Combined Effects of Substrate Depth and Vegetation of Green Roofs on Runoff and Phytoremediation under Heavy Rain
Sun-Young Park,
Deuk-Kyun Oh,
Sun-Yeong Lee,
Kyung-Jin Yeum,
Yong-Han Yoon,
Jin-Hee Ju
Affiliations
Sun-Young Park
Department of Green Technology Convergence, College of Science & Technology, Konkuk University Glocal Campus, 268 Chungwondaero, Chungju-si 27478, Korea
Deuk-Kyun Oh
Department of Green Technology Convergence, College of Science & Technology, Konkuk University Glocal Campus, 268 Chungwondaero, Chungju-si 27478, Korea
Sun-Yeong Lee
Department of Green Technology Convergence, Graduate School, Konkuk University-Glocal Campus, 268 Chungwondaero, Chungju-si 27478, Korea
Kyung-Jin Yeum
Division of Food Bioscience, College of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Konkuk University-Glocal Campus, 268 Chungwondaero, Chungju-si 27478, Korea
Yong-Han Yoon
Department of Green Technology Convergence, College of Science & Technology, Konkuk University Glocal Campus, 268 Chungwondaero, Chungju-si 27478, Korea
Jin-Hee Ju
Department of Green Technology Convergence, College of Science & Technology, Konkuk University Glocal Campus, 268 Chungwondaero, Chungju-si 27478, Korea
The quantity and quality of runoff from green roofs have so far been studied using an extensive vegetated roof (substrate depth > 150 mm). However, studies on various substrate depths and vegetation for runoff and phytoremediation in temperate and monsoon climates, where heavy rain is concentrated in a specific season, are limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate combined effects of substrate depth and vegetation of an unfertilized green roof on runoff reduction and airborne pollutant purification based on rainfall intensity. A total of 21 plots were implemented on a roof top with three substrate depths (100, 200, and 400 mm), two vegetation s (vegetated or non-vegetated), and control (plot with standard frame only). The runoff reduction increased significantly (p p < 0.05) lower than those of un-vegetated plots and controls. These results suggest that as the rainfall intensity increases, the depth of the substrate is more important than vegetation for runoff reduction. In addition, the vegetation can be an effective tool to neutralize acid rain to stabilize pH and effectively reduce EC and heavy metals in the runoff by remediating dissolved air pollutants from rainwater.