Hu et al. (2025) Water-mediated vegetation impacts of photovoltaic plants: insights from field and satellite data on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Environmental Management
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-12-10
• Authors: Yueran Hu, Guohua Liu, Lingfan Wan
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.128284

Research Groups

• State Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
• College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

Short Summary

This study investigates the water-mediated impacts of photovoltaic (PV) plants on vegetation restoration on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, finding that soil moisture is the primary driver and additional water input significantly enhances restoration, potentially leading to overestimations in current assessments if not accounted for. The research highlights regional differences in these impacts, emphasizing the need for optimized PV layout and water resource management.

Objective

• To analyze the impact of photovoltaic (PV) plants on vegetation restoration on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau (QXP), specifically focusing on the role of water-mediated effects.
• To quantify the contribution of additional water input to vegetation restoration and assess its implications for current ecological impact assessments.
• To identify regional differences in the balance between power generation and ecological benefits of PV plants across the QXP.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Regional scale, covering the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau (QXP), with specific focus on areas around Qinghai Lake, near the Qaidam Basin, and Southeastern QXP. Includes both large-scale satellite data analysis and local-scale field observations.
• Temporal Scale: Not explicitly stated, but implied to be multi-year for observing vegetation restoration and changes.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: No specific models (e.g., ISBA, mHM) were mentioned. The study primarily used empirical analysis of collected data.
• Data sources: Field observations and satellite data.

Main Results

• Soil moisture was identified as the primary driver of vegetation changes, accounting for 62.09 % of the observed variations.
• Additional water input significantly enhanced vegetation restoration by 50.63 %.
• After accounting for the additional water input, 5 % of PV plants initially showing positive vegetation responses shifted to negative responses, suggesting a potential overestimation in current restoration assessments.
• Regional differences were observed:
  • Around Qinghai Lake, additional water supply helped balance power generation and ecological benefits.
  • Near the Qaidam Basin, increased vegetation cover due to PV plants strained local water resources.
  • Southeastern QXP PV plants positively impacted vegetation but exhibited lower power generation potential.

Contributions

• Quantifies the significant role of water-mediated effects (specifically additional water input) from PV plants on vegetation restoration, a factor often overlooked in large-scale remote sensing studies.
• Reveals potential overestimation in current ecological impact assessments of PV plants by demonstrating how positive vegetation responses can shift to negative when additional water input is removed.
• Provides valuable regional insights for sustainable PV facility planning and ecological management on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, highlighting the need for optimized layout and water resource management to balance energy production and ecological protection.

Funding

Not explicitly stated in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Hu2025Watermediated,
  author = {Hu, Yueran and Liu, Guohua and Wan, Lingfan},
  title = {Water-mediated vegetation impacts of photovoltaic plants: insights from field and satellite data on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau},
  journal = {Journal of Environmental Management},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.128284},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.128284}
}