indicator of biotic community change, but also productivity, phenological and physiological functions of plants and behavior and migration patterns of animals. This latter set of functions can be used to explain the fluctuations in biotic diversity and density. Figure 3 indicates the wide variety of abiotic parameters that should be monitored both prior to any manipulation and during manipulation procedures. Most of the abiotic parameters relate to energy or heat flux patterns within the collector array or to factors controlling the water cycle on the site and at an adjacent control area. Some factors such as penetration resistance of the soil and surface texture relate directly to construction or operation disturbance activities and are only indirectly related to organism response to perturbation. However, these factors do influence the potential for plant invasion of the site and the long term survival of plant species. Another reason that so many parameters are to be measured at the simulation sites is that this type of site is best used to validate the theoretical impacts of solar conversion site perturbations. There is not the need to make certain that the "site” continues to operate and produce electricity, thus permitting a wide potential of manipulative possibilities. Simulation sites, if maintained for a reasonable length of time, can also be used to test for beneficial consequences of solar conversion system construction and operation. Following the initial validation of ecosystem responses and accompanying manipulations on the site, additional modifications might be made to produce beneficial responses of ecosystem parameters. If it is determined that particular life forms of plants such as grasses or shrubs respond to the new environment created by the solar collector array through increased productivity, these plants and other similar plants might be purposely grown within the "beneficial" habitats. If it turns out that water is a limiting factor in these habitats, then through modification of the terrain around the solar collectors runoff water can be directed to areas where plants might be grown. Depending on the type of plant grown, the modified ecosystem in the solar collector array can be improved as a naturally productive ecosystem or as an economically productive system.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==