Take vegetation succession into account when planning solar parks, or problems could grow, says researcher

Large-scale ground-mounted solar parks are relatively new phenomena. Over time, ideas have been put forward about how they can accommodate biodiversity, and some parks are indeed becoming more multifunctional—for example, by providing habitats for plants, invertebrates and birds. From a background of studying idyllic ecosystems in dynamic change, Dr. Markus Zaplata, research technician at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Germany, has come to appreciate the biology of solar parks, and has found evidence that they can support a wide range of biodiversity.

His research, published in One Ecosystem, proves the previously overlooked fact that vegetation succession also takes place in solar parks, and that certain intrinsic technical structures can even help self-seeded woody plants live there. Vegetation succession refers to the directional development from easily spreading but low-competitive species such as herbs and grasses towards highly competitive species such as woody plants.

Mowing alone is not enough to deal with woody plants, he argues.

“The fact is that subsurface woody structures continue to grow after mowing, and may at some point massively interfere with the solar installations,” he says.

With 18 years of experience in studying vegetation succession, Dr. Zaplata has supported a research project on biodiversity in solar parks since 2021.

“I do the mowing myself, so I experience the very things I write about in this paper,” he says.

Mowing can also be expensive and labor-intensive, he adds, suggesting that other construction methods and grazing could provide a more sustainable alternative.

Including insights from succession research can make global solar energy landscapes more sustainable, he argues.

“The universal and unstoppable ecological process of succession is here linked to a management recommendation that can bring society closer again, in the new or neutral territory of new energy landscapes. In fact, new and old professions are connected; for example, solar park manager and livestock farmer,” he says.

“Finally, and very importantly, my article points out that experts with in-depth predictive knowledge of dynamic vegetation processes must be consulted in the future on everything that has to do with the technical transformation of landscape units, including solar parks,” he concludes.