visit to usda greenroof

UMBC roof update

Looking good! A long way since install in June (click link)!

Also check out the functioning weirboxes through the door near the Patapsco Hall residence hall on the left below, and through their transparent lids on the right below.  Once the transducers are added we will begin data collection!

Calculating leaf area

We have been exploring a new way to calculate leaf area, an important measure used to predict ecological functions.  Traditionally, leaves are laid flat and pushed through a machine.  This was not possible for our plump sedum leaves, so we measured their volume and will estimate area using this information along estimates of avg leaf height and equations for the area of a cylinder (S. sexangulare) or and ellipse(S. album). Here are some pics from the great plant leaf massacre and the tedious counting and measuring of leaves:

propagation by seed

 







It was difficult, but I had to remove the Sedum that had started to grow in my "control" platforms.  This is evidence that Sedum can and will propagate by seed in Md. Check out the root mass on even the small plants!

double pollinators

Back in Baltimore

So I returned to Baltimore sort of panicked when I noticed the dark stems of some of the Sedum album (see pic), but was reliably informed that this is probably not a pathogen.  More likely the darkness is natural fall color perhaps related to the plant's waxy cuticle.

last stop Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburgh

The Phipps Botany In Action outreach training weekend was informative and a great way to meet and compare notes with other women scientists.  I left feeling very impressed by the work everyone is doing and feeling much more hopeful than usual.
I was also pretty impressed with the plans for the Center for Sustainable Landscapes building at Phipps.  Click on the link or see below for the living building plans.

Bus stop by roofscapes

next stop, Philadelphia ASCE conference on low impact designs

The above text is a link to the conference that's sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers...
This is one of the best conferences to attend in order to get the most up-to-date info on the state of greenroof research.

catching up after touring the east coast megalopolis

First stop NYC, where there rain made a number of good stormwater pictures possible