Heather Rumble

Biodiversity of Flora and Fauna

Rooftop farming can contribute to urban biodiversity in terms of providing habitats and creating an urban green network. In addition, the cultivation of plants on roofs can provide places where wild animals and plants can survive and reproduce. Chosen cultivation practices and plant species can improve habitats and present more opportunities for wildlife and if flowering plants are grown together with vegetables, wild pollinators and domestic bees are attracted, providing pollination for edible species too.

Elements of Rooftop Agriculture Design

This chapter focuses on the elements that must be considered when designing rooftop gardens and integrating them within buildings. Different types of rooftop gardens and how they can be integrated within existing and new buildings in order to enhance their environmental performance, better connect with their users and contribute to the amelioration of the urban environment are presented together with a description of necessary factors for implementation. These include: techniques and technologies for cultivation (i.e. simple planters, green roofs and hydroponics), necessary structural loadbearing capacity of the host building and protection from wind. The chapter also gives an overview of existing innovative and experimental projects of rooftop gardens, ranging from those that require little to high investment.