Large‐scale photovoltaic farms significantly change the vegetation diversity and biomass through influencing soil moisture and physiochemical properties

Abstract Large‐scale deployment of photovoltaic (PV) farms alters the surrounding microclimate. Microclimate changes and engineering buildings have caused significant changes in vegetation, although the mechanisms behind change have yet to be thoroughly investigated. The goal of this study was to in...

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Main Authors: Shengjuan Yue, Wei Wu, Bo Yuan, Deli Ye, Wenwen Bai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-03-01
Series:Vadose Zone Journal
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.70002
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author Shengjuan Yue
Wei Wu
Bo Yuan
Deli Ye
Wenwen Bai
author_facet Shengjuan Yue
Wei Wu
Bo Yuan
Deli Ye
Wenwen Bai
author_sort Shengjuan Yue
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Large‐scale deployment of photovoltaic (PV) farms alters the surrounding microclimate. Microclimate changes and engineering buildings have caused significant changes in vegetation, although the mechanisms behind change have yet to be thoroughly investigated. The goal of this study was to investigate the vegetation diversity, soil physicochemical properties, and their correlation in large‐scale PV farms in the Qinghai desert area. The results showed that species richness and the Shannon–Wiener index were significantly reduced under the PV panel (p < 0.05), while Simpson and Pielou's index were not significantly different between the PV farm and the control area (p > 0.05). The biomass increased under the PV panel. PV panels increased soil water content while significantly decreasing available phosphorus (p < 0.05). Canonical correspondence analysis showed that available phosphorus content influenced the distribution pattern of plant communities. Redundancy analysis showed that soil water content has a significant impact on plant diversity in Qinghai desert regions. This study has guiding significance for vegetation restoration and management of PV farms in desert areas.
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institution OA Journals
issn 1539-1663
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Wiley
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series Vadose Zone Journal
spelling doaj-art-466378e7a2954846bda9cf086d271d9f2025-08-20T02:30:14ZengWileyVadose Zone Journal1539-16632025-03-01242n/an/a10.1002/vzj2.70002Large‐scale photovoltaic farms significantly change the vegetation diversity and biomass through influencing soil moisture and physiochemical propertiesShengjuan Yue0Wei Wu1Bo Yuan2Deli Ye3Wenwen Bai4School of Civil Engineering and Water ResourcesQinghai UniversityXiningChinaState Key Laboratory of Eco‐hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of ChinaXi'an University of TechnologyXi'anChinaCollege of Geology and EnvironmentXi'an University of Science and TechnologyXi'an ChinaHuanghe Hydropower Development Co., Ltd.XiningChinaSchool of Civil Engineering and Water ResourcesQinghai UniversityXiningChinaAbstract Large‐scale deployment of photovoltaic (PV) farms alters the surrounding microclimate. Microclimate changes and engineering buildings have caused significant changes in vegetation, although the mechanisms behind change have yet to be thoroughly investigated. The goal of this study was to investigate the vegetation diversity, soil physicochemical properties, and their correlation in large‐scale PV farms in the Qinghai desert area. The results showed that species richness and the Shannon–Wiener index were significantly reduced under the PV panel (p < 0.05), while Simpson and Pielou's index were not significantly different between the PV farm and the control area (p > 0.05). The biomass increased under the PV panel. PV panels increased soil water content while significantly decreasing available phosphorus (p < 0.05). Canonical correspondence analysis showed that available phosphorus content influenced the distribution pattern of plant communities. Redundancy analysis showed that soil water content has a significant impact on plant diversity in Qinghai desert regions. This study has guiding significance for vegetation restoration and management of PV farms in desert areas.https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.70002
spellingShingle Shengjuan Yue
Wei Wu
Bo Yuan
Deli Ye
Wenwen Bai
Large‐scale photovoltaic farms significantly change the vegetation diversity and biomass through influencing soil moisture and physiochemical properties
Vadose Zone Journal
title Large‐scale photovoltaic farms significantly change the vegetation diversity and biomass through influencing soil moisture and physiochemical properties
title_full Large‐scale photovoltaic farms significantly change the vegetation diversity and biomass through influencing soil moisture and physiochemical properties
title_fullStr Large‐scale photovoltaic farms significantly change the vegetation diversity and biomass through influencing soil moisture and physiochemical properties
title_full_unstemmed Large‐scale photovoltaic farms significantly change the vegetation diversity and biomass through influencing soil moisture and physiochemical properties
title_short Large‐scale photovoltaic farms significantly change the vegetation diversity and biomass through influencing soil moisture and physiochemical properties
title_sort large scale photovoltaic farms significantly change the vegetation diversity and biomass through influencing soil moisture and physiochemical properties
url https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.70002
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