Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Climate science

The extra climate benefits of solar farms

Nature Geoscience volume 18, pages 572–573 (2025)Cite this article

Subjects

With solar projects worldwide expected to expand rapidly, understanding the ecosystem impacts is vital. Recent work highlights that optimizing land use strategies can significantly enhance carbon sequestration in the hosting ecosystem, making them a more effective tool in combating climate change.

Access through your institution
Buy or subscribe

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Access through your institution

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Land management scenarios for utility-scale solar deployment.

Wantong Lang / Nanjing University

References

  1. Wang, Q. et al. Nat. Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-025-01715-2 (2025).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Armstrong, A., Waldron, S., Whitaker, J. & Ostle, N. J. Glob. Change Biol. 20, 1699–1706 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Zheng, J., Luo, Y., Chang, R. & Gao, X. Sol. Energy 266, 112159 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Voosen, P. Science 383, 690–690 (2024).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Power, K., Lu, Z. & Zhang, Q. Environ. Res. Lett. 18, 104009 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Sarver, T., Al-Qaraghuli, A. & Kazmerski, L. L. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 22, 698–733 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Gómez‐Catasús, J. et al. Conserv. Lett. 17, e13025 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Almeida, R. M. et al. Nature 606, 246–249 (2022).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Zhang, Z. et al. Nat. Clim. Change 15, 393–402 (2025).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Barron-Gafford, G. A. et al. Nat. Sustain. 2, 848–855 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Zhengyao Lu

Authors
  1. Zhengyao Lu
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhengyao Lu.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lu, Z. The extra climate benefits of solar farms. Nat. Geosci. 18, 572–573 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-025-01716-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-025-01716-1

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Anthropocene

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Anthropocene newsletter — what matters in anthropocene research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Anthropocene