Are we considering the genetic diversity of impacted species when predicting the impact of renewable energy development? New study!
Desert ecosystems are areas of high solar energy potential, making them the second largest recipient environment (by area) globally for large, ground-mounted solar energy development.
As many desert species live near their physiological water and heat limits, even small changes in their habitat, such as changes in patterns of hydrological flows supporting washes, can have large consequences. Many desert species also struggle to recover from or adapt to rapid environmental changes, which can have long-term effects on population growth rates and individual fitness.
Due to their relatively large footprints and land transformation compared to fossil fuels and other renewables (Lovering et al., 2022), a single solar energy facility can encompass distributions of many plant species in a region. To increase the environmental sustainability of operating and planned solar energy facilities, an understanding of desert plant populations and their vulnerabilities to solar energy facility design is necessary. Understanding the population structure of Mojave milkweed both within and around the solar installation will be imperative in determining the best strategy to conserve this rare plant. Here, we aimed to address key information gaps related to the conservation of Mojave milkweed by determining the population structure and diversity of Mojave milkweed in the Ivanpah Valley, and its overlay with ISEGS. Our questions included:
Is there distinct population structure within the Ivanpah Valley Mojave milkweed or is it a continuous, panmictic population?
How does the spatial layout of the ISEGS facility overlay with any potential population structure, that is, how many unique populations does the ISEGS facility affect?
Is there unique genetic diversity found within ISEGS that could be lost due to disturbance?