The Early Effects of an Agrivoltaic System within a Different Crop Cultivation on Soil Quality in Dry–Hot Valley Eco-Fragile Areas

Abstract

The co-allocation of photovoltaic arrays with crops presents a promising strategy to mitigate the conflict between photovoltaics and agricultural land. However, there is a notable lack of quantitative research on the impact of agrivoltaic system on land quality in fragile areas. In this study, peanuts (Arachis hypogaea) and ryegrass (Lolium perenne) were cultivated in photovoltaic array in the dry–hot valley of southwest China, with an off-site native land serving as the control. Sixteen soil physicochemical and biochemical parameters were measured in the gap and under-panel and control area. Results demonstrated that the agrivoltaic system significantly enhanced soil moisture, organic carbon, nitrogen–phosphorus–potassium nutrients, microbial biomass, and urease activity. It also led to varying degrees of increase in soil pH and electrical conductivity, along with reduced soil sucrase and phosphatase activity. In comparison to the control, the agrivoltaic system notably improved soil quality and multifunctionality. Specially, gap cultivation had a more pronounced positive impact on soil quality than under-panel cultivation, and the cultivation of peanuts had a greater effect on soil quality and multifunctionality improvement than ryegrass. This study provides fundamental data to support the improvement of land quality in photovoltaic developed regions, and to alleviate the conflict between photovoltaics and agricultural land.