{"title":"Effects of Panels and Management on Plant Community Composition in Southern French Solar Parks","authors":"Louison Bienvenu, Arnaud Lec'hvien, Raphaël Gros, Elise Kebaili, Bertrand Schatz, Armin Bischoff, Francis Isselin-Nondedeu","doi":"10.1111/avsc.70037","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div>\n \n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Aims</h3>\n \n <p>The ongoing increase of solar parks creates and transforms open ecosystems. Solar park ecosystems combine artificial and semi-natural microhabitats depending on the influence of solar panels. We distinguished microhabitats outside panels (unshaded), inter-rows between panels (partial shading) and microhabitats under panels (constantly shaded). Furthermore, solar parks need to be managed by grazing or mowing to avoid the overgrowth of solar panels. The aim of our study was to assess the effects of management and microhabitat on plant community composition.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Location</h3>\n \n <p>Southwestern (<i>Landes de Gascogne</i>) and southeastern France (<i>Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur</i>).</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Methods</h3>\n \n <p>We analyzed the vegetation of 20 solar parks, with half of the parks being grazed and the other half being mown. We used a randomized block design with one 4 m<sup>2</sup> plot in each microhabitat replicated in four blocks per park. We identified all vascular plant species and visually estimated their cover.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Results</h3>\n \n <p>The microhabitat effect was significant for species richness, plant cover, and species composition. The plant species richness was on average 34% lower under than outside panels. The dissimilarity between under and outside panel plant species composition was explained by at least 17% of the species. The effect of management was smaller, being only significant for plant species composition but not for richness, cover, or evenness. The management–microhabitat interaction was significant only for plant cover.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Conclusions</h3>\n \n <p>The strong effect of solar panels on plant communities advocates for differential conservation strategies adjusted for microhabitat.</p>\n </section>\n </div>","PeriodicalId":55494,"journal":{"name":"Applied Vegetation Science","volume":"28 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/avsc.70037","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Applied Vegetation Science","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/avsc.70037","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ECOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
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Abstract
Aims
The ongoing increase of solar parks creates and transforms open ecosystems. Solar park ecosystems combine artificial and semi-natural microhabitats depending on the influence of solar panels. We distinguished microhabitats outside panels (unshaded), inter-rows between panels (partial shading) and microhabitats under panels (constantly shaded). Furthermore, solar parks need to be managed by grazing or mowing to avoid the overgrowth of solar panels. The aim of our study was to assess the effects of management and microhabitat on plant community composition.
Location
Southwestern (Landes de Gascogne) and southeastern France (Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur).
Methods
We analyzed the vegetation of 20 solar parks, with half of the parks being grazed and the other half being mown. We used a randomized block design with one 4 m2 plot in each microhabitat replicated in four blocks per park. We identified all vascular plant species and visually estimated their cover.
Results
The microhabitat effect was significant for species richness, plant cover, and species composition. The plant species richness was on average 34% lower under than outside panels. The dissimilarity between under and outside panel plant species composition was explained by at least 17% of the species. The effect of management was smaller, being only significant for plant species composition but not for richness, cover, or evenness. The management–microhabitat interaction was significant only for plant cover.
Conclusions
The strong effect of solar panels on plant communities advocates for differential conservation strategies adjusted for microhabitat.
期刊介绍：
Applied Vegetation Science focuses on community-level topics relevant to human interaction with vegetation, including global change, nature conservation, nature management, restoration of plant communities and of natural habitats, and the planning of semi-natural and urban landscapes. Vegetation survey, modelling and remote-sensing applications are welcome. Papers on vegetation science which do not fit to this scope (do not have an applied aspect and are not vegetation survey) should be directed to our associate journal, the Journal of Vegetation Science. Both journals publish papers on the ecology of a single species only if it plays a key role in structuring plant communities.
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