If you build it, will they come? Insect community responses to habitat establishment at solar energy facilities in Minnesota, USA

Abstract

Global declines in insect populations have important implications for biodiversity and food security. To offset these declines, habitat restoration and enhancement in agricultural landscapes could mutually safeguard insect populations and their pollination services for crop production. The expansion of utility-scale solar energy development in agricultural landscapes presents an opportunity for the dual use of the land for energy production and biodiversity conservation through the establishment of grasses and forbs planted among and between the photovoltaic solar arrays (‘solar-pollinator habitat’). We conducted a longitudinal field study across 5 years (2018–2022) to understand how insect communities responded to newly established habitat on solar energy facilities in agricultural landscapes by evaluating (1) temporal changes in flowering plant abundance and diversity; (2) temporal changes in insect abundance and diversity; and (3) the pollination services of solar-pollinator habitat by comparing pollinator visitation to agricultural fields near solar-pollinator habitat with other agricultural field locations. We found increases over time for all habitat and biodiversity metrics: floral rank, flowering plant species richness, insect group diversity, native bee abundance, and total insect abundance, with the most noticeable temporal increases in native bee abundance. We also found positive effects of proximity to solar-pollinator habitat on bee visitation to nearby soybean (Glycine max) fields. Bee visitation to soybean flowers adjacent to solar-pollinator habitat were comparable to bee visitation to soybeans adjacent to grassland areas enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, and greater than bee visitation to soybean field interior and roadside soybean flowers. Our observations highlight the relatively rapid (<4 year) insect community responses to grassland restoration activities and provide support for solar-pollinator habitat as a feasible conservation practice to safeguard biodiversity and increase food security in agricultural landscapes.

Fruit Crop Species with Agrivoltaic Systems: A Critical Review

“…Pollinator abundance, diversity, and richness were similar between full-sun and partial-shade plots and greater in both than in plots with full shade; moreover, pollinator-flower visitation rates did not differ among treatments [20]. Positive effects have been also reported for insect group diversity, native bee abundance, and total insect abundance, with the most noticeable temporal increases in native bee abundance thus acting as a pollinator support to proximal agricultural fields in rural landscapes [20]. Furthermore, AV implementation in arid and semi-arid regions may be an efficient tool to better manage soil moisture, irrigation water use, plant ecophysiological function, and plant biomass production, even extending the forage quality for some species over the season [21,22].…”

“…Researchers have found increased floral abundance and a delay in bloom timing in partial-shade plots, which could have the potential to benefit late-season foragers in water-limited ecosystems [19]. Pollinator abundance, diversity, and richness were similar between full-sun and partial-shade plots and greater in both than in plots with full shade; moreover, pollinator-flower visitation rates did not differ among treatments [20]. Positive effects have been also reported for insect group diversity, native bee abundance, and total insect abundance, with the most noticeable temporal increases in native bee abundance thus acting as a pollinator support to proximal agricultural fields in rural landscapes [20].…”

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

“…This paper will detail the findings from three consecutive years of plant and biologic surveys to provide initial input into seed mix design for pollinator friendly solar sites. Other research was conducted at our test sites that examined the effects of this habitat creation on increased pollinator abundance and diversity with seed mix establishment, as well as microclimate changes and their mixed impact on energy production [21,22].…”