Key factors and pathways through which photovoltaic arrays mediate changes in microclimate, vegetation, and soil in a rocky desertification ecosystem

Data Description
Research Hypothesis
We investigated flat-top PV arrays to test two hypotheses: (i) PV arrays improve local microclimatic conditions by reducing light exposure, lowering wind speed, and ameliorating water and heat regimes; and (ii) these microclimatic modifications increase soil fertility and plant diversity.
Data Presented
Two compact weather stations and soil sensors were installed in each of three sub-array sites and three reference areas in March 2023 . Measured microclimate parameters include (60‑minute intervals) air temperature, soil temperature, relative humidity, soil water content, wind speed and light intensity.
Soil properties (dry season in April 2023 and rainy season in September 2023, 0–20 cm layer, five replicates): soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), hydrolysable nitrogen (HN), available potassium (AK), bulk density (BD), pH.
Vegetation and root characteristics (growing season in September 2023): species number, coverage, height, frequency; Margalef richness index, Shannon–Wiener diversity index, Simpson dominance index, Pielou evenness index; aboveground biomass (oven‑dried at 60°C to constant weight); root morphological parameters (0–50 cm depth, including number of root tips, number of forks, mean diameter, root length density, root surface area density, root volume density), obtained by scanning with an Epson scanner (Expression 10000XL) and analysis using WinRHIZO Pro 2021c.