Using Chlorophyll <i>a</i> Fluorescence Imaging to Select Desiccation-Tolerant Native Moss Species for Water-Sustainable Green Roofs

• Main Authors: Ricardo Cruz de Carvalho, Teresa Paço, Cristina Branquinho, Jorge Marques da Silva
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-06-01
• Series: Water
• Subjects: green roofs; mosses; chlorophyll <i>a</i> fluorescence; water use; sustainability; Mediterranean
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/6/1748

Green roofs have been more thoroughly investigated in the last few years due to the potential benefits they offer to ecosystems in urban areas (e.g., carbon sequestration, particle retention, heat island effect attenuation). However, current climate change models predict an increase in desertification, with an increase in temperature and decrease in rainfall, which means there is an increasing demand for green roofs with lower water consumption. Vegetation with very little water requirements, such as desiccation-tolerant mosses, has shown a potential to complement or substitute for vascular species, increasing the sustainability of lower water use in green roofs. In this study, we use chlorophyll <i>a</i> fluorescence imaging to screen for bryophytes with adequate physiology to be used in green roofs placed in at-risk areas with prolonged drought episodes. Apart from <i>Hypnum </i><i>cupressiforme</i>, all selected species presented a high potential for use in those conditions, particularly <i>Didymodon</i><i> </i><i>fallax</i>, <i>Grimmia</i><i> </i><i>lisae</i>, <i>Pleurochaete</i><i> </i><i>squarrosa</i>, and <i>Targionia</i><i> </i><i>hypophylla</i>. Chlorophyll <i>a</i> fluorescence imaging technology proved to be a simple and non-invasive tool for a fast screening of these poikilohydric organisms, to be used in future studies of bryophyte biology, but more importantly in the green roof industry.