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https://theconversation.com/new-solar-farms-can-benefit-nature-heres-how-235991>
"If you were told solar farms could take up to 0.3% of the total land area in
the UK by 2035, would you take up a banner and march to parliament in protest?
It’s hard to imagine anyone feeling troubled by such a perceptibly small
figure.
Instead, if you were told a solar farm the size of 960 football pitches was to
be built just outside your front door, would you join your local community to
object it as loudly as possible? That’s easier to imagine.
Perceptions of scale and proximity aside, there was no shortage of opposing
voices when the new Labour government approved three mega solar farms in the
east of England last month – together they account for about two thirds of the
entire solar energy capacity installed in 2023.
But solar farms don’t just have to be about low carbon electricity, they could
also help reverse biodiversity decline. Under appropriate management and the
right policies, solar farms have the potential to deliver benefits for nature
and climate.
Our team’s research on solar farms across the UK shows that these energy
facilities can boost local pollinator populations and enhance pollination
services to adjacent crops. For instance, managing solar farms as wildflower
meadows can benefit bumblebee foraging and nesting, while larger solar farms
can increase pollinator densities in surrounding landscapes compared to smaller
sites managed as turf grass.
Solar farms have been found to boost the diversity and abundance of certain
plants, invertebrates and birds, compared to that on farmland, if solar panels
are integrated with vegetation, even in urban areas.
Solar farms can also deliver multiple “ecosystem services” in addition to
biodiversity conservation, including food production and support for rural
activities such as recreation.
Yet, as with any changes, there will be winners and losers. Some species, such
as bats, find it harder to forage for insects and travel along protected
corridors of habitat due to to the presence of solar farms. The jury is still
out on whether solar farms change the soil’s capacity to store carbon. With
clearer understanding of how different species respond to the presence of solar
farms, the design, location and management of these facilities can be adapted
accordingly to benefit nature.
Solar farms may challenge some deeply held perceptions in the UK of a cultural
“green” countryside dotted with lush farmlands in which wildlife co-exist in
apparent harmony with human-dominated land uses.
However, centuries of agricultural intensification have pushed several species
and habitats to the brink in the UK, a nation that’s been highlighted as one of
the most nature-depleted countries in the world."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
