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Using solar farms as a platform for the ecological restoration of arid soils

Nature Sustainability volume 6, pages 891–892 (2023)Cite this article

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Biocrusts are crucial for soil health and sustainability in arid lands; however, human activities are degrading these biocrusts. This study explores the use of solar farms for a low-cost, low-impact and high-capacity approach to regenerate biocrusts. This technique could be used to expand current soil restoration approaches to regional scales.

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Fig. 1: Solar farms are proposed as potential biocrust nurseries for restoring degraded soils.

References

  1. Nkonya, E., Mirzabaev, A. & Von Braun, J. (eds) Economics of Land Degradation and Improvement — A Global Assessment for Sustainable Development (Springer Open, 2016). This book compiles cases of arid land degradation and sustainability.

  2. Weber, B., Büdel, B. & Belnap, J. (eds) Biological Soil Crusts: An Organizing Principle in Drylands (Springer, 2016). An encyclopaedic compilation of biocrust biology and ecology.

  3. Giraldo‐Silva, A., Nelson, C., Barger, N. N. & Garcia‐Pichel, F. Nursing biocrusts: isolation, cultivation, and fitness test of indigenous cyanobacteria. Restor. Ecol. 27, 793–803 (2019). This study presents protocols for cultivation-based cyanobacterial inoculum production.

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  5. Ayuso, S. V., Giraldo‐Silva, A., Barger, N. N. & Garcia‐Pichel, F. Microbial inoculum production for biocrust restoration: testing the effects of a common substrate versus native soils on yield and community composition. Restor. Ecol. 28, S194–S202 (2020). This article demonstrates the maladaptation of inoculum to non-native soils.

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This is a summary of: Heredia-Velásquez, A. M. et al. Dual use of solar power plants as biocrust nurseries for large-scale arid soil restoration. Nat. Sustain. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01106-8 (2023).

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Using solar farms as a platform for the ecological restoration of arid soils. Nat Sustain 6, 891–892 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01108-6

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