TY - JOUR
T1 - Sedum groundcover variably enhances performance and phenolic concentrations of perennial culinary herbs in an urban edible green roof
AU - Ahmed, S.
AU - Buckley, S.
AU - Stratton, A.E.
AU - Asefaha, F.
AU - Butler, C.
AU - Reynolds, M.
AU - Orians, C.
PY - 2017/5/28
Y1 - 2017/5/28
N2 - © 2017 Taylor & Francis.Urban agriculture on green roofs has tremendous potential to enhance food security, economic opportunities, and community building in cities yet faces unique ecological challenges including limited soil moisture content for crops. We compared the effects of two green roof soil moisture management practices, sedum (Sedum album) groundcover versus watering, on performance and quality of three perennial culinary herbs: thyme, mint, and oregano. Individually and interactively, sedum groundcover and watering significantly impacted parameters of performance (biomass, vitality, and module coverage) and quality (total phenolic concentrations) of the three culinary herbs during early stages of establishment while having variable impacts during later developmental stages. Our results suggest that sedum groundcover can serve as a substitute for watering of hardy culinary herbs on green roofs on the basis of plant performance and quality. Findings can be applied to inform agroecological water management of herbs and other hardy specialty crops on green roofs toward enhancing their drought tolerance and advancing sustainable urban agriculture.
AB - © 2017 Taylor & Francis.Urban agriculture on green roofs has tremendous potential to enhance food security, economic opportunities, and community building in cities yet faces unique ecological challenges including limited soil moisture content for crops. We compared the effects of two green roof soil moisture management practices, sedum (Sedum album) groundcover versus watering, on performance and quality of three perennial culinary herbs: thyme, mint, and oregano. Individually and interactively, sedum groundcover and watering significantly impacted parameters of performance (biomass, vitality, and module coverage) and quality (total phenolic concentrations) of the three culinary herbs during early stages of establishment while having variable impacts during later developmental stages. Our results suggest that sedum groundcover can serve as a substitute for watering of hardy culinary herbs on green roofs on the basis of plant performance and quality. Findings can be applied to inform agroecological water management of herbs and other hardy specialty crops on green roofs toward enhancing their drought tolerance and advancing sustainable urban agriculture.
U2 - 10.1080/21683565.2017.1279703
DO - 10.1080/21683565.2017.1279703
M3 - Article
SN - 2168-3565
VL - 41
SP - 487
EP - 504
JO - Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
JF - Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
IS - 5
ER -