Abstract
This chapter covers case studies of four conservation sites and nine green roofs located in the Willamette Valley ecoregions of western Oregon. The region is geographically complex with multiple ecoregions including prairies, rocky outcrops, oak woodlands, mixed woodlands, forests, wetlands, and riparian habitats. Historically, grasslands were widespread in the valley, and these were intermixed with oak and conifer woodlands from Portland to Eugene. Less than 1% of the native prairie habitat remains intact. Precipitation averages 800–950 mm annually in the valley, and the region experiences warm to hot and dry summers and long wet winters, with infrequent snow. Much of the precipitation takes place from October through May. Although green roofs were introduced into the valley since early 2000, much of the vegetation on the over 500 green roofs in the Portland metro region has apparently not been intended to mitigate the displacement of native ecosystems by building construction. However, the nine ecoregional green roof case studies in this chapter demonstrate how 69 species of vegetation native to the Willamette Valley ecoregions can be employed on green roofs.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahiablame LM, Engel BA, Chaubey I (2012) Effectiveness of low impact development practices: literature review and suggestions for future research. Water Air Soil Pollut 223(7):4253–4273
Alaback PB (1994) Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska. Lone Pine Pub, Vancouver
Ambrose SE, Abell S (1998) Lewis & Clark: voyage of discovery. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC
Bailey RG (1997) Ecoregions of North America. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington, DC
Baker JP, Hulse DW, Gregory SV, White D, Van Sickle J, Berger PA, Dole D, Schumaker NH (2004) Alternative futures for the Willamette River basin, Oregon. Ecol Appl 14(2):313–324
Benner PA, Sedell JR (1997) Upper Willamette River landscape: a historic perspective. In: Laenen AD, Dunnette DA (eds) River quality: dynamics and restoration. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, pp 23–47
Bowie C (2008) The central library now sports a green roof. The Oregonian, Oct 9,
Carr GL, Bierstadt A (1997) Bierstadt’s West. Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe
Christy JA, Alverson ER (2011) Historical vegetation of the Willamette Valley, Oregon, circa 1850. Northwest Science 85(2):93–108
CNA (2019) Camassia Natural Area Oregon. Nature Conservancy. https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/camassia-natural-area/. Accessed 6 June 2019
Connelly, K. C. and J.B. Kauffman (1991) Ecological effects of fire in Willamette Valley wetland prairies with special emphasis on Lomatium bradshawii and Erigeron decumbens, two rare endemic plants. Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
CPRN (2012) Gunderson dedicates second habitat roof
CRG (2020) Columbia River Gorge. http://www.columbiarivergorge.info. http://www.columbiarivergorge.info/flowers.html. Accessed 20 Feb 2020
Deur D, Turner NJ (2005) Keeping it living: traditions of plant use and cultivation on the Northwest Coast of North America. University of Washington Press, Seattle
Everett G, Lamond J, Morzillo AT, Matsler AM, Chan FKS (2018) Delivering green streets: an exploration of changing perceptions and behaviours over time around bioswales in Portland, Oregon. J Flood Risk Manage 11:S973–S985
Finley KK (1994) Hydrology and related soil features of three Willamette Valley wetland prairies. Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Franklin JF, Dyrness CT (1988) Natural vegetation of Oregon and Washington, vol PNW-8. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis
Gonsalves SM (2016) Green roofs and urban biodiversity: their role as invertebrate habitat and the effect of design on beetle community. Portland State University, Portland
GR (2018) Sacred Heart Medical Center at River Bend. https://www.greenroofs.com/projects/sacred-heart-medical-center-at-river-bend/. Accessed 12 June 2019
Hamrick D (2018) Portland pushes natives and green roofs for City buildings, p 1
Harvey T (2012) McCord Creek & Elowah Falls Plant list. westerncascades.com, westerncascades.com
Hauth E, Liptan T (2003) Plant survival findings in the Pacific northwest. Paper presented at the 1st North American green roof infrastructure conference: greening rooftops for sustainable communities, Chicago, IL, May 29–30
Hutchinson D, Abrams P, Retzlaff R, Liptan T (2003) Stormwater monitoring two ecoroofs in Portland, Oregon. Paper presented at the first annual greening rooftops for sustainable communities conference, awards and trade show, Chicago, IL, April 29–May
Kimmerer RW, Lake FK (2001) The role of indigenous burning in land management. J For 99(11):36–41
KPR (2019) Kingston Prairie Preserve. Greenbelt Land Trust. http://greenbeltlandtrust.org/conserving-land/kingston-prairie-preserve/. Accessed 06-07-2019
Kurtz T Flow monitoring of three ecoroofs in Portland, Oregon. In: the 2008 international low impact development conference, Seattle, WA, 2008. ASCE, pp 1–10
LAM (2018) Portland adopts a green roof requirement in the Central City 2035 Plan. Living architecture monitor, vol June 2016. Green Roofs for Healty Cities, Toronto
Liptan TW (2017) Sustainable stormwater management: a landscape-driven approach to planning and design. Timber Press, Portland
MacIvor JS, Ranalli MA, Lundholm JT (2011) Performance of dryland and wetland plant species on extensive green roofs. Ann Bot 107(4):671–679
