Plants Roots Penetration Mechanism on Green Roof Waterproofing Membranes
Green roof waterproofing membrane tests faces critical limitations of being overly reliant on visual inspection. This result from the absence of a method which allows clear observation of plant roots during its growth. Preliminary study based on the Forschungsgesellschaft Landschaftsentwicklung Landschaftsbau e.V. (FLL) was carried out. It proved that plant roots will damage waterproofing, although there is little information regarding this. Shortcomings of this test include long duration, high loss of minute root information due to the method of root exposure, heavy reliance on visual observation and low reproducibility. Modified aeroponics and close-circuit television surveillances system are put together to solve this problem. It was determined that plant cuttings are preferred over seedlings because of higher survival rate and had better structure. It is also established that plant root growth can be expressed as a function of dry root mass and the quantification parameters of plant roots.
green roof, waterproofing membrane, plant roots, aeroponics, roots observation, roots quantification
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