Biodiverse Green Roof
The biodiversity in Europe is rapidly declining. As humans, we depend on healthy ecosystems. These cannot exist without high biodiversity. This is because healthy ecosystems provide necessities such as clean air, drinking water and food. The loss of biodiversity is partly due to the reduction and fragmentation of natural habitats by construction. It is therefore of great importance to green cities, villages and industrial areas and build nature-inclusive properties. This will give local biodiversity a boost.
A good way of greening is to install a natural roof, like Sempergreen's Biodiverse green roof system. This creates natural habitats. The green roofs also act as stepping stones connecting larger green habitats.
Biodiverse systems for flat and slightly pitched roofs
In addition to the Biodiverse Green Roof, Sempergreen also offers a lightweight variant: the Lightweight Biodiverse Green Roof. These systems can be used on roofs with a roof pitch of up to 15 or even 20 degrees. Read more about these systems below and download the (technical) information.
Biodiverse Green Roof
The Biodiverse Green Roof consists of a drainage layer and a layer of intensive roof garden substrate of at least 120 mm thick, covered with a flower-filled Sempergreen Biodiverse blanket. This Biodiverse blanket Bees & Butterflies is cultivated with a mix of more than 20 plants attractive to bees, butterflies and other insects.
For more (technical) information on these green roof systems, consult the system build-up documents, technical drawings and specification texts. For the Biodiverse green roof 0°-5°, other drainage layers can also be used if even greater water storage is required. Please contact our Sales Department for more information.
- Download System build-up Biodiverse Green Roof 0°- 5°
- Download System build-up Biodiverse Green Roof 5°- 15°
- Go to product page Bees & Butterflies blanket
Lightweight Biodiverse Green Roof
The Lightweight Biodiverse Green Roof also includes a drainage layer. The middle layer consists of at least 70 mm of extensive roof garden substrate with the Sempergreen Biodiverse blanket Sedum-herbs on top. This blanket is cultivated with at least 12 different Sedum species and 30 species of herbs. This lightweight green roof system is ideal for structures with a more limited bearing capacity and can even be applied up to a 20-degree roof pitch.
Consult the system build-up documents, technical drawings and specification texts for more (technical) information on these green roof systems. For the Lightweight Biodiverse Green Roof 0°-5°, other drainage layers can also be used. Please contact our Sales Department for more information.
- Download System build-up Lightweight Biodiverse Green Roof 0°- 5°
- Download System build-up Lightweight Biodiverse Green Roof 5°- 15°
- Download System build-up Lightweight Biodiverse Green Roof 15°- 20°
- Go to product page Sedum-herbs blanket
Benefits for biodiversity
The Biodiverse Green Roof contains a drainage layer, a thick substrate layer and vegetation blankets with flower-rich greenery attractive to bees, butterflies and other insects. The planting consists of plants which provide food in the form of nectar and pollen to insects such as butterflies and bees, and host plants on which insects lay their eggs.
Butterflies, in particular, can be very picky and many species only lay their eggs on one particular plant. After hatching, caterpillars and larvae find food on the plant, for example in the form of leaves or nectar. Insects are very dependent on host plants. Without these plants, they cannot complete an important part of their life cycle. Thanks to the host plants, nectar and pollen plants and the thick substrate layer, this biodiverse green roof system provides sufficient nutrition and safe nesting and hiding places. This allows insects to spend their entire life cycle on the green roof.
Other advantages of a Biodiverse green roof
But the Biodiverse Green Roof system has even more advantages. The thick layer of roof garden substrate combined with the plants has an additional heat regulating effect, thus providing cooling on hot days, both indoors and outdoors. In addition, the plants purify the air of CO2 and particulate matter, and the green roof has a noise-absorbing effect for its surroundings. Finally, the ecological roof vegetation also provides aesthetic value for the neighbourhood, allowing residents to enjoy a lovely colourful view.
Green roof with solar panels: Solar Biodiverse Roof
Did you know that besides improving local biodiversity, sustainable energy can also be generated with a green roof? Because the Sempergreen Lightweight Biodiverse Green Roof system can be combined with solar panels in the Solar Biodiverse Roof. This creates a multifunctional roof.
How do you install and maintain a Sempergreen biodiverse green roof?
The installation of a Biodiverse green roof is very similar to that of a traditional green roof from Sempergreen. The main difference is the thickness of the substrate and the type of vegetation blanket placed on top. Watch the installation video of a Traditional Sedum Roof here or download the installation instructions on the Installation page.
To keep these semi-intensive green roofs healthy for a long time, we recommend a minimum of 2-3 maintenance sessions per year. For more information, visit the maintenance page.
Why choose a biodiverse green roof?
A natural roof is actually the most ideal green roof from an ecological point of view. All possible advantages of a green roof are present with this biodiverse green roof system. If it is possible in terms of weight to opt for a Biodiverse green roof, we highly recommend it. It is the best roof for the flora and fauna, but also the (neighbourhood) residents and urban nature as a whole, benefit the most.
Interested in the topic of biodiversity and greening buildings? Then download our white paper "Building for Biodiversity"
Biodiversity package as an alternative
Of course, there are many projects where the roof cannot support the weight of a natural roof. That's no problem! For lighter green roofs such as the Traditional or Lightweight Sedum Roof, we have developed the Sempergreen Biodiversity Package in collaboration with the Dutch Bee Foundation and the Dutch Butterfly Foundation. This package, available in two sizes (2 and 6 m2) provides nesting spaces and host plants for insects. This also allows them to spend their full life cycle on a Sedum roof. View the composition and installation instructions of the Biodiversity Package Small and Large here.
Green over grey
A regular Sedum roof (without Biodiversity Package) is also always buzzing with bumblebees, bees and other pollinators in summer. This is because for many months they can find food here in the form of nectar from the various flowering Sedum species. This is why a green roof is always better than a grey roof.
Projects with a Biodiverse Green Roof
Curious how the Biodiverse Green Roof and Lightweight Biodiverse Green Roof look in practice? Click on the following four green roof projects:
- Haagse Hendrik in The Hague ((c) T&G Groep)
- Radisson Blu Hotel in Sopot, Poland ((c) Greenfond)
- Factory Soprema in Tongeren, Belgium ((c) IBIC bv)
- Villa with Biodiversity Package in Brest, France
More information
For more information about the possibilities for your project, contact our green roof specialists. They will be happy to help you!