McCormack B (2006) PSU Native American Student & Community Center. McCormack Landscape Architecture. http://www.weetes.com/index.cfm?page=psunative.cfm. Accessed 15 June 2019
NASCC (2019) Native American student and community center. Native American Student and Community Center. https://www.pdx.edu/floorplans/buildings/nascc. Accessed 16 Dec 2019
OA (2013) Reed College performing arts ecoroof. Opsis Architecture. https://www.opsisarch.com/blog/project/reed-college-performing-arts-building/. Accessed 13 June 2019
OCS (2019) Oregon Conservation Strategy: Willamette Valley. Oregon Conservation Strategy.http://www.oregonconservationstrategy.org/ecoregion/willamette-valley/. Accessed 06-10-2019
Pojar J, MacKinnon A (2004) Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Partners Publishing Group, Vancouver
Reveal JL, Moulton GE, Schuyler AE (1999) The Lewis and Clark collections of vascular plants: names, types, and comments. Proc Acad Natl Sci Phila 149:1–64
Sailor DJ, Hutchinson D, Bokovoy L (2008) Thermal property measurements for ecoroof soils common in the western U.S. Energy Build 40(7):1246–1251
Schemske DW, Husband BC, Ruckelshaus MH, Goodwillie C, Parker IM, Bishop JG (1994) Evaluating approaches to the conservation of rare and endangered plants. Ecology 75(3):584–606
Scherba A, Sailor DJ, Rosenstiel TN, Wamser CC (2011) Modeling impacts of roof reflectivity, integrated photovoltaic panels and green roof systems on sensible heat flux into the urban environment. Build Environ 46(12):2542–2551. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2011.06.012
Schultz CB, Henry E, Carleton A, Hicks T, Thomas R, Potter A, Collins M, Linders M, Fimbel C, Black S (2011) Conservation of prairie-oak butterflies in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Northwest Sci 85(2):361–389
Schultz I, Sailor DJ, Starry O (2018) Effects of substrate depth and precipitation characteristics on stormwater retention by two green roofs in Portland OR. J Hydrol Reg Stud 18:110–118
Spolek G (2008) Performance monitoring of three ecoroofs in Portland, Oregon. Urban Ecosyst 11(4):349–359
Starry O, Gonsalves S, Ksiazek-Mikenas K, MacIvor JS, Gardner M, Szallies A, Brenneisen S (2018) A global comparison of beetle community composition on green roofs and the potential for homogenization. Urban Nat 1:1–15
Thilenius JF (1968) The Quercus garryana forests of the Willamette Valley, Oregon. Ecology 49(6):1124–1133
Thurston R (2017) Defining and measuring green roof failure using a case study of incentivized industrial, commercial, and institutional vegetated roofs in Portland, Oregon. Evergreen State College, Olympia
Titus JH, Christy JA, VanderSchaaf D, Kagan JS, Alverson ER (1996) Native wetland and riparian plant communities in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. Oregon natural heritage program and the nature conservancy. Oregon Natural Heritage Program and The Nature Conservancy, Portland
Walsh MK, Pearl CA, Whitlock C, Bartlein PJ, Worona MA (2010) An 11 000-year-long record of fire and vegetation history at beaver Lake, Oregon, Central Willamette Valley. Quat Sci Rev 29(9–10):1093–1106
Williams GW (2002) Aboriginal use of fire: are there any “natural” plant communities. USDA Forest Service, Washington DC. USDA Forest Service National Office, Washington, DC
Williams RC, Steinberg AG, Gershowitz H, Bennett PH, Knowler WC, Pettitt DJ, Butler W, Baird R, Dowda-Rea L, Burch TA (1985) GM allotypes in Native Americans: evidence for three distinct migrations across the Bering land bridge. Am J Phys Anthropol 66(1):1–19
Wilson MV, Hammond PC, Schultz CB (1997) The interdependence of native plants and Fender’s blue butterfly. Conservation and management of native flora and fungi. Native Plant Society of Oregon, Corvallis, pp 83–87
Wood D (2011) Gunderson habitat ecoroof: planting documentation. Dobro Design, Portland
Wood D (2018) Habitat Value of Ecoroofs-Phase 2. Paper presented at the Cities Alive: 15th annual green roof & wall conference Sept. 18–21
Zenk H (2008) Notes on Native American place-names of the Willamette Valley region. Or Hist Q 109(1):6–33
Zhou L, Shen G, Woodfin T, Chen T, Song K (2018) Ecological and economic impacts of green roofs and permeable pavements at the city level: the case of Corvallis, Oregon. J Environ Plan Manag 61(3):430–450
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the following individuals for taking the time, efforts, and sharing of their knowledge to help us gather information for this chapter including Tom Lipton, Brian McCormack (Nez Perce) owner McCormack Landscape Architects; Dan Sutton, with Rexius Forest By-Products; Elizabeth Hart Morris with Green Up and GRiT ; Alan Proffitt with Multnomah County; Desirae Wood at Dobro Design; Johnathan Beaver at 2.ink Studio; Jeff Aryd formerly with Habitats, Inc.; Blythe Utz with Greenbelt Landtrust; staff at the Sacred Heart Medical Center; Courtney Vengarick at the Leach Botanical Garden; and the staff at Hayden Walmart.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dvorak, B., Starry, O. (2021). Green Roofs in Willamette Valley Ecoregions. In: Dvorak, B. (eds) Ecoregional Green Roofs. Cities and Nature. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58395-8_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58395-8_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-58394-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-58395-8
eBook Packages: HistoryHistory (R0)