Urban renewable energy and ecosystems: integrating vegetation with ground-mounted solar arrays increases arthropod abundance of key functional groups

Abstract

Cities are increasingly developing renewable energy within urban areas, yet the implications for ecosystems have not been explored. This study brings together climate change mitigation policies and ecosystem conservation in urban areas by investigating how ground-mounted solar arrays in parking lots affect arthropod abundance and biodiversity. We assess which arthropods are present under these solar canopies and investigate how integration of vegetation under the solar arrays affects arthropod abundance, abundance of different functional groups, and family richness. We sampled arthropods, collected data on habitat characteristics, and evaluated landscape cover within 2 km of eight study sites around San Jose and Santa Cruz, California. We found substantial abundance and diversity of arthropods underneath ground-mounted solar arrays in urban area parking lots, and that arrays integrated with vegetation have significantly greater arthropod abundance and more detritivores, parasitoids, and family richness. The results demonstrate that ground-mounted solar arrays in parking lots, especially when integrated with vegetation, can be a win-win for climate mitigation, arthropod richness, and ecosystem functioning.