Hydrological function of a thin extensive green roof in southern Sweden

The runoff from and the water balance of a thin extensive green roof with sedum-moss have been studied. The soil cover is about 3 cm underlain by a thin drainage layer. The water balance is determined on a monthly basis. The runoff from the green roof is much reduced compared to runoff from hard roofs because of evapotranspiration. The annual runoff is rather close to that of natural river basins. Although most rainy days there is no or little runoff from the roof, the highest observed daily runoff values are close to the daily rainfall. Runoff is initiated when the soil is at field capacity, which for the studied roof corresponds to 9 mm storage. After that, on a not very short time basis, the runoff equals the precipitation. The reduction of the daily runoff can be described in a simple way knowing the daily precipitation, potential evaporation and storage capacity of the green roof.