Green Infrastructure to Improve Ecosystem Services in the Landscape Urban Regeneration

A Conceptual Framework to Design Green Infrastructure: Ecosystem Services as an Opportunity for Creating Shared Value in Ground Photovoltaic Systems

“…The integration of GPV systems in the ecological network can be realised in different ways and for different aims. For instance, the GI can be realised to support specific target biodiversity like pollinating insects, and in this case, the design vegetation will be functional to realise the sustainment of these animals, with plants supporting honey production [20,21]. Therefore, it can be possible to sustain other ecosystem services, such as pollination, which constitutes an important ecosystem service linked with agricultural food production [78].…”

“…Electricity generation through ground photovoltaic (GPV) systems is regarded as a feasible solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions [14][15][16][17][18][19] However, the realisation of GPV systems requires the remodelling of suitable areas with severe impacts on landscapes and ecosystems [14][15][16][17][18][19]. Currently, the design of GPV systems produces a loss of agricultural lands with a primary focus on the optimisation of panel positioning in the space available ("full space"), with little or no emphasis on the space around or between panels ("pore space") [20,21]. In this sense, the energy sector is expected to be the main driver of the land-use change, limiting alternative uses of the land [22,23].…”

“…Thus, energy policies have created the paradox that the actions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating global warming are likely to cause local aberrations of land use and landscape. This can have potentially negative effects on climate change and human wellbeing [1,4,21].…”

“…[31]. In urban contexts, GI can be seen as a built ecosystem integrated with artificial and hybrid infrastructures that are able to provide a wide range of ecosystem services, such as water purification, air quality, space for recreation and climate mitigation and adaptation [13,21,32,33]. Several activities compete for the same space (e.g., infrastructure, agriculture, energy production, recreation) and multifunctional land use represents an approach that is instrumental in combining several activities on the same area.…”

“…These initiatives have not been widely spread in the construction of GPV systems; currently, the new solutions involve more complex plant management, with no direct economic returns for the company. On the contrary, this type of projects constitutes an additional cost for the business [20,21]. The GI design integrated into GPVs has to consider the added value that the ecosystem services can generate for business productivity.…”