Agrivoltaic panel shading influences soil nutrient dynamics and microbial communities
Agrivoltaic systems (APV), which combine photovoltaic panels with crop cultivation, represent a dual land-use strategy to address food and energy security challenges under growing population pressures. However, the effects of APV systems on soil biogeochemical processes and microbial communities remain insufficiently characterized. This study investigates the effects of APV trackers with varying Ground Coverage Ratios (GCR—the proportion of ground shaded by APV trackers) on soil physicochemical properties, ionomic profiles, and microbial community composition and diversity. Field experiments were conducted in a wheat-cultivated field using two APV configurations: standard (STV1, GCR = 13%) and extended (STV2, GCR = 41%) trackers, compared to a full-sun control (CI).Soil chemical analysis revealed significant increases in organic carbon, total nitrogen, Olsen phosphorus, and exchangeable calcium, potassium, and magnesium under STV2 relative to STV1 and the control. Ionomic profiling showed marked enrichment in elements, including iron and manganese, under STV2 compared to both STV1 and CI. Amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA and ITS1 regions revealed a reduction in bacterial and fungal diversity (Shannon index) under STV2. Significant taxonomic shifts in bacterial and fungal communities were also observed at both the phylum and genus levels compared to CI. These findings suggest that the extended shading provided by STV2 altered key soil chemical properties through capillary-mediated nutrient accumulation, while concurrently restructuring soil microbial assemblages, reducing diversity while favouring copiotrophic taxa. The implications of reduced microbial diversity under STV2 warrant further investigation, particularly to determine whether functionally redundant or specialized taxa were affected. Overall, the results underscore the central role of agrivoltaic design, specifically shading intensity and GCR, in shaping belowground processes with critical implications for soil health and the long-term agroecological sustainability of dual land-use energy–food systems.