Solar parks as livestock enclosures can become key to linking energy, biodiversity and society

Zaplata, Markus Klemens

doi:10.1002/pan3.10522

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 45 publications

(51 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As the exact mechanisms triggering the effects we documented remain unknown, reduction levers seem to be limited, and efforts should thus be made firstly, to avoid using sites with the greatest feeding potential for bats as solar farms, and secondly, to offset the residual effects by improving the carrying capacity of the food web within and around solar farms development projects (Tölgyesi et al., 2023). For example, the composition of plant communities at solar farms could be improved by sowing native flowering plant species (Peter et al., 2021) by creating agroecological infrastructures, such as hedgerows and flower fields supporting insects (Froidevaux et al., 2019; Krings et al., 2022), or by livestock grazing providing dung‐feeding insects and avoiding the need to cut and remove the vegetation (Zaplata, 2023), that are widely known to benefit feeding bats. In this way, the transition to renewable energy can continue while negative effects on bats are minimised.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insectivorous bats alter their flight and feeding behaviour at ground‐mounted solar farms

Barré,

Baudouin,

Froidevaux

et al. 2023

Journal of Applied Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Efforts to mitigate the climate crisis result in a green‐green dilemma: the development of renewable energy technology is required worldwide to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but can have negative impacts on biodiversity. Impacts are being documented for wind farms, but effects of solar farms (photovoltaic power stations) on habitat use of vertebrates remain extremely poorly known. Using insectivorous bats as a biological model for high trophic levels, we tested whether the presence of ground‐mounted solar farms affected flight and feeding behaviour. We assessed behaviour using three‐dimensional flight path reconstruction systems from echolocation calls, via standardised paired sampling of 16 control and 16 solar farm (treatment) sites. We quantified bat flight and feeding behaviour as flight speed, sinuosity of flight trajectories, and the probability of emission of feeding buzzes (acoustic signatures of prey capture attempts), and demonstrated that feeding was characterised by slow, sinuous flight with feeding buzzes. We recorded 15,273 three‐dimensional bat positions, resulting in 1317 flight trajectories. We found strong behavioural responses to ground‐mounted solar farms in two of three bat guilds and five of seven taxa. Specifically, bats shifted their flight towards faster (+10 to +44%) and straighter trajectories (+33%) with lower probability of prey capture attempts (−18 to −39%) at solar farms. Since these changes in flight features are explicit indicators of a decrease in bat feeding behaviour, the implementation of ground‐mounted solar farms is likely to result in reduced feeding habitat quality for bats. Synthesis and applications: The negative effects of solar farms on bat flight and feeding behaviour should be considered when solar energy projects are planned. Research is needed to understand the mechanisms underlying the effects; for example, shading underneath solar panels may reduce plant biomass and therefore insect prey availability. Until exact mechanisms are identified, efforts should be made, first to avoid building solar farms on sites with great feeding potential for bats, and second to offset residual effects by improving the surrounding land and/or solar farms to provide better foraging opportunities. In this way, populations of bats can be supported alongside the generation of renewable energy.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insectivorous bats alter their flight and feeding behaviour at ground‐mounted solar farms

Barré,

Baudouin,

Froidevaux

et al. 2023

Journal of Applied Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Mapping the planet’s critical areas for biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people

Neugarten,

Chaplin-Kramer,

Sharp

et al. 2024

Nat Commun

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Meeting global commitments to conservation, climate, and sustainable development requires consideration of synergies and tradeoffs among targets. We evaluate the spatial congruence of ecosystems providing globally high levels of nature’s contributions to people, biodiversity, and areas with high development potential across several sectors. We find that conserving approximately half of global land area through protection or sustainable management could provide 90% of the current levels of ten of nature’s contributions to people and meet minimum representation targets for 26,709 terrestrial vertebrate species. This finding supports recent commitments by national governments under the Global Biodiversity Framework to conserve at least 30% of global lands and waters, and proposals to conserve half of the Earth. More than one-third of areas required for conserving nature’s contributions to people and species are also highly suitable for agriculture, renewable energy, oil and gas, mining, or urban expansion. This indicates potential conflicts among conservation, climate and development goals.

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

Solar parks as livestock enclosures can become key to linking energy, biodiversity and society

Cited by 3 publications

References 45 publications

Insectivorous bats alter their flight and feeding behaviour at ground‐mounted solar farms

Insectivorous bats alter their flight and feeding behaviour at ground‐mounted solar farms

Mapping the planet’s critical areas for biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people

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

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About