A vertical ecosystem is an architectural gardening system developed by Ignacio Solano from the mur vegetal created by

Patrick Blanc Patrick Blanc (born June 3, 1953, Paris) is a French botanist who works at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, where he specializes in plants from tropical forests. He is the modern innovator of the green wall, specifically, ...

. This new approach enhances the previous archetype of mur vegetal and considers the relationship that exists between a set of living organisms, biocenosis, inhabiting a physical component,

biotope A biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of flora (plants), plants and fauna (animals), animals. ''Biotope'' is almost synonymous with the term habitat (ecology), "habitat", which ...

. The system is based on the automated control of nutrients and plant parameters of the original wall, adding strains of bacteria,

mycorrhiza A mycorrhiza (; , mycorrhiza, or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant's rhizosphere, the plant root system and its surroundings. Mycorrhizae play ...

l fungi and interspecific

symbiosis Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction, between two organisms of different species. The two organisms, termed symbionts, can fo ...

in plant selection, creating an artificial

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

from inert substrates. The system was created in 2007 and patented in 2010. Amongst

abiotic In biology and ecology, abiotic components or abiotic factors are non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems. Abiotic factors and the phenomena associated with them und ...

factors that influence vertical ecosystems, namely the substrate and its environmental conditions, the physio-chemical characteristics possessed by the means are decisive. The texture, porosity and depth of the substrate, those that in a natural ecosystem are

edaphic Edaphology (from Greek , ''edaphos'' 'ground' + , '' -logia'') is concerned with the influence of soils on living beings, particularly plants. It is one of two main divisions of soil science, the other being pedology. Edaphology includes the st ...

factors, have been tested to the point of finding fitogenerate materials with perfect levels of absorption and humidity for the development of more than forty living families of plants represented by around 120 species. Moreover, the substrate used in the system developed by Ignacio Solano provides the ecosystem with the necessary resistance to serve as a high-durability

Environmental factor An environmental factor, ecological factor or eco factor is any factor, abiotic or biotic, that influences living organisms. Abiotic factors include ambient temperature, amount of sunlight, air, soil, water and pH of the water soil in which an ...

s such as light, temperature and humidity are controlled by automated systems in interior vertical ecosystems. Ecosystems that are situated outside require study and analysis of the natural variables of their particular area, combined with a study of the behaviour of the numerous plant species in the biotope in each location. The selection and combination of species is one of the key factors for correct development. This is known as positive

allelopathy Allelopathy is a biological phenomenon by which an organism produces one or more biochemicals that influence the germination, growth, survival, and reproduction of other organisms. These biochemicals are known as allelochemicals and can have ben ...

Hydrological Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and drainage basin sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is called a hydro ...

factors, such as pH levels, the conductivity of the water, dissolved gases and salinity, are balanced with precision so that the

hydroponic Hydroponics is a type of horticulture and a subset of hydroculture which involves growing plants, usually crops or medicinal plants, without soil, by using water-based mineral nutrient solutions in an artificial environment. Terrestrial or ...

system functions at its maximum capacity. The objective required by this system is to incorporate all the nutrients and

micronutrient Micronutrients are essential chemicals required by organisms in small quantities to perform various biogeochemical processes and regulate physiological functions of cells and organs. By enabling these processes, micronutrients support the heal ...

s necessary for the health of the plants, and therefore the whole ecosystem, in a constant manner. To control these variables, the vertical ecosystem implements a system of sensors and warnings that inform of any anomaly of measurements in real time, allowing remote monitoring and control of the system. Vertical ecosystems enable plant species, fungi, and bacteria to live in an environment of almost unlimited resources, generating interactions favourable to the system.
Diario Vasco, Patenta un cóctel de bacterias para alargar la vida de los jardines verticales, 2012
' In this way, they encourage healthy and exponential growth in their evolutionary stages, until they manage to adjust to their maximum value, known as the load capacity: the optimum capacity of living species interacting without stress in a limited space in search of mutualisms and intraspecific associations that benefit all the species involved. The success of a vertical ecosystem depends on the control of abiotic and biotic factors that limit the growth of plant populations, the control of ''environmental resistance''. Vertical ecosystems aim to prolong the life of planted species and bring the benefits of a traditional vertical garden, including: absorption of , heavy metals and dust, natural

thermal insulation Thermal insulation is the reduction of heat transfer (i.e., the transfer of thermal energy between objects of differing temperature) between objects in thermal contact or in range of radiative influence. Thermal insulation can be achieved with s ...

, and reduction of

noise pollution Noise pollution, or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise or sound with potential harmful effects on humans and animals. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is mainly caused by machines, transport and propagation systems.Senate Publi ...

Some of the works

*2007 Vertical garden a
Caixa Forum Museum

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

(Spain) *2007 Vertical garden in Restaurante Els Vents,

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

(Spain) *2007 Cube/Vertical garden,

Getafe Getafe () is a municipalities in Spain, municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city c ...

(Spain) *2008 Penthouse vertical garden,

Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...

(Spain) *2008 Vertical garden, Paterna,

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

(Spain) *2009 Indoor vertical garden,

Elche Elche (, ; , , , ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2024's data, Elche has a population of 234,800 inhabitants,

(Spain) *2010 Luxury villa vertical garden,

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

(Spain) *2011 Cheese bar vertical garden,

(Spain) *2011 Hollbox office vertical garden, Alicante (Spain) *2012 Hotel B3-Gaia vertical garden,

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

(Colombia) *2012 Scala shopping centre vertical garden,

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

(Ecuador) *2012 Unicentro Armenia shopping centre vertical garden, Colombia (advising and use of patent) *2012 Biomax vertical garden, Colombia (advising and use of patent) *2012 Librería Panamericana vertical garden, Colombia (advising and use of patent) *2012 Hotel Cosmos vertical garden, Colombia (advising and use of patent) *2013 Confederación de Empresarios Privados de Cochabamba vertical garden, Bolivia (advising and use of patent) *2013 Índalo banquet suite vertical garden, Alicante (Spain) *2013 Vertical garden, Murcia (Spain) *2013 Hotel Son Claret vertical garden,

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

(Spain) *2014 Vertical gardens in the Celebra Building of

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

(Uruguay) - (advising and use of patent) *2014 Vertical garden and green roof in the center of Elche (Spain) *2014 Vertical gardens in the Smart Building of Alhaurín de la Torre, Málaga (Spain) *2015 Vertical garden in Desguaces Otoniel, Alicante (Spain)

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.paisajismourbano.com, Paisajismo Urbano official website Plant roots Soil biology Symbiosis Oligotrophs Fungus ecology Botany Ecology