Agro Fossil Free - Planning ground based utility scale solar energy as green infrastructure to enhance ecosystem services

Opis ogólny

The agricultural sector is often characterized by monocultures and high company fragmentation that led to biodiversity loss and compromised important ecosystem functions, among these the pollination. Pollination is necessary for the health of ecological and agricultural systems, since they guarantee the fecundation of 80% of flower-flora species. This service is valuated among 235 and 577 billion dollars each year. Land use change is among the potential cause of pollinator's reduction. In most southern Italian regions, as Apulia, there was a land use competition between agriculture and renewable energy production, in particular photovoltaic (PV) system, due to the European policy aiming to decarbonize the energy production. Lot of agriculture companies moved toward the PV development to retrieve certain revenue, thanks to legislative and fiscal policies encouraging PV development. Here we propose a methodology to harmonize energy production, agriculture and the enhancement of ecosystem services, looking for a synergy between different economic activities and stakeholders. Areas occupied by PV system can be used for other purposes, as grazing or cultivation or educational activities. Naturalization activities can give back these spaces to pollinator populations notwithstanding the presence of PV panels, enhancing the pollination ecosystem service without affecting other agricultural areas.