Ongoing urbanisation and climate change threaten urban green (UG) spaces in Lima, exacerbated by conventional design and management methods. Extensive green roofs (GRs) are a promising alternative in Lima's context as they provide numerous benefits and are adapted to arid conditions. This study aimed to develop sustainable GRs in Lima by using the Lomas ecosystems as a habitat template. We analysed abiotic conditions and plant traits of Lomas communities and compared them with those of GRs. We compared species composition and edaphic properties from five Lomas around Lima with those of arid GR systems. Lomas and GR species were further classified into functional groups based on their functional traits. Amancaes, Lachay and Villa Maria del Triunfo (VMT) have soils with similar characteristics as arid GRs, and the most suited Lomas species were found there. The 'herb functional group', consisting of herbs with succulence and clonal capacity, may be suitable for GRs due to arid adaptations and creeping and clumping growth patterns. Given the endangered status of several Lomas species within this group, introducing them to GRs in Lima offers a conservation opportunity, helping their survival and establishing urban complementary habitats. Shrub species such as Heliotropium, Atriplex, Croton, and Trixis are the most frequent shrubs in Lomas and are crucial for preserving the structure and biodiversity of the ecosystem. However, the 'shrub functional group' may be better suited for semi -intensive GRs due to their deeper root systems and erect growth. The habitat template approach can aid biodiversity conservation by incorporating threatened and endemic Lomas species into GR systems.

Warming environmental conditions are often credited with increasing Arctic shrub growth and altering abundance and distribution, yet it is unclear whether tundra shrub expansion will continue into future decades. Water availability may begin to limit Arctic shrub growth if increasing air temperatures create drier soil conditions due to increased evapotranspiration and permafrost-thaw-induced soil drainage. However, few studies have effectively considered how dominant tundra shrub species respond to variations in both temperature and moisture. To better understand the key effects of temperature variation and soil moisture on two dominant circumpolar deciduous shrubs, we studied shrub growth along a natural landscape gradient in West Greenland, which is a region observed to be drying due to ongoing warming. We found that the growth forms of both grey willow (Salix glauca) and dwarf birch (Betula nana) were sensitive to warmer and drier conditions. For both species, increases in air temperature positively correlated with greater shrub volume, with the doubling of canopy volume due to increased woody biomass. Leaf biomass was best predicted by edaphic features including extractable ammonium, which was positively related to soil moisture, and bulk density. Warmer soils tended to be drier, suggesting that ongoing warming in the area could lead to significant water limitation. Our findings suggest that drier soil conditions might be limiting foliar production despite warming temperatures for two circumpolar dominant shrubs,Betula nanaandSalix glauca, which could have wide-ranging, biome-level consequences about ongoing and predicted shrub growth and expansion.