Appropriate solar park management enhances bumble bee populations under different land use scenarios

Abstract

Land use change for solar parks could provide a unique opportunity to support insect pollinators, such as bumble bees, if located and managed appropriately. Vegetation management can provide floral and nesting resources for bumble bees and well managed solar parks could safeguard suitable bumble bee habitats for up to 40 years. Understanding the potential for solar parks to contribute to bumble bee conservation is growing, but the longer-term roles of solar parks have not yet been considered. To address this knowledge gap, we used a geographic information system (GIS) and a process-based pollinator model to quantify the impact of solar park management on bumble bee density in present day Great Britain and in 2050. Future landscapes were based on state-of-the-art UK-SCAPE CRAFTY-UK scenarios that represent how land use responds simultaneously to climatic and social change. Scenarios range in levels of sustainability and therefore deliver contrasting landscapes that impact bumble bees in both solar parks and the surroundings. In the present day, solar parks managed with resource-rich wildflower margins approximately doubled bumble bee density compared to those managed as turf grass. Moreover, bumble bee density was higher in solar parks surrounded by more floral resources. In future scenarios, the impact of solar park management differed depending on how the surrounding landscape changed. Our findings suggest that solar parks could contribute to bumble bee conservation both now and in the future, potentially becoming more or less valuable habitats depending on land use change.