Leaf trait plasticity means green facades are a flexible nature-based solution for vertical greening under full-sun and heavy shade conditions

Climbing plants that cover building walls (indirect green façades) are a nature-based solution for urban greening in dense urban areas. Green facades can provide important ecosystem service benefits such as cooling, biodiversity habitat and visualamenity and screening. However, as new buildings are constructed the urban form changes and this can create heavy shade that impacts the growth, health and function of existing green façade climbing plants. Climbing plants may respond to increased shade through plasticity in some leaf traits (e.g. specific leaf area, photosynthetic rate or leaf chlorophyll content). However, deciduous climbing plant species are likely to be more plastic than evergreen species as they have less conservative resource strategies.