Review: rooftop antennas may put green roof ecosystems under chronic RF-EMF stress, an unexplored topic

A review in Environmental Reviews by Czerwinski, Virto, Vian and Thielens examines radiofrequency EMF exposure on urban green roofs, where base station antennas and vegetation increasingly share the same space. In a two-stage synthesis the authors first map measured rooftop exposure levels in the 0.7 to 3.8 GHz range from 20 publications, then assess 34 studies on RF-EMF effects in plants and insects, the dominant groups in green roof ecosystems. Their new interpretation is that chronic RF-EMF stress in plants may reduce seed production and shift resources toward clonal growth, weakening ecosystem resilience. They note the topic has no dedicated research or legislation to date.

"This exposure is typically much higher on rooftops in dense urban areas where antennas are located, compared to ground level in those same areas. The recent deployment of wireless infrastructure on urban rooftops has coincided with the expansion of green roofs in cities."

— Czerwinski et al., Environmental Reviews

"It suggests that chronic stress signal induced by RF-EMF may cause reduced seed production and a shift in resource allocation towards clonal growth."

— Czerwinski et al., Environmental Reviews

📄 Underlying Research

Radiofrequency electromagnetic field effects on green roof ecosystems: an unexplored topic

Czerwinski M, Virto LR, Vian A, Thielens A (2026) Environmental Reviews Journal Level 1ⓘ

🔗 DOI

🌱 Review: rooftop antennas may put green roof ecosystems under chronic RF-EMF stress, an unexplored topic

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📄 Underlying Research

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