Performance of Frankenia thymifolia as a ground cover plant species and its effect on physicochemical characteristics of recycled substrates in four different seasons in external green wall systems

Subject Areas : Morphophysiological

Mansoure Jozay ¹ , Fatemeh Kazemi ² , Amir Fotovat ³

1 - Faculty of Plant Production, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran,
2 - School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia,
3 - Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran,

Received: 2022-07-15 Accepted : 2022-10-07 Published : 2023-03-21

Keywords: Agricultural waste, Sustainable agriculture, Urban Development, Green wall, soil acidity,

Abstract :

Integrating nature into the buildings through green roofs and walls is considered a sustainable strategy in current city development. However, studies on organic waste growing media that allow appropriate plant establishment in these systems are insignificant and yet challenging. This study aimed to evaluate the stability of the Frankenia thymifolia cover plant in four combinations of growing media (30% cocopeat + 65% perlite + 5% vermicompost, 30% leaf litter + 65% perlite + 5% vermicompost, 30% mushroom compost + 65% perlite + 5% vermicompost, and the typical soil used in the green spaces as the control) in the external green wall conditions. The study was a split-plot arrangement in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The main factor was the different seasons in four levels, and the second was the growing media in four levels. Also, at the end of the study, the characteristics of the substrates were tested as a randomized complete block design experiment with three replications. The morpho-physiological traits of the Frankenia plant and the physicochemical characteristics under different growing media were significantly different (p≤0.01). The results showed that leaf surface features, leaf water content, chlorophyll a, b and total, carotenoid, and all the root-related traits were higher in the plants grown in the organic matter growing medium than those grown in the typical soil. Also, better physicochemical attributes (lower bulk density, porosity, less ash, more air volume, and more acidity) were observed in organic growing medium in comparison with the typical soil. The results of this research confirmed the favorable effect of using washed mushroom compost along with perlite and vermicompost instead of the common imported green wall substrates. It also suggests using the Frankenia in climates similar to Mashhad year-round in the external green wall systems.

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