Bee-Friendly Native Seed Mixtures for the Greening of Solar Parks

Meyer, Maren Helen; Dullau, Sandra; Scholz, Patrick; Meyer, Michael; Tischew, Sabine

doi:10.3390/land12061265

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 106 publications

(188 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Also, there is no currently available research to detail what specific plant species will successfully establish in different climatic and geographic regions considering the microclimate effects from solar installations. While some sources have promoted frameworks on how to design and establish seed mixes [17,18], there has been no coordinated study to assess what plant species best establish in the microclimate created by solar energy installations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Little prairie under the panel: testing native pollinator habitat seed mix establishment at three utility-scale solar sites in Minnesota

McCall,

Beatty,

Janski

et al. 2024

Environ. Res. Commun.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As more land is being utilized for large-scale solar energy projects, there are increasing discussions from stakeholders on how to utilize land under solar panels to promote biodiversity. One path is to plant habitat beneficial to pollinators and other insects, but there have been few long-term studies that examine how different vegetation and seed mixes establish underneath solar panels. This study addresses a scientific gap to determine whether native pollinator seed mixes successfully establish over time under solar arrays using a systematic assessment of eight seed mixes planted at three utility-scale solar sites in Minnesota. We assess establishment with a percent native coverage metric, which is an assessment of native species observations compared to total observations during percent cover analyses in our vegetative test plots. The percent native coverage metric allows for a measurement of how the seed mix established and how the seed mix persists over time. The percent native coverage under and in between the solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays rose from 10% after one year of planting to 58% after three years across all sites, while the native coverage of the full sun control area rose from 9.6% to 70% under the same period, showing that native prairie and pollinator plants successfully established under the array, although to a lesser extent than in full sun conditions. Percent native coverage under the PV arrays rose 5- to 8-fold for each of the three sites from over the course of the study, while the coverage of weeds decreased for all three sites over the same period. Percent native coverage varied by seed mix over the project years, but every seed mix experienced a higher percent native coverage year after year under the PV arrays. Our results did not indicate a difference in establishment across placement within the array; the center, west, and east portions of the areas in between panels had similar establishment rates at two out of three sites, indicating that the same seed mix can be applied throughout the array. Out of 101 plant species seeded, we observed the establishment of 68 species in our vegetative test plots, and we detailed the top 20 observed species to inform future seed mix development. Based on these findings, native pollinator vegetation can establish over time at solar arrays, and it can be suitable for creating habitat at utility-scale solar sites.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Little prairie under the panel: testing native pollinator habitat seed mix establishment at three utility-scale solar sites in Minnesota

McCall,

Beatty,

Janski

et al. 2024

Environ. Res. Commun.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Carabid beetles in solar parks: assemblages under solar panels are severely impoverished compared to gaps between panel rows and edge areas

Zitzmann,

Stern,

Schmidt

et al. 2024

J Insect Conserv

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Renewable energies are a major tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. Among renewables, solar parks are a key technology and their expansion will strongly increase in the future. Hence, there is a great need for research regarding their impact on biodiversity. In this study, we investigated the importance of three solar parks in northern Germany as habitat for carabid beetles. More specifically, we determined how habitat characteristics (temperature, vegetation structure), species richness, activity densities and carabid beetle assemblages vary between different locations within solar parks: areas under solar panels “UNDR”, gaps between panel rows “BTW” and areas at the edge of solar parks “EDGE”. We found that UNDR strongly differed from BTW/EDGE in terms of habitat conditions, species richness and activity densities of carabid beetles. UNDR mainly provided habitat for a species- and individual-poor subset of species already present in BTW/EDGE and made only a small contribution to the total species richness of the investigated solar parks. BTW and EDGE, on the other hand, differed only slightly. Thus, the narrow gaps between the panel rows were of similar importance as a habitat for carabid beetles as the edge areas. Overall, the investigated solar parks—and thus also the more species-rich areas EDGE and BTW—almost exclusively provided habitat for widespread and common non-threatened generalists, while species of conservation concern were extremely rare. Implications for insect conservation The low importance of UNDR for carabid beetles should be considered when assessing the biodiversity value of solar parks, since a large proportion of these facilities is covered with solar panels. Between panel rows and at the edge of solar parks, larger areas should be kept free from construction with solar panels in order to provide habitats for carabid beetles and other species groups. More research should be conducted on how to further improve solar parks for carabid beetles and overall biodiversity.

show abstract

Creating wildlife habitat using artificial structures: a review of their efficacy and potential use in solar farms

Boscarino‐Gaetano,

Vernes,

Nordberg

2024

Biological Reviews

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The biodiversity crisis is exacerbated by a growing human population modifying nearly three‐quarters of the Earth's land surface area for anthropogenic uses. Habitat loss and modification represent the largest threat to biodiversity and finding ways to offset species decline has been a significant undertaking for conservation. Landscape planning and conservation strategies can enhance habitat suitability for biodiversity in human‐modified landscapes. Artificial habitat structures such as artificial reefs, nest boxes, chainsaw hollows, artificial burrows, and artificial hibernacula have all been successfully implemented to improve species survival in human‐modified and fragmented landscapes. As the global shift towards renewable energy sources continues to rise, the development of photovoltaic systems is growing exponentially. Large‐scale renewable projects, such as photovoltaic solar farms have large space requirements and thus have the potential to displace local wildlife. We discuss the feasibility of ‘conservoltaic systems’ – photovoltaic systems that incorporate elements tailored specifically to enhance wildlife habitat suitability and species conservation. Artificial habitat structures can potentially lessen the impacts of industrial development (e.g., photovoltaic solar farms) through strategic landscape planning and an understanding of local biodiversity requirements to facilitate recolonization.

show abstract

Bee-Friendly Native Seed Mixtures for the Greening of Solar Parks

Cited by 3 publications

References 106 publications

Little prairie under the panel: testing native pollinator habitat seed mix establishment at three utility-scale solar sites in Minnesota

Little prairie under the panel: testing native pollinator habitat seed mix establishment at three utility-scale solar sites in Minnesota

Carabid beetles in solar parks: assemblages under solar panels are severely impoverished compared to gaps between panel rows and edge areas

Creating wildlife habitat using artificial structures: a review of their efficacy and potential use in solar farms

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About