ArticleScientific reports2026
Long-term field evaluation of sewage sludge biochar in green roof substrates reveals hydrological, vegetation, and microbial responses.
Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Sewage sludge biochar (SSB) represents a circular material with the potential to improve the ecological performance of extensive green roofs and valorize nutrient-rich waste streams. Here, we report a 40-month rooftop monitoring experiment under temperate conditions evaluating the effects of SSB incorporation (10% and 20% v/v) on substrate properties, hydrological performance, runoff quality, vegetation development, and microbial diversity. SSB amendment reduced bulk density and increased total porosity and water-holding capacity, resulting in higher substrate moisture availability. These changes led to improved water retention, with annual runoff reduced by 3.3-8.5%, with the highest reduction observed in the SB20 treatment during the driest year (2022), and cumulative seasonal retention reaching 76% during dry years. Despite the nutrient-rich origin of SSB, runoff nutrient concentrations exhibited initial increases and subsequent stabilization, consistent with gradual nutrient release dynamics. Vegetation cover reached to 73% in the control and to 84% (SB20) and 89% (SB10) over the study period, with no significant difference between the two amendment rates. Microbial analyses revealed higher bacterial and fungal richness in SSB treatments, particularly at 20% v/v. Structural equation modelling indicated that variation in microbial richness was associated with changes in runoff chemistry (pH, electric conductivity, total suspended solids) and interannual dynamics, rather than effects explained by a single factor. Overall, this study provides evidence from extended rooftop monitoring, highlighting long-term system responses of extensive green roofs amended with SSB, particularly regarding water balance, substrate physical development, and microbial diversity.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.