APPROPRIATE DESIGN ELEMENTS AND NATIVE PLANT SELECTION FOR LIVING ROOFS IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS by JONATHAN WILLIAM KINDER Bachelor of Science, 2006 Texas Christian University Fort Worth, Texas Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the College of Science and Engineering Texas Christian University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science May 2009 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to sincerely thank everyone that helped us in this project, because it could not have been done without the support and collaborative efforts of many individuals and institutions. First, thanks to God; thanks to my beautiful wife for being my cheerleader, helper, and personal barista. Thanks to my parents, Gery and Shelley, and my family for their love. This thesis is a tribute to the support, values and everlasting encouragement you have given me. Thanks to Dr. Tony Burgess, a mentor and patient guide who helped me learn about plants and life; to Bob O’Kennon, our walking flora and guide; Dr. Michael Slattery for his expertise and departmental support, and for the opportunity to attend the GreenBuild conference which grew my knowledge of the industry beyond expectations. Thanks to Dave Williams, my resourceful partner in this project whose knowledge, cleverness and energy made our study a reality. Thanks to Rob Denkhaus and Susan Tuttle at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge for plants, an area to work, research sites and friendship. I also want to thank Robert George, Pat Harrison, and all the staff at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas for being an indispensible resource and helping to give us a local voice; Lenee Weldon, my field buddy who has been there from the beginning; Molly Holden who gave us her help and knowledge, Bill Lundsford with Colbond Inc. and Steve Skinner and Nathan Griswold with American Hydrotech Inc. for their generous donations. Thanks also, to Dr. Magnus Rittby and TCU; the TCU Environmental Science Department; the TCU Living Roofs Applied Projects Team; Steve Windhager and the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center; Fort Worth Nature Center Master Naturalists; Cam Shoepp and Chris Powell from the TCU Art department; Balmori and Associates and Rana Creek; The Owner’s Group; Beck Construction; Marty Leonard; Dr. Art Busby and the TCU Geology department; Fellow TCU students and friends; and many others too numerous to name. And last, but importantly, the prairie landscape itself. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................................... ii LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................................... vi I. LIVING ROOF OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................. 1 II. OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................................... 9 III. LIVING ROOF PLANT PALETTE ..................................................................................................... 10 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 10 STATE OF THE ART ................................................................................................................ 11 IV. FORT WORTH PRAIRIE BARRENS AND GLADES .......................................................................... 14 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 14 DEFINING BARRENS AND GLADES ........................................................................................ 16 WALNUT LIMESTONE COMMUNITIES .................................................................................. 19 V. PLANT PALETTE SELECTION AND INSTALLATION ........................................................................ 21 DEFINING A HABITAT TEMPLATE ......................................................................................... 21 THE TEST MODULES ............................................................................................................. 23 TREATMENTS ........................................................................................................................ 24 PLANT PALETTE .................................................................................................................... 27 TRANSPLANTING INTO ROOF MODULES.............................................................................. 32 VI. PLANT PERFORMANCE................................................................................................................ 36 MONITORING: PHENOLOGY AND GROWTH ........................................................................ 36 PHOTOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTATION .................................................................................... 43 RESULTS: GROWTH FORMS .................................................................................................. 44 RESULTS: SURVIVORSHIP ..................................................................................................... 45 RESULTS: PHENOLOGY AND GROWTH ................................................................................. 49 FALL RESURRECTION DATA .................................................................................................. 53 RESULTS: PHOTOGRAPHIC PROGRESSION ........................................................................... 53 VII. SPECIES ACCOUNTS .................................................................................................................... 55 VIII. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................ 65 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................................... 70 VITA ABSTRACT iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Example living roof layout, courtesy American Wick Drain Corp. ........................................... 1 Figure 2: Alternate drainage layer, courtesy Green Roof Service, LLC ................................................... 2 Figure 3: St. Xavier University, Chicago IL. ............................................................................................. 8 Figure 4: Ecoregions of North Central Texas. Adapted from EPA ....................................................... 14 Figure 5: Walnut limestone glade, Inset: close‐up of Walnut surface ................................................. 19 Figure 6: Thin soil on Walnut barren. ................................................................................................... 20 Figure 7: Dalea reverchonii, a rare and endangered species. .............................................................. 20 Figure 8: Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Chicago IL. ..................................................................... 22 Figure 9: Test modules. Inset: Digital design of test module, courtesy David Williams. ..................... 23 Figure 10: View of aluminum water‐proofing in hydrologically monitored test modules. .................. 24 Figure 11: Growth Form Spectrum, as proportion of species from 2007 study. ................................. 31 Figure 12: Planting diagrams. Top left clockwise: treatments 1,2 and 4; treatment 3; treatment 5 .. 33 Figure 13: Overview map showing field sites and Walnut Limestone geology. Adapted from Texas Natural Resources Information System, 2008. ................................................................................ 37 Figure 14: Rhome field site, aerial view. (Texas Natural Resources Information Systems, 2008) ....... 39 Figure 15: Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge field site, aerial view. (Texas Natural Resources Information Systems, 2008) ............................................................................................................ 40 Figure 16: Average phenologic representation for Bouteloua rigidiseta found in test modules. ....... 42 Figure 17: Simple growth axis diagram. Left, cross section; Right, top view. ...................................... 43 Figure 18: Test module 11, left to right, April 24, transplants established; August 26, post drought; October 2, after resurrection and germination. .............................................................................. 44 Figure 19: Growth form spectra as proportion of species found, top, 2008 test modules; bottom, 2007 Walnut barrens study. ............................................................................................................ 46 Figure 20: Survival rates among living roof treatments over time showing standard deviation. ........ 47 Figure 21: Total Vegetated Canopy Extent among Living Roof Treatments over Time. ...................... 48 iv Figure 22: Test Modules’ and Field Sites’ Phenology Represented by Length of Horizontal Bar. ....... 50 Figure 23: View of sexual development of field phenologies of Muhlenbergia reverchonii ................ 51 Figure 24: Average heights across treatments over time (with standard deviation) .......................... 52 Figure 25: Muhlenbergia reverchonii in September bloom, Fort Worth Nature Center and