{
  "abstract": "Solar grazing—the co-location of livestock grazing and photovoltaic energy production—is rapidly expanding globally to mitigate land-use conflicts. Solar facilities are increasingly sited on agricultural land, where both sheep grazing and the promotion of agriculturally beneficial insects are recognized as facilitators of multi-functional agroecosystems, yet how stocking rate shapes beneficial insect communities remains poorly understood. We conducted a replicated, three-year experiment testing six stocking rates (0–10 sheep ha ⁻¹ ) at an operational 18 MW solar facility, sampling bees and lady beetles across three years and four grazing rotations per year. Light grazing at 2 sheep ha ⁻¹ supported 38% greater beneficial insect abundance than ungrazed controls, driven primarily by an 83% increase in honey bees. High stocking rates (⩾8 sheep ha ⁻¹ ) reduced bee abundance by 42%–68% and significantly changed insect community composition. A companion study identified 8 sheep ha ⁻¹ as the agrotechnological optimum, but our results identify 2 sheep ha ⁻¹ as the agroecological optimum in our study region, where beneficial insect abundance and flock health are maximized. These optima did not coincide, indicating a clear tradeoff between ecological and operational objectives. However, at 4 sheep ha ⁻¹ , beneficial insect communities remained statistically indistinguishable from ungrazed controls while vegetation management effectiveness was greater than at 2 sheep ha ⁻¹ . Together these results define a synergy–tradeoff boundary with direct implications for targeting agroecological outcomes via the operations and maintenance of solar grazing facilities.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Cornell University",
    "Agrivoltaic Solutions LLC"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Leana Zoller",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7161-6529"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Nikola Kochendoerfer"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Antonio DiTommaso",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8215-2777"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "John Losey"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Scott H McArt"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Paige A Muñiz"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Todd Ugine"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Steven M Grodsky"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8tn8q117hcakb.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1088/1748-9326/aeb145",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "8tn8q117hcakb",
  "issns": [
    "1748-9326"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aeb145",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2305|Photovoltaic Systems and Sustainability"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221004164",
  "pdf_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aeb145/pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-16",
  "publisher": "IOP Publishing",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8tn8q117hcakb.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:55Z",
      "native_id": "10.1088/1748-9326/aeb145",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aeb145"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "openalex:2305|Photovoltaic Systems and Sustainability",
      "subfield": "environmental-science"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Low solar grazing densities support beneficial insects in agrivoltaic systems",
  "title_text": "Low solar grazing densities support beneficial insects in agrivoltaic systems",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:55Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8tn8q117hcakb",
  "venue": "Environmental Research Letters",
  "versions": []
}