🐝 Solar farms could become important refuges for bumblebees

• Solar farms with wildflowers can more than double the number of bumblebees compared to parks with turf grass.
• The study modelled 1,042 British solar farms and their potential to support bumblebees until 2050.
• The management of the solar farm is decisive for how many bumblebees can live there, while surrounding landscape changes affect bumblebee density outside the facility itself.

Dramatic increase with proper management

Researchers from Lancaster University, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and University of Reading investigated whether Britain's existing solar farms can support bumblebees in a changing landscape. They found that the management of the solar farm is the most important factor for the number of bumblebees within the facilities themselves.

Modelling shows that bumblebee density within solar farms can increase by 120 percent if the parks are managed with biodiversity in focus. Wildflower margins provide the bumblebees with rich access to food. This compared to solar farms that are only covered with turf grass.

Local impact but limited reach

The results show that the positive effects of good management are largely limited to the solar farms themselves. They have a limited and local impact on the surrounding landscape.

The composition of the landscape around the solar farms has greater influence on bumblebee density in the areas where bumblebees forage outside the facilities. A sustainable future scenario where more food and habitat for bumblebees are put back into the landscape would have the most positive effect on bumblebee density over larger areas.

Three future scenarios were tested

The researchers used a new high-resolution modelling technique to predict how Britain's 1,042 solar farms can support bumblebees in the coming decades. They investigated three different future visions for what landscapes in Britain could look like in 2050.

The scenarios were based on sustainable development, middle-of-the-road and fossil-fuelled development. In all future scenarios, agricultural land around solar farms decreases compared to today. This is driven by factors such as changing dietary habits and increased urbanisation.

Detailed mapping

The researchers took existing maps of future land use and downscaled them to a resolution that is more relevant to bumblebees. They added elements such as hedgerows and wildflower patches, which are important landscape elements for bumblebees. The maps were then combined with a pollinator model.

The model predicts how bees use the landscapes based on access to food and nesting sites. This was done in unusually high detail for this type of modelling.

Management decisive within the facility

The management of the solar farm was the main driver of bumblebee density within the solar farms. The density was approximately 120 percent higher in parks with flower-rich margins compared to turf grass. The exact figure was influenced by changes in broader land use.

In the areas directly surrounding the solar farms, landscape changes had a greater impact on bumblebee density. This shows that a single solar farm in isolation generally does not counteract the impact of broader land use changes.

Cannot solve the problem alone

Well-managed solar farms can provide protection for local bumblebee populations against landscape changes occurring outside the facility's boundaries. But solar farms alone cannot counteract the effects of all future land use changes on bumblebees and other biodiversity.

Strategic placement of solar farms could be considered to connect bumblebee habitats or provide resources where they are otherwise limited. If Britain needs more solar farms to meet national renewable energy commitments, this could become a tool in nature conservation.

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