Agrivoltaics as a climate-smart and resilient solution for midday depression in photosynthesis in dryland regions
Abstract Global projections of increased temperature and aridity have exacerbated concerns over our potential to achieve Sustainable Development Goals associated with food, energy, and water futures. We evaluated the implications of an agrivoltaics approach—combining agriculture and solar photovolta...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-06-01
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| Series: | npj Sustainable Agriculture |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-025-00073-1 |
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| author | Greg A. Barron-Gafford Patrick Murphy Alyssa Salazar Kai Lepley Nesrine Rouini Isaiah Barnett-Moreno Jordan E. Macknick |
| author_facet | Greg A. Barron-Gafford Patrick Murphy Alyssa Salazar Kai Lepley Nesrine Rouini Isaiah Barnett-Moreno Jordan E. Macknick |
| author_sort | Greg A. Barron-Gafford |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Global projections of increased temperature and aridity have exacerbated concerns over our potential to achieve Sustainable Development Goals associated with food, energy, and water futures. We evaluated the implications of an agrivoltaics approach—combining agriculture and solar photovoltaics—on the microclimate growing conditions of crop species. While agrivoltaics is being explored globally for its potential to reduce soil evaporation rates and impact yield, empirical research on the mechanistic drivers of the potential for agrivoltaics is needed. Agrivoltaics mitigated the midday depression in photosynthesis experienced by crops grown in hot and arid environments, which led to reduced water stress, equal or greater daily carbon assimilation, and equal or greater yield across all crops. Our findings indicate agrivoltaics could be a climate-smart agricultural approach, and the diurnal resolution of our data points towards mechanisms for optimizing agrivoltaic designs to align with Sustainable Development Goals for food and energy production and water savings. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7df1f7f3290b44da91b3531b3c138a61 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2731-9202 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Sustainable Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj-art-7df1f7f3290b44da91b3531b3c138a612025-08-20T04:03:02ZengNature Portfolionpj Sustainable Agriculture2731-92022025-06-013111110.1038/s44264-025-00073-1Agrivoltaics as a climate-smart and resilient solution for midday depression in photosynthesis in dryland regionsGreg A. Barron-Gafford0Patrick Murphy1Alyssa Salazar2Kai Lepley3Nesrine Rouini4Isaiah Barnett-Moreno5Jordan E. Macknick6School of Geography, Development and Environment, University of ArizonaSchool of Geography, Development and Environment, University of ArizonaSchool of Geography, Development and Environment, University of ArizonaSchool of Geography, Development and Environment, University of ArizonaSchool of Geography, Development and Environment, University of ArizonaSchool of Geography, Development and Environment, University of ArizonaStrategic Energy Analysis Center, National Renewable Energy LaboratoryAbstract Global projections of increased temperature and aridity have exacerbated concerns over our potential to achieve Sustainable Development Goals associated with food, energy, and water futures. We evaluated the implications of an agrivoltaics approach—combining agriculture and solar photovoltaics—on the microclimate growing conditions of crop species. While agrivoltaics is being explored globally for its potential to reduce soil evaporation rates and impact yield, empirical research on the mechanistic drivers of the potential for agrivoltaics is needed. Agrivoltaics mitigated the midday depression in photosynthesis experienced by crops grown in hot and arid environments, which led to reduced water stress, equal or greater daily carbon assimilation, and equal or greater yield across all crops. Our findings indicate agrivoltaics could be a climate-smart agricultural approach, and the diurnal resolution of our data points towards mechanisms for optimizing agrivoltaic designs to align with Sustainable Development Goals for food and energy production and water savings.https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-025-00073-1 |
| spellingShingle | Greg A. Barron-Gafford Patrick Murphy Alyssa Salazar Kai Lepley Nesrine Rouini Isaiah Barnett-Moreno Jordan E. Macknick Agrivoltaics as a climate-smart and resilient solution for midday depression in photosynthesis in dryland regions npj Sustainable Agriculture |
| title | Agrivoltaics as a climate-smart and resilient solution for midday depression in photosynthesis in dryland regions |
| title_full | Agrivoltaics as a climate-smart and resilient solution for midday depression in photosynthesis in dryland regions |
| title_fullStr | Agrivoltaics as a climate-smart and resilient solution for midday depression in photosynthesis in dryland regions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Agrivoltaics as a climate-smart and resilient solution for midday depression in photosynthesis in dryland regions |
| title_short | Agrivoltaics as a climate-smart and resilient solution for midday depression in photosynthesis in dryland regions |
| title_sort | agrivoltaics as a climate smart and resilient solution for midday depression in photosynthesis in dryland regions |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-025-00073-1 |
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