Blaydes, H. and Potts, S. G. and Whyatt, J. D. and Armstrong, A. (2024) On‐site floral resources and surrounding landscape characteristics impact pollinator biodiversity at solar parks. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 5 (1): e12307. ISSN 2688-8319
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
There is increasing land use change for solar parks and growing recognition that they could be used to support insect pollinators. However, understanding of pollinator response to solar park developments is limited and empirical data are lacking. We combine field observations with landcover data to quantify the impact of on‐site floral resources and surrounding landscape characteristics on solar park pollinator abundance and species richness. We surveyed pollinators and flowering plants at 15 solar parks across England in 2021, used a landcover map to assess the surrounding high‐quality habitat and aerial imagery to measure woody linear features (hedgerows, woodland edges and lines of trees). In total, 1397 pollinators were recorded, including 899 butterflies (64%), 171 hoverflies (12%), 161 bumble bees (12%), 157 moths (11%), and nine honeybees (