Reduced summer carbon dioxide efflux from semi-arid agrivoltaic compared to conventional horticultural soil
5 affiliations
- 1Development & Environment, University of Arizona
- 2Universidad de Sonora Hermosillo
- 3University of Arizona
- 4University of California
- 5Biosphere 2
Abstract
Agrivoltaic (AV) systems that combine horticultural crops with photovoltaic (PV) infrastructure on the same land parcel can provide mutual benefits for crop performance, electricity production, and water use in semi-arid climates. Whether semi-arid AV systems provide additional benefits for soil development and carbon (C) accumulation remains unclear. Larger aboveground biomass and yield production, which has been observed in semi-arid AV for certain crops, may accelerate C loss by supporting more continual and extensive microbial and root respiration, resulting in net zero or negative change in soil C over a growing season. Alternatively, AV systems may retain more soil C by reducing stress-induced respiration. To test these contrasting hypotheses, we compared crop biomass and yield, soil carbon pools, and semi-continuous microclimate and respired carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) emissions for two horticultural crops grown in an experimental AV site in southern Arizona, USA. Over one summer growing season, we observed an approximately 9% reduction in daily mean soil CO ₂ efflux from legume (cowpea, Vigna unguiculata ) and 48% reduction from aromatic herb (basil, Ocimum basilicum ) beds, with the strongest impacts of AV appearing during the early monsoon season when plants were mature. On diel timescales, AV soil CO ₂ efflux peaked later in the day compared to conventional horticultural beds, corresponding to lagged increases in soil temperature under solar panels. Smaller CO ₂ efflux in AV coincided with a doubling of aboveground crop biomass. Both crops and cover types experienced similar declines in soil C over the growing season, indicating that reduced CO ₂ efflux did not correspond to a measurable increase in soil C during this period and highlighting the need to resolve other C transformation and loss pathways. Complementing its well-described food-water-energy benefits, we find potential for AV to reduce soil CO ₂ efflux and urge future research to identify changes to soil C cycling that result from the addition of PV to horticultural landscapes.
Related
- Efficacy of seaweed-based carbon dioxide removal reduced by iron limitation and nutrient competition with phytoplankton
- Consequences on energy and water exchanges of airflow modifications in agrivoltaic systems
- Evaluating land productivity with semi-transparent colored CdTe thin-film PV and broccoli cultivation in agrivoltaic systems
- Agrivoltaic systems can improve agricultural yield by mitigating extreme plant temperatures
- Low solar grazing densities support beneficial insects in agrivoltaic systems
BibTeX
@article{andrews2026reduced,
title = {{Reduced summer carbon dioxide efflux from semi-arid agrivoltaic compared to conventional horticultural soil}},
author = {Holly M Andrews and Fabiana Olea Carrasco and Alyssa Salazar and Zoe Gineris and Talitha H Neesham-McTiernan and G Darrel Jenerette and David Moore and Greg A Barron-Gafford},
journal = {Environmental Research Letters},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1088/1748-9326/aeb1dd},
url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aeb1dd},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Reduced summer carbon dioxide efflux from semi-arid agrivoltaic compared to conventional horticultural soil
AU - Holly M Andrews
AU - Fabiana Olea Carrasco
AU - Alyssa Salazar
AU - Zoe Gineris
AU - Talitha H Neesham-McTiernan
AU - G Darrel Jenerette
AU - David Moore
AU - Greg A Barron-Gafford
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
JO - Environmental Research Letters
DO - 10.1088/1748-9326/aeb1dd
UR - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aeb1dd
AB - Agrivoltaic (AV) systems that combine horticultural crops with photovoltaic (PV) infrastructure on the same land parcel can provide mutual benefits for crop performance, electricity production, and water use in semi-arid climates. Whether semi-arid AV systems provide additional benefits for soil development and carbon (C) accumulation remains unclear. Larger aboveground biomass and yield production, which has been observed in semi-arid AV for certain crops, may accelerate C loss by supporting more continual and extensive microbial and root respiration, resulting in net zero or negative change in soil C over a growing season. Alternatively, AV systems may retain more soil C by reducing stress-induced respiration. To test these contrasting hypotheses, we compared crop biomass and yield, soil carbon pools, and semi-continuous microclimate and respired carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) emissions for two horticultural crops grown in an experimental AV site in southern Arizona, USA. Over one summer growing season, we observed an approximately 9% reduction in daily mean soil CO ₂ efflux from legume (cowpea, Vigna unguiculata ) and 48% reduction from aromatic herb (basil, Ocimum basilicum ) beds, with the strongest impacts of AV appearing during the early monsoon season when plants were mature. On diel timescales, AV soil CO ₂ efflux peaked later in the day compared to conventional horticultural beds, corresponding to lagged increases in soil temperature under solar panels. Smaller CO ₂ efflux in AV coincided with a doubling of aboveground crop biomass. Both crops and cover types experienced similar declines in soil C over the growing season, indicating that reduced CO ₂ efflux did not correspond to a measurable increase in soil C during this period and highlighting the need to resolve other C transformation and loss pathways. Complementing its well-described food-water-energy benefits, we find potential for AV to reduce soil CO ₂ efflux and urge future research to identify changes to soil C cycling that result from the addition of PV to horticultural landscapes.
SN - 1748-9326
ER -