Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor Winter 2020 - 26

EDITORIAL
REVIEW BOARD
Editor-in-chief: Dr. Jennifer Bousselot
(Colorado State University)
Associate Editor: Dr. Tobias Emilsson
(Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences)
Dr. Brad Bass
(Environment Canada)
Dr. Robert Berghage
(Penn State University)
Dr. Maureen Connelly
(British Columbia Institute of Technology)
Dr. Nigel Dunnett
(University of Sheffield)
Bruce Dvorak, MLA
(Texas A&M University)
Barry Lehrman, MArch/MLA
(California State Polytechnic University,
Pomona)
Dr. J. Scott MacIvor
(University of Toronto)
Thomas O'Connor, MSE
(US Environmental Protection Agency)
Dr. Bill Retzlaff
(Southern Illinois University Edwardsville)
Dr. Bradley Rowe
(Michigan State University)
Virginia Russell, GRP, MLA
(University of Cincinnati)
Dr. Sabina Shaikh
(University of Chicago)
Dr. Richard Sutton
(University of Nebraska-Lincoln)
Dr. David Tilley
(University of Maryland)
Dr. Youbin Zheng
(University of Guelph)
The Journal of Living Architecture
(JLIV) is the official, peer-reviewed
journal of the Green Infrastructure
Foundation. The magazine publishes
the abstracts of each published JLIV
manuscript, with a link to the full
paper online.

LIVING ARCHITECTURE MONITOR / WINTER 2020 / 26

The Journal of Living Architecture (JLIV) is the official, peer-reviewed journal of the Green
Infrastructure Foundation. The magazine publishes the abstracts of each published JLIV
manuscript, with a link to the full paper online. Visit greeninfrastructurefoundation.org/jliv

SPECIAL ISSUE: SPATIAL HETEROGENEITY
IN GREEN ROOF ECOSYSTEMS
Co-editors: Ishi Buffam and Olyssa Starry
Spatial variation in environmental conditions shape microclimates (climatic conditions
measured in localized areas) and microhabitats, which influence plant community characteristics - these in turn influence a slew of other important ecosystem characteristics and
associated ecosystem services. On green roofs, spatial variation in microclimatic/physical
environmental conditions can be induced intentionally by roof design or management
practices (e.g., variation in substrate depth or type), or can result incidentally as a byproduct
of the building or near-building environment (e.g., shading from nearby buildings or trees).
In spite of these factors pointing to an important role for spatial heterogeneity on green
roofs, there have as yet been few published research studies on this topic looking specifically at small-scale spatial variation within a given green roof.
We are excited to announce a new (December/January 2020/2021) special issue in the
Journal of Living Architecture dedicated to filling this knowledge gap. In this special issue,
in addition to an introductory overview article (Buffam and Starry, 2020) we feature five
peer-reviewed articles highlighting recent research on the relationship between green roof
biotic communities and the spatial heterogeneity in the green roof physical environment.
Focus is placed on the interaction between spatial variation in physical characteristics of the
environment - solar exposure vs. shading; substrate depth; soil moisture and temperature;
etc.; vs. corresponding variation in the green roof biotic communities. The researchers in
this special issue have asked questions such as:
* What does the body of research to date tell us about the relationship between spatial
heterogeneity and the biodiversity of plant and invertebrate communities on green roofs?
(Lundholm and Heim, 2020)
*D
 oes variation in substrate thickness on a fine spatial scale result in green roof plant communities with greater functional diversity and ecosystem service provision? (Roulston et
al., 2020)
*D
 oes shading from roof-adjacent trees give rise to predictable spatial patterns in plant
community composition and species richness? (Li et al., 2020)
*H
 ow do microclimates created by photovoltaic (PV) panels and irrigation affect not only
plant community composition but also substrate properties? (Holloway et al., 2020)
*H
 ow does substrate heterogeneity influence the establishment of rare native plants?
(Coffman and Blackson, 2020)

LIVINGARCHITECTUREMONITOR.COM
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Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor Winter 2020

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