My proposed research:

Sean Kelly on (LUC) green roof

(AM) fungi roots stained blue

My research deals with green roof soil ecology. From prior research studies, we know that natural soil contains special fungi called arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi which help maintain soil stability. Interestingly enough, Chicago has more green roofs than any other city in the United States and Loyola University Chicago (LUC) has the greatest concentration of green roofs in the city.  However, it is unknown whether the soil media in green roofs contain the same AM fungi. On March 1, 2013 I submitted my first official undergraduate research proposal with my professor V. Bala Chaudhary’s assistance. Its title is, “Mycorrhizal Fungi in Green Roof Soils”. It major question is- do green roofs at LUC contain AM fungi? We hypothesize that LUC green roofs do contain some amount of naturally requited AM fungi. If this is true we would like to know what beneficial ecosystem functions they are providing. We expect to see increased plant cover and increased soil stability correlated with increased AM fungal abundance.

Implications:

This could be the future of Chicago

This study is the first of its kind. There has not been any previous research conducted on green roof soil media ecology. This study’s findings could lead to many great benefits for green roof consumers. It could lead to increased water infiltration rates, reduced storm water runoff, and reduced erosion of green roof soil media. This would greatly increase the cost-effectiveness of green roofs and the implementation of green roofs in developing and redeveloping businesses and buildings everywhere.