Soil Health Impacts from Solar Energy Construction and Sheep Grazing in Pennsylvania

Southern Pennsylvania soil health data from a two-year assessment at three utility-scale solar facilities. The dataset likely contains measurements of labile carbon, respiration, wet aggregate stability, surface compaction, and earthworm abundance, comparing solar sites with adjacent agricultural land. It was authored by Russell C. Hedberg and last updated in May 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyzing soil health degradation from solar facility construction based on labile carbon and aggregate stability metrics
• Comparing soil recovery trends over time based on the two-year study period
• Evaluating the impact of sheep grazing on soil properties within solar sites
• Modeling the relationship between solar infrastructure and earthworm abundance

Strengths

• Data includes a two-year longitudinal study, allowing for temporal analysis
• Compares three distinct solar sites with adjacent agricultural control plots
• Assesses multiple soil health indicators, including biological and physical properties

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Geographic scope is limited to Southern Pennsylvania

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

In situ and lab soil health assessments conducted along transects annually for two years.

Time Range

Two-year study period

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-22 04:30:20; freshness should be verified

Geography

Southern Pennsylvania