Green roofs and green walls are a potential strategy to increase green spaces in the urban environment. These solutions bring multiple benefits to the cities at the economic and socio-environmental levels. However, from the point of view of private investors, green roofs and green walls often have a negative financial evaluation. Concerning this, the quantification of the benefits according to building use and occupancy could be an important tool to assist the decision-making process and guarantee returns on investment. This study aims to support the decision-making process by managers and owners of youth hostels regarding green roofs and green walls implementation. Using a structured questionnaire, users’ perceptions were assessed through a five-point Likert scale. The survey was conducted in five youth hostels in Lisbon, Portugal. Analyses were performed in two phases. Firstly, using the original sample (n = 345), and subsequently grouping homogeneous individuals through cluster analysis. The results showed that most respondents support green infrastructure installation in the hostel and consider that these solutions could provide a greater sense of individual well-being and local aesthetic improvement. However, there is no strong evidence that green infrastructure solutions are considered a deciding factor to select local lodging, despite the fact that it can be a tiebreaker factor between two similar options. Furthermore, findings have shown that 90% of the respondents from Cluster 1 and 92% from Cluster 4 are probably not willing to pay higher daily rates for youth hostels that have green infrastructure solutions in place. On the other hand, 67% of the respondents from Cluster 2 were potentially willing to pay an additional amount. For the 345 respondents, the most preferred green infrastructure typologies are indoor living wall and the accessible green roof. Moreover, findings support the gender socialization and identity theory showing that women have a greater environmental concern compared to men.

In this study a long-term field experiment evaluating evapotranspiration rates from irrigated and non-irrigated green roof modules, as well their impacts on stormwater control was accomplished. Six green roof modules (3 irrigated and 3 non-irrigated) vegetated with S. rupestre were monitored throughout 8 months in southern Brazil. Four non-vegetated modules (2 irrigated and 2 non-irrigated) were simultaneously assessed to understand the role of the vegetation in the whole process. The average evapotranspiration under water-stress (ETr) was 2.6 mm.day-1, while mean evapotranspiration under water-abundance (ETp) was 2.8 mm.day-1. Higher evapotranspiration rates were observed during summer, increasing the substrate storage capacity, although ETr amount along the seasons was very similar, mainly affected by climatic conditions. The long-term analysis showed that 47% of the total rainfall was converted into runoff, 21% was retained in the green roof modules and 32% was released through evapotranspiration, reinforcing the importance of vegetation as a mechanism for improving stormwater control benefits. The results of this research also allowed the establishment of a crop coefficient (Kc) time series, with a monthly average of 0.9 which permits the S. rupestre evapotranspiration to be preliminarily estimated by using equations developed for reference culture without the need of monitoring.

A análise ambiental de nascentes pode ser entendida como um método para a verificação da qualidade do ambiente no seu entorno, e possíveis impactos na qualidade das águas e na sua viabilidade para consumo humano. O presente estudo objetivou analisar nove nascentes na zona rural do município de Cunha Porã/SC, utilizadas para abastecimento humano. Para tanto, foi realizada avaliação ambiental macroscópica e foram analisados parâmetros físico-químicos e microbiológicos da qualidade da água: pH, nitrogênio total, fósforo total, oxigênio dissolvido, 2,4 – D, Glifosato, Atrazina, turbidez, temperatura, condutividade elétrica, coliformes totais e Escherichia coli. Foi verificado o não cumprimento da legislação vigente no que tange as Áreas de Preservação Permanente e possíveis impactos ambientais associados. Com relação à qualidade, as águas das nascentes se apresentaram como não potáveis, devido à presença de 2,4-D e Atrazina acima dos limites para potabilidade, bem como a positividade de Escherichia coli em 100% das amostras. Sendo assim, há potencial risco à saúde da população que faz uso da água dessas nascentes.