Modeling the ecosystem services of native vegetation management practices at solar energy facilities in the Midwestern United States

Walston, Leroy J.; Li, Yudi; Hartmann, Heidi M.; Macknick, Jordan; Hanson, A. G.; Nootenboom, Chris; Lonsdorf, Eric V.; Hellmann, Jessica J.

doi:10.1016/j.ecoser.2020.101227

Cited by 41 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…In contrast, solar park characteristics had no impact on bumble bee nest density in the dispersal zone (500-1000 m). Nests in this zone are likely beyond the usual foraging range for bumble bees [48,49]. Thus, the resources within the solar park are accessed by fewer individuals, make up a smaller part of their diet and are therefore unlikely to strongly influence whole nest viability.…”

Section: Foraging Bumble Bee Density and Nest Density In Buffer Zones...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Solar park management and design to boost bumble bee populations

Blaydes

Gardner

Whyatt

et al. 2022

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Solar photovoltaics (PV) is projected to become the dominant renewable, with much capacity being installed as ground-mounted solar parks. Land use change for solar can affect ecosystems across spatial scales and solar parks offer a unique opportunity for ecological enhancement. One compelling potential benefit beginning to be deployed by the solar industry is management for insect pollinators. Specifically, solar parks can provide refuge for pollinators through the provision of suitable habitat, potentially contributing to halting and reversing widespread declines recorded in some pollinator groups. There is scope to both manage and design solar parks for pollinators, but understanding is limited. Using a GIS and a process-based pollinator model, we explore how solar park management, size, shape and landscape context might impact ground-nesting bumble bee density, nest density and nest productivity inside existing solar parks and surrounding landscapes in the UK. We show that bumble bee density and nest density is driven by solar park management, with twice as many bumble bees foraging and nesting inside solar parks managed as wildflower meadows, compared to those with only wildflower margins. In comparison, solar park size, shape and landscape context have a smaller impact on bumble bee response inside solar parks. However, large, elongated resource-rich solar parks were most effective at increasing bumble bee density in surrounding landscapes, with implications for local crop pollination. Specifically, there were double the number of foraging bumble bees surrounding large solar parks managed as meadows compared to smaller parks managed as turf grass. If designed and managed optimally, solar parks therefore have the potential to boost local bumble bee density and potentially pollination services to adjacent crops. Our results demonstrate how incorporating biodiversity into solar park management and design decisions could benefit groups such as pollinators and contribute to the wider environmental sustainability of solar parks.

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Section: Foraging Bumble Bee Density and Nest Density In Buffer Zones...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Solar park management and design to boost bumble bee populations

Blaydes

Gardner

Whyatt

et al. 2022

Environ. Res. Lett.

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“…InVEST is a simplified modelling tool that relies on geographical and ecological information for the provision of maps, valuing and quantifying [14], of the distribution of ecosystem services across a landscape [15]. This environmental modelling tool is a suite of software used in valuing the benefits we get from the nature that sustains our lives.…”

Section: Invest Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Considering the Environmental Impacts of Bioenergy Technologies to Support German Energy Transition

et al. 2021

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Clean energy for all, as listed in the United Nation’s SDG7, is a key component for sustainable environmental development. Therefore, it is imperative to uncover the environmental implications of alternative energy technologies. SustainableGAS project simulates different process chains for the substitution of natural gas with renewable energies in the German gas market. The project follows an interdisciplinary approach, taking into account techno-social and environmental variabilities. However, this research highlights the project results from the environmental perspective. So far, a detailed assessment of the environmental costs of alternative gas technologies with a focus on the process of energy transition has remained rare. Although such data constitute key inputs for decision-making, this study helps to bridge a substantial knowledge gap. Competing land-use systems are examined to secure central ecosystem services. To fulfill this obligation, an Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) serves as the modelling tool. InVEST assesses ecosystem services (ES) that are or may be affected by alternative bioenergy technologies. Spatially explicit model results include the water provisioning from the Water Yield Model (WYM), soil erosion and sedimentation described by the Sediment Delivery Ratio (SDR), and nutrient fluxes (N) in response to changing land use are obtained through the Nutrient Delivery Ratio (NDR). The detailed model results are finally extrapolated, which provides a comprehensive image of the environmental impacts associated with bioenergy expansion in Germany from our combination of unique Renewable Gas Plants (RGPs). The final result shows that nutrient load will reduce in southern Germany by the year 2050 compared to the reference state, and biomass use reduced by 46% crops.

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“…For example, research on crop production in AV systems has shown the feasibility of producing lower-growing shade-tolerant crops such as lettuces, tomatoes, kale, and peppers between and under the partially-shaded rows of PV arrays (Marrou et al, 2013;Barron-Gafford et al, 2019;Weselek et al, 2019;Hudelson and Lieth, 2021;Al Mamun et al, 2022). In addition, there is growing evidence on the benefits of AV strategies to enhance onsite habitat, such as the establishment and management of native grasses and forbs, and the related potential ecosystem services of these strategies for agricultural production, biodiversity conservation, and regulation services related to carbon sequestration and erosion control (Semeraro et al, 2018;Walston et al, 2018Walston et al, , 2021Siegner et al, 2019;Randle-Boggis et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Opportunities for agrivoltaic systems to achieve synergistic food-energy-environmental needs and address sustainability goals

Walston

Barley

Bhandari

et al. 2022

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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Achieving decarbonization goals to address global climate change and increasing energy needs requires significant continued investments in solar energy. The expansion of utility-scale solar development across the globe has increased the pressure on land resources for energy generation and other land uses (e.g., agriculture, biodiversity conservation). To address this growing issue, greater emphasis has been placed on solar development strategies that maximize the benefits of solar energy generation and multiple ecosystem services, such as the development of agrivoltaics systems that co-locate solar energy production and various forms of conservation and agricultural land uses. The purpose of this paper is to systematically synthesize the potential ecosystem services of agrivoltaics and summarize how these development strategies could address several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our review will focus on four broad potential ecosystem services of agrivoltaics: (1) energy and economic benefits; (2) agricultural provisioning services of food production and animal husbandry; (3) biodiversity conservation; and (4) regulating ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and water and soil conservation. In particular, we will highlight the state of the science, challenges, and knowledge gaps that represent opportunities for further study to better understand how solar energy deployment can facilitate sustainable development.

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Modeling the ecosystem services of native vegetation management practices at solar energy facilities in the Midwestern United States

Cited by 41 publications

References 36 publications

Solar park management and design to boost bumble bee populations

Solar park management and design to boost bumble bee populations

Considering the Environmental Impacts of Bioenergy Technologies to Support German Energy Transition

Opportunities for agrivoltaic systems to achieve synergistic food-energy-environmental needs and address sustainability goals

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