Deploying photovoltaic arrays in degraded grasslands is a promising win-win strategy for promoting grassland restoration and resolving land use conflicts

Zhang, Bin; Zhang, Ruohui; Li, You; Wang, Shiwen; Zhang, Minghui; Xing, Fu

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119495

Cited by 10 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…Additionally, nutrients applied into the soil through tillage, along with crop management measures, may continuously enhance the content of small particles in the soil, thereby improving its nutrient retention capacity [35]. A study on changes in soil characteristics in a degraded grassland PV array found an increase of 17.93% in soil carbon stock and 0.75% in nitrogen stock [22]. Similarly, in this study, irrespective of crop or microhabitat differences, the increase in organic carbon content exceeded that of total nitrogen.…”

Section: Effects Of Agrivoltaics On Soil Physicochemical Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the arid ecosystem of the Mu Us Sandland in China, compared to areas without PV arrays, there was a notable decrease in the soil evaporation rate and a significant increase in soil moisture under the PV array area [8]. In the degraded grassland ecosystem of the Songnen Plain in northeastern China, the PV array area exhibited a 17.93% increase in soil carbon storage and a 0.75% increase in soil nitrogen storage [22]. Similarly, in the northwest region of China, there was a significant increase in soil carbon content in the PV array area [23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Early Effects of an Agrivoltaic System within a Different Crop Cultivation on Soil Quality in Dry–Hot Valley Eco-Fragile Areas

Luo,

et al. 2024

Agronomy

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The co-allocation of photovoltaic arrays with crops presents a promising strategy to mitigate the conflict between photovoltaics and agricultural land. However, there is a notable lack of quantitative research on the impact of agrivoltaic system on land quality in fragile areas. In this study, peanuts (Arachis hypogaea) and ryegrass (Lolium perenne) were cultivated in photovoltaic array in the dry–hot valley of southwest China, with an off-site native land serving as the control. Sixteen soil physicochemical and biochemical parameters were measured in the gap and under-panel and control area. Results demonstrated that the agrivoltaic system significantly enhanced soil moisture, organic carbon, nitrogen–phosphorus–potassium nutrients, microbial biomass, and urease activity. It also led to varying degrees of increase in soil pH and electrical conductivity, along with reduced soil sucrase and phosphatase activity. In comparison to the control, the agrivoltaic system notably improved soil quality and multifunctionality. Specially, gap cultivation had a more pronounced positive impact on soil quality than under-panel cultivation, and the cultivation of peanuts had a greater effect on soil quality and multifunctionality improvement than ryegrass. This study provides fundamental data to support the improvement of land quality in photovoltaic developed regions, and to alleviate the conflict between photovoltaics and agricultural land.

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Section: Effects Of Agrivoltaics On Soil Physicochemical Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Early Effects of an Agrivoltaic System within a Different Crop Cultivation on Soil Quality in Dry–Hot Valley Eco-Fragile Areas

Luo,

et al. 2024

Agronomy

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“…Secondly, it is important to adopt appropriate engineering restoration measures that are tailored to local conditions. Lastly, establishing pilot projects for the restoration of degraded grasslands and developing specific and targeted protection plans is necessary, such as grassland fencing [49]. Simultaneously, raising awareness about ecological protection is essential.…”

Section: Strategies To Restoration Grasslands In the Futurementioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Ecosystem Services in Ruoergai National Park, China

Li,

Wang,

Chen

et al. 2024

Sustainability

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This study utilizes ArcGIS10.8 and ENVI5.3 software and the InVEST model to analyze and operate field survey data and remote sensing image data from Ruoergai National Park. The work simulates the soil retention, carbon storage, water supply, and habitat quality of the park to evaluate and analyze its four major ecosystem services. Subsequently, important areas of ecosystem services are zoned based on the results, aiming to provide decision-makers with a theoretical and scientific basis for formulating ecological environment restoration, protection, and management measures in Ruoergai National Park. The results showed the following: (1) In the study area, the land use types, ranked from largest to smallest, are grassland, unused land, forest, water area, and construction land. (2) Soil retention and water supply show an increasing trend, while carbon storage shows a decreasing trend. Habitat quality remains relatively stable, with most areas maintaining a high level of quality. (3) The importance zoning of ecosystem services in the study area exhibited a trend of “four increases and one decrease”. Specifically, the areas classified as moderately important, highly important, and extremely important all increased, while the area designated as generally important decreased. The findings indicate that climate change, land use type changes, and human activities are the primary factors influencing changes in ESs. It is crucial to prioritize highly important and extremely important areas for protection and utilization within Ruoergai National Park. Moving forward, it will be essential to minimize human activities that disrupt the ecosystem, while also focusing on the conservation and sustainable use of forest and grassland.

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Solar arrays create novel environments that uniquely alter plant responses

Sturchio,

Kannenberg,

Pinkowitz

et al. 2024

Plants People Planet

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Societal Impact StatementGlobally, the combustion of fossil fuels represents the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions, and as such, a transition to renewable forms of energy provides the greatest potential for mitigating climate warming. Although solar photovoltaic energy generation is a leading climate solution, these energy facilities have a significant spatial footprint. Naturally, concerns regarding the coexistence of solar development in agriculturally productive and pristine native ecosystems remain. This study offers insight for how plants respond to novel environmental conditions within a solar array and contextualizes results to inform future array siting, design, and management to realize a sustainable solar energy future.Summary Photovoltaic (PV) solar arrays impose dynamic shading regimes and redistribute precipitation to the ecosystems beneath, leading to spatial and temporal heterogeneity in plant growth environments. Although PV are known to alter ecosystem‐level processes in managed and native landscapes, the control of PV‐induced microenvironments on plant ecophysiological responses are largely unexplored. A more robust and mechanistic understanding of how PV microenvironments control plant response will inform management of existing solar arrays and provide insight for future arrays designed to enhance ecosystem services. Here, we evaluated carbon (photosynthetic parameters) and water relations (daily patterns of leaf water potential (ψL) and stomatal conductance (gsw)) in a C3 perennial grass (Bromus inermis) across PV microsites within a 1.6 ha (1.2 MW) array in semiarid Colorado, USA. Light‐saturated photosynthetic rate was surprisingly consistent spatially, not differing between plants growing in near full sun (between PV rows) versus those growing in shadier microsites beneath panels (~28% of full sunlight). Additionally, plants located in microsites receiving only direct sunlight in the morning, when air temperature and vapor pressure deficits (VPD) were low, had greater ψL and gsw than plants receiving direct sunlight primarily in the hotter drier afternoon. Thus, while soil moisture is a primary control of plant productivity in most water‐limited grasslands, we found that VPD was a better predictor of daily patterns of leaf‐level photosynthetic and water relations responses that control aboveground biomass production in a PV array. These findings provide new mechanistic insight for evaluating vegetation management strategies in semiarid PV arrays.

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Deploying photovoltaic arrays in degraded grasslands is a promising win-win strategy for promoting grassland restoration and resolving land use conflicts

Cited by 10 publications

References 73 publications

The Early Effects of an Agrivoltaic System within a Different Crop Cultivation on Soil Quality in Dry–Hot Valley Eco-Fragile Areas

The Early Effects of an Agrivoltaic System within a Different Crop Cultivation on Soil Quality in Dry–Hot Valley Eco-Fragile Areas

Evaluation of Ecosystem Services in Ruoergai National Park, China

Solar arrays create novel environments that uniquely alter plant responses

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