首页|Effect of Solar Farms on Soil Erosion in Hilly Environments: A Modeling Study From the Perspective of Hydrological Connectivity

Effect of Solar Farms on Soil Erosion in Hilly Environments: A Modeling Study From the Perspective of Hydrological Connectivity

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  • NETL
  • NSTL
  • Amer Geophysical Union
Hydrological connectivity (HC) is a useful framework for understanding hydrological responses to landscape changes. We present herein a novel model (SOFAR) for utility-scale solar farms (USFs), combining modules of soil moisture dynamics, roof effects of photovoltaic panels (PVs), vegetation growth and landform evolution. By augmenting the model with a DEM-based HC index, we investigate hydrological behaviors following the construction of a USF in China's Loess Hilly Region. Nine scenarios are designed, to explore the effects of co-evolving ecohydrology and landscape on soil erosion and HC in USFs deployed in different climates and terrains, by altering the annual precipitation, rainfall frequency, and ground slope. Our results show that the USF considerably increased runoff (99.18%-l 54.26%) during its operational period, and soil erosion rate (21.4%-74.84% and 25.35%-76.18%) and HC (0.08%-0.26% and 0.47%-0.91%) throughout construction and operational periods, respectively. The highest erosion rates were detected in the PV installation zones and in the areas close to the river channel. We prove the hypothesis that HC is a critical indicator for sediment yield in a USF, and thus the long-term responses of soil erosion to USF installation and development can be explained in terms of HC. We conclude that USFs may increase soil erosion, mainly by increasing local HC and runoff, and higher background HC may in turn further aggravate the effects of USFs on soil erosion. Our results underscore the importance of including landscape ecohydrologic and geomorphic feedbacks, to improve the environmental impact assessment of USFs.

Hu Liu、Chuandong Wu、Yang Yu、Wenzhi Zhao、Jintao Liu、Hailong Yu、Yanli Zhuang、Omer Yetemen

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Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China||Linze Inland River Basin Research Station, Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Lanzhou, China||University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China

Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China||Linze Inland River Basin Research Station, Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Lanzhou, China

StateKey Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, China

School ofGeography and Planning, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China

Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey

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2023

10.1029/2023WR035067

Water resources research

Water resources research

EISCI
ISSN：0043-1397
年,卷(期)：2023.59(12)
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