<p><strong>Keywords</strong>: Renewable energy, photovoltaics (PV), ecological restoration, ecosystem services, management strategies</p><p>The drive for renewable energy has resulted in a heightened focus on expanding sustainable energy systems, with solar PV playing a crucial role in this transition. While large-scale solar parks are met with controversy due to potential land-use conflicts and negative effects on the environment, they also present an opportunity for multifunctional land use. To address these concerns, an integrated research project in Austria was launched to develop strategies for integrating solar parks ecologically and maximizing ecosystem services through grassland restoration and adaptive management. Additional data and analysis will be used to improve the ecological integrity and biodiversity of solar parks and explore opportunities for combined agricultural use. By focusing on expanding renewable energy systems, solar PV in particular, and developing strategies for integrating them ecologically, we can address the global climate crisis and species extinction while also creating systems that are beneficial for both the environment and society in the long term.</p><p>However, specific and local conditions of solar parks must be considered in implementation and management. A monitoring system was set up to continuously record data on vegetation, local climate, and soil conditions, including measurements of soil water content, solar radiation, vegetation height, and plant species. Preliminary results show distinct effects of panel areas on several environmental factors, with the greatest impact on radiation and air temperature, also impacting the species composition in the area beneath and between panels.</p>
In light of the ongoing climate and biodiversity debates, nature-based solutions have become key to restore lost ecosystems related to civil and water engineering activities. Hitherto, Soil and Water Bioengineering (SWB) designs have been playing subordinate roles in engineering applications due to little recognition from a (geo)technical point of view and to widespread limited trust and conviction in long-lasting safety and predictability. For decades SWB techniques have been primarily used for stabilization and mechanical reinforcement of slopes, riverbanks and roadside infrastructures. However, SWB offers a variety of designs and applications complying inherently with the core targets of Naturebased Solutions (NbS). SWB systems advance great potential and are increasingly acknowledged for playing a key role in ecological and structural restoration projects, in hazard risk mitigation and in land management providing manifold functionalities. They deliver important services to storm water and runoff retention, landscape and habitat connectivity, and to climate change adaptation.
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