Defense Date
3-21-2012
Graduation Date
Spring 2012
Availability
Immediate Access
Submission Type
thesis
Degree Name
MS
Department
Environmental Science and Management (ESM)
Committee Chair
John Stolz
Committee Member
Stanley Kabala
Committee Member
Michael Tobin
Committee Member
John Kern
Keywords
Biomass, CO2 sequestration, COS, CSS, Environmental impact, Stormwater management
Abstract
Research on green roofs has focused on grasses, sedums, and forbs. The aims of this thesis were to determine the potential of rooftop gardens (RTGs) in an urban setting to reduce local levels of CO2, remediate storm water runoff, and provide boutique vegetables for a restaurant. The garden roof footprint was 238 ft2, with 14% covered by vegetated boxes. The soil mixture used had 96% absorbency with 54.12 gallons of the 55 gallons of precipitation that fell within the rain catcher boxes absorbed. Total biomass production was 37.98 Kg of wet biomass and 5.04 Kg of dry biomass. The amount of CO2 removed equals 0.22 Kg ft-2. RTGs have a limited capacity to help sequester CO2, but retain precipitation in amounts similar to green roofs. The restaurant was provided with 4.7 Kg (wet weight) of produce (several varieties of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant). These results support the utility of RTGs.
Format
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Barreiro, L. (2012). Rooftop Gardening in an Urban Setting: Impacts and Implications (Master's thesis, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/278