Main Authors: Baumann, Nathalie, Kasten, Friederike
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2010
• Subjects: Urban biodiversity; Ground nesting bird; Breeding success; Ecological compensation; 333: Bodenwirtschaft und Ressourcen; 577: Ökologie; Ringed Plover; Vanellus vanellus
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/11475/10300; https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444318654.ch18; https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/10300

In this study, vegetation establishment and breeding success (from egg laying to fledgeling) on flat roofs in peri-urban and industrial zones in Switzerland were examined. Seven green roofs in peri-urban and urban areas in different Swiss cantons (Aargau, Berne, Zoug and Lucerne) where Vanellus vanellus (Northern Lapwing) and Charadrius dubius (Little Ringed Plover) may breed successfully were investigated. In addition, a ground site in an agricultural area was used as a control or reference site. The project had two objectives: first, to improve the vegetation of the roofs using different techniques – seed, hay mulch (fresh and dry) and turf – and, second, to assess the development of the vegetation in relation to improving the breeding success of, and habitat use by, V. vanellus. Because the research project funding ended in July 2009, the data presented in this chapter are from only one of the roof sites (Rotkreuz), which provides a good overview. The data were obtained over three breeding seasons. The initial results suggest that the improvement of green roof habitats using fresh hay mulch produced a vegetation of 90–100% in two seasons, resulting in a remarkable increase in plant biomass. Results also show that V. vanellus has begun to breed consistently, although as yet unsuccessfully on green roofs. The results show that as a consequence of the improvement of the vegetation, the chicks survived 5–10 days longer in the second year than in the first year. The study has provided important information about the habitat selection and behaviour of the adult and young birds, which is of value in future urban research and green roof design.