Yes, EOL recovery could be quicker than if it were paved (assuming that paving strips the topsoil completely and not just paves over it) but much slower than if it remained growing all the time.
The problem is that soil is not just inert, and completely covering it like that kills the entire microbiome — the fungi, bacteria, and myriad of multicellular micro-critters that make the soil good for plant growth will be long gone when they take up the panels.
The problem is that soil is not just inert, and completely covering it like that kills the entire microbiome — the fungi, bacteria, and myriad of multicellular micro-critters that make the soil good for plant growth will be long gone when they take up the panels.