Vertical Greening Systems to Improve Water Management

Abstract

Reflections Vertical greening systems (VGS) can positively contribute to water management improvement, especially in the urban environment, while reducing air temperatures, due to the evapotranspiration process from plants and substrates. Due to the vertical disposition, these systems only have limited possibilities to directly capture rain, the fact that implies that issues such as water use efficiency as well as rain and gray water reuse become key points for the future designs in a context of sustainable construction. Recently, interesting studies on new applications of water management in VGS have emerged, being two of the most promising ones the use of VGS as biofilters for wastewater treatment as well as a complementary element for aquaponics production in small spaces. © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.