Time-Dependent Changes in the Physico-Chemical Parameters and Growth Responses of Sedum acre (L.) to Waste-Based Growing Substrates in Simulation Extensive Green Roof Experiment
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The manuscript is out of the scope of the journal Agronomy.
Author Response
The manuscript is out of the scope of the journal Agronomy.
A1: Thank you. We respect your position on this matter.
The Editor-in-Chief of the Soil and Plant nutrition section will make the final decision on whether the manuscript is qualified for Agronomy. Agronomy is a cross-disciplinary journal on agronomy and agroecology. The subject areas also include agronomy of urban area, the environment, and horticulture.
In our opinion, the issues discussed in the research paper concern mineral nutrition of plants and green roof technology, which could be included into the urban agriculture and horticulture subject areas.
Reviewer 2 Report
The reviewed work is at the interface between environmental sciences and agronomy. It is an attempt to assess the use of waste materials in the construction of green roofs, while using appropriate plants in this case, Sedum acre L. .
The article presents the results of a 2-year experiment. The five substrates used in the construction of the green roof were made of locally available waste materials.
The aim of the study was to assess changes in the physicochemical parameters of plant substrates over the two-year experiment.
The advantage of the work is the design and fabrication of structures, setting up experiments, performing 2-year experiments and processing the results. A significant part of the results of the experiments was presented in the reviewed publication.
In my opinion, the work meets the requirements of the journal and should be published because it is an original study on the use of new technologies in solving environmental problems, and above all the use of waste materials to reduce the emission of heavy metals to the environment.
Author Response
In my opinion, the work meets the requirements of the journal and should be published because it is an original study on the use of new technologies in solving environmental problems, and above all the use of waste materials to reduce the emission of heavy metals to the environment.
A1: We thank the Reviewer for positive review.
Reviewer 3 Report
The study provides a good concept and deals with an important topic. I have the following suggestions to improve this paper.
Introduction
1. The author highlighted previous findings that centre on the topic of concern. However, most of the literature reviews are not up to date. The author should endeavour to cite from recent publications (2018 and 2020).
2. It is better if authors can have the real picture of green roof setup.
3. there is a black page that should be emitted.
4. There are multiple factors which affect the soil of green roofs, authors should discuss them also.
5. The authors should compare results with previously published studies.
6. Conclusion
What are the limitation of this research and future research work should be discussed in this section.
Kind Regards,
Author Response
Reviewer #3:
C1. The author highlighted previous findings that centre on the topic of concern. However, most of the literature reviews are not up to date. The author should endeavor to cite from recent publications (2018 and 2020).
A1: The work is comprehensive and is concerned with both the changes in soil and plant parameters. Therefore, only those items that are strictly related to growing substrates and waste materials used for their preparation are included in the bibliography.
As suggested by the reviewer, several new scientific articles from the field of green roof technology were introduced into the manuscript.
C2. It is better if authors can have the real picture of green roof setup.
A2: We have added a real picture of the green roof setup at the end of the manuscript. However, due to its poor quality, we would prefer not to publish it in the paper.
C3. There is a black page that should be emitted.
A3: Thank you. The blank page has been removed
C4. There are multiple factors which affect the soil of green roofs, authors should discuss them also.
A4: In the discussion, the authors focused on those physico-chemical parameters of the tested substrates that differed from those recommended by the FLL standards.
The manuscript exceeds 20 pages of text, and, out of respect for the reader, we did not cover all possible relations in this comprehensive study. The most interesting results were selected for the discussion chapter.
C5. The authors should compare results with previously published studies.
A5: In the Results and Discussion chapter, 27 scientific articles are cited (there is a total of 53 items in the References). The final shape of the manuscript is always a compromise. In the absence of detailed comments, it is difficult to guess what the reviewer wanted to convey in this general statement. Our previously published studies were included in this section of the manuscript (35-36).
C6. Conclusion
What are the limitation of this research and future research work should be discussed in this section.
A6: Thank you for the comment. The limitations and future research work are included in the conclusion.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
The topic of the manuscript “Time-dependent changes in the physico-chemical parameters and growth responses of Sedum acre (L.) to waste-based growing substrates in simulation 2extensive green roof experiment” is interesting and the authors had a good idea for a research project. The subject is relevant, the analytical methodologies are adequate, and the volume of data seems to be enough for publication. Methodology is well explained.
