{"title":"Effects of habitat restoration and solar panels on soil properties and functions in solar parks","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.apsoil.2024.105614","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In the Mediterranean region, the construction of solar parks has strongly increased in order to replace fossil energy sources. However, the use of solar energy for electricity production requires large areas and impacts biodiversity and ecosystem functioning through soil degradation and vegetation destruction. Furthermore, solar panels change the microclimate hampering plant establishment and soil functioning. However, the specific effects of solar panels are still largely unknown. In our study, we tested different ecological restoration techniques (vermicompost addition, sowing of target species and seed material transfer from the reference community) to improve plant establishment and related soil functions. We further analyzed the effects of solar panels and interactions with these restoration techniques. A full factorial randomized block experiment was set up in a solar park in South-eastern France. Soil climatic, chemical (C and N content) and microbiological properties as well as the mesofauna (mites and springtails) were studied. The data were used to analyze trophic interaction networks of the soils. Vermicompost addition resulted in a strong increase in C and N content often used as criteria of chemical soil quality. Seed material transfer and sowing increased the diversity and abundance of the mesofauna and revealed more trophic interactions than the other treatments. Solar panels negatively affected most of the measured variables related to soil biodiversity and functioning. No interactions between the effects of solar panels and restoration treatments were detected for the soil properties. To improve the ecological restoration of soils under solar panels, more specific restoration methods need to be tested such as the use of soil engineer species.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8099,"journal":{"name":"Applied Soil Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929139324003457/pdfft?md5=1eb97b77ae2a7f7ecf0799852c74da9b&pid=1-s2.0-S0929139324003457-main.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Applied Soil Ecology","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929139324003457","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"SOIL SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In the Mediterranean region, the construction of solar parks has strongly increased in order to replace fossil energy sources. However, the use of solar energy for electricity production requires large areas and impacts biodiversity and ecosystem functioning through soil degradation and vegetation destruction. Furthermore, solar panels change the microclimate hampering plant establishment and soil functioning. However, the specific effects of solar panels are still largely unknown. In our study, we tested different ecological restoration techniques (vermicompost addition, sowing of target species and seed material transfer from the reference community) to improve plant establishment and related soil functions. We further analyzed the effects of solar panels and interactions with these restoration techniques. A full factorial randomized block experiment was set up in a solar park in South-eastern France. Soil climatic, chemical (C and N content) and microbiological properties as well as the mesofauna (mites and springtails) were studied. The data were used to analyze trophic interaction networks of the soils. Vermicompost addition resulted in a strong increase in C and N content often used as criteria of chemical soil quality. Seed material transfer and sowing increased the diversity and abundance of the mesofauna and revealed more trophic interactions than the other treatments. Solar panels negatively affected most of the measured variables related to soil biodiversity and functioning. No interactions between the effects of solar panels and restoration treatments were detected for the soil properties. To improve the ecological restoration of soils under solar panels, more specific restoration methods need to be tested such as the use of soil engineer species.
在地中海地区,为了取代化石能源,太阳能园区的建设大幅增加。然而,利用太阳能发电需要大片土地,土壤退化和植被破坏会影响生物多样性和生态系统功能。此外,太阳能电池板还会改变小气候,阻碍植物生长和土壤功能。然而,太阳能电池板的具体影响在很大程度上仍不为人所知。在我们的研究中,我们测试了不同的生态恢复技术(添加蛭石堆肥、播种目标物种和从参照群落转移种子材料),以改善植物的生长和相关的土壤功能。我们进一步分析了太阳能电池板的效果以及与这些修复技术之间的相互作用。我们在法国东南部的一个太阳能公园进行了全因子随机区组实验。我们研究了土壤气候、化学(碳和氮含量)、微生物特性以及中生动物(螨虫和春尾虫)。这些数据被用来分析土壤的营养交互网络。添加蛭石堆肥后,通常作为土壤化学质量标准的 C 和 N 含量大幅增加。与其他处理方法相比,种子材料转移和播种增加了中生动物的多样性和丰度,并揭示了更多的营养相互作用。太阳能电池板对大多数与土壤生物多样性和功能有关的测量变量产生了负面影响。在土壤特性方面,未发现太阳能电池板的影响与修复处理之间存在相互作用。为了改善太阳能电池板下土壤的生态恢复,需要测试更具体的恢复方法,如使用土壤工程师物种。
期刊介绍:
Applied Soil Ecology addresses the role of soil organisms and their interactions in relation to: sustainability and productivity, nutrient cycling and other soil processes, the maintenance of soil functions, the impact of human activities on soil ecosystems and bio(techno)logical control of soil-inhabiting pests, diseases and weeds.