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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2024, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (12): 23-33.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2024117

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Effects of photovoltaic power station construction on plant community and soil characteristics

Ping-an BAO1,2(), Bo JI1,2(), Guo SUN3, Na ZHANG4, Xu-dong WU1,2, Jian-long HE1,2, Zhan-jun WANG1,2, Ying TIAN1,2   

  1. 1.Institute of Forestry and Grassland Ecology,Ningxia Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences,Yinchuan 750002,China
    2.Ningxia Key Laboratory of Sand Control and Soil and Water Conservation,Yinchuan 750002,China
    3.Yanchi County Forestry and Grassland Bureau,Wuzhong 751599,China
    4.Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Grassland Workstation,Yinchuan 750002,China
  • Received:2024-04-10 Revised:2024-05-17 Online:2024-12-20 Published:2024-10-09
  • Contact: Bo JI

Abstract:

This research investigated the impact of photovoltaic (PV) power station construction on vegetation and soil in a desert steppe. Two PV power stations in Ningxia with a post-construction vegetation recovery time of one and two years were selected for study and data were collected for three categories of site: between PV panels (BJ), under PV panels (BX), and outside the PV power station (control, CK). Vegetation surveys were conducted and soil sampling carried out, and the plant community characteristics of soil physical and chemical properties were compared under the different treatments and their relationships analysed. The results revealed that the vegetation cover, aboveground biomass and diversity index were the highest in the CK plot after one year of vegetation restoration. The contents of soil organic matter (SOM), soil total phosphorus and potassium (TP and TK) and soil available phosphorus (AP) in the photovoltaic power station area were significantly higher than those in the control area outside the photovoltaic power station. After 2 years of vegetation restoration, plant community species diversity indices, TK, available nitrogen (AN) and AP were significantly higher for both BJ and BX sites than for CK site. Plant community cover and aboveground biomass were positively correlated with pH, and negatively correlated with electrical conductivity (EC), SOM and AN. Shannon-Wiener index was positively correlated with EC, SOM and AN. Soil pH and SOM content are the most important factors affecting the characteristics of plant communities in this study. The results show that the construction of a photovoltaic power station has a negative impact on the vegetation community and soil physical and chemical characteristics, but that subsequently there is at least partial recovery from the ecological damage resulting from power station construction.

Key words: photovoltaic panel, plant community characteristics, soil physical and chemical properties, desert steppe of Ningxia