Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

5-1-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Agricultural, Environmental, and Sustainability Sciences

First Advisor

Engil Pereira

Second Advisor

Chu-Lin Cheng

Third Advisor

Robin Choudhury

Abstract

Agrivoltaics (AV) not only beneficially influences agricultural microclimates in the field, AV systems can generate on-site energy to offset operational costs, diversify income sources, and improve overall resilience, while providing environmental co-benefits such as reduced heat stress on plants and improved resource use efficiency. This thesis evaluated agrivoltaic shading effects on SWC and soil temperature using high-resolution in situ measurements collected over one year in an active vineyard, incorporating row type, soil depth, shading, and time of day. With precipitation as the primary water source, shaded soils exhibited up to 24.53% lower SWC relative to sun-exposed soils, likely due to rainfall interception by the AV structure. Shaded soil temperatures were reduced by up to 6.61% compared to sun exposed soils. In contrast, when irrigation became the dominant water source, shaded soils exhibited higher SWC compared to sun-exposed soils. Averaged across all depths, vine rows yielded 14.37% higher SWC (0.153 m3 m-3) compared to tractor rows (0.134 m3 m-3). These results reveal the need for further investigation into appropriate AV structure configurations to ensure their efficacy and productivity in semi-arid subtropical climates.

Comments

Copyright 2026 John Justin Rodriguez. All Rights Reserved. https://proquest.com/docview/3371414243

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