Renewable energies and biodiversity: impact of ground-mounted solar photovoltaic sites on bat activity

Renewable energy is growing at a rapid pace globally, but as yet there has been little research on the effects of ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) developments on bats, many species of which are threatened or protected. We conducted a paired study at 19 ground-mounted solar PV developments in southwest England. We used static detectors to record bat echolocation calls from boundaries (i.e., hedgerows) and central locations (open areas) at fields with solar PV development, and simultaneously at matched sites without solar PV developments (control fields). We used generalized linear mixed-effect models to assess how solar PV developments and boundary habitat affected bat activity and species richness. The activity of six of eight species/species groups analysed was negatively affected by solar PV panels, suggesting that loss and/or fragmentation of foraging/commuting habitat is caused by ground-mounted solar PV panels. Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Nyctalus spp. activity was lower ..., Sampling design We implemented a paired study design across 19 solar PV sites to assess whether bat species richness and activity were higher in fields and along boundary habitats that contained PV panels, compared with ‘empty’, matched control sites. This resulted in 19 sampling points for solar boundary habitat, 19 for solar open habitat, 19 for control boundary habitat, and 19 for control open habitat. All sites were located in south-west England, where the highest concentration of solar PV sites and greatest bat species richness in the UK coincide (Mathews et al. 2018; Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy 2021). Where private land was entered, permissions were granted by land owners and the relevant solar farm companies. No ethical approval was required for this study as we passively monitored bats through acoustic recordings. The control sites were within the same land management boundary as the solar PV site, and matched as closely as possible in plot size, habit..., Microsoft Excel Notes R-Studio全球可再生能源正处于快速发展阶段，但目前针对地面安装式太阳能光伏（ground-mounted solar photovoltaic）项目对蝙蝠的影响的研究仍较为匮乏，而诸多蝙蝠物种正处于受威胁或受保护的状态。 我们在英格兰西南部的19个地面安装式太阳能光伏项目场地开展了配对研究。我们使用静态探测器（static detectors）记录了带有太阳能光伏设施的地块中，边界（即树篱）与中心区域（开阔地带）的蝙蝠回声定位叫声（bat echolocation calls），并同时在匹配的无太阳能光伏设施的对照地块开展同步监测。我们采用广义线性混合效应模型（generalized linear mixed-effect models）评估太阳能光伏项目与边界生境对蝙蝠活动度及物种丰富度的影响。 本次分析的8个物种/物种类群中，有6个的活动度受到太阳能光伏板的负面影响，这表明地面安装式太阳能光伏板会导致觅食/迁飞生境（foraging/commuting habitat）的丧失和/或破碎化。普通伏翼（Pipistrellus pipistrellus）及棕蝠属（Nyctalus spp.）的活动度较低…… 采样设计 我们采用配对研究设计（paired study design），覆盖19个太阳能光伏场地，以评估相较于"空置"的匹配对照样地，安装有光伏板的地块及边界生境中的蝙蝠物种丰富度与活动度是否更高。据此，太阳能光伏边界生境、太阳能光伏开阔生境、对照边界生境及对照开阔生境各设19个采样点。所有样地均位于英格兰西南部，该区域是英国太阳能光伏场地分布最集中、蝙蝠物种丰富度最高的地区（Mathews等人，2018；英国商业、能源与工业战略部，2021）。若进入私有土地，均已获得土地所有者及相关太阳能农场企业的许可。本研究通过声学记录被动监测蝙蝠，因此无需伦理审批。 对照样地与太阳能光伏场地处于同一土地管理边界内，并在样地面积、生境……，Microsoft Excel 备注 R-Studio