Solar farms play an integral role in the global energy transition and climate change mitigation. However, criticism has emerged, arguing that mitigating climate change cannot come at the expense of ecosystem degradation due to an ambiguous understanding of solar farms’ environmental impacts. Here we developed a harmonic regression model to conduct a nuanced global analysis of solar farms’ influences on vegetation. Results show that 52% of solar farms exhibited beneficial effects on vegetation coverage, with the highest enhancement (136.72%) found in regions where the aridity index is 0.39. However, changes in coverage are not triggered solely by solar farms; rather, there is a counterbalance between the contributions from climate change and from solar farms, implying that observed coverage changes could be stalled or even reversed in the future. Furthermore, plant functional type transition is an additional potential driver. Our findings could improve solar farm site selection and policies.

The large-scale Grain for Green project on the Loess Plateau of China significantly changes the regional landscape pattern, which has a profound impact on runoff and sediment process. The relationship between landscape pattern and runoff and sediment in the Dali River watershed is established. Cropland and grassland areas in the watershed show a downward trend, whereas the woodland and building land increases continuously. The Number of Patches (NP), Patch Density (PD) and Landscape Diversity (SHDI), Landscape Division Index (DIVISION) increase significantly. The Largest Patch Index (LPI) and Landscape Shape Index (LSI) show overall change in the rising and falling rule. The Contagion Index (CONTAG) and Cohesion Index (COHESION) first increase, then decrease. A decreasing trend is shown by runoff and sediment. The annual runoff in 2010 was 29.76% less than in 1960, and the annual sediment load was 84.87% less. NP, PD, COHESION, DIVISION and SHDI have a significant negative correlation with runoff and sediment, and CONTAG and runoff sediment are positively related. This study could provide theoretical support for guiding watershed land use and landscape planning to effectively reduce runoff and sediment transport.