Solar Park on Rewetted Peatland Shows Similar Bird Species Richness to Hay Fields but Different Community Composition
A 30-hectare solar installation in northern Germany recorded wetland and woodland bird species after roads built in 2020 allowed the site to rewet. Species richness matched nearby hay fields, but the solar park supported a wider range of habitat types.
New ScientistA solar park on rewetted peatland in northern Germany recorded wetland and woodland bird species that were absent from two nearby hay fields, according to audio recordings and field observations reported by New Scientist. The 30-hectare site operated by Wattmanufactur is one of only five solar installations on rewetted peatland in Germany.
Researchers documented white wagtails, reed buntings, grey herons, tree pipits and Eurasian tree sparrows at the solar park.
A meadow pipit, listed as threatened in Germany, was photographed on the panels. Buzzards and kestrels perched on the panels to hunt mice. The same recorders detected only grassland species, including the European goldfinch, in the two regularly mown hay fields.
Overall species richness was similar between the solar park and the hay fields. Wattmanufactur began constructing sand-and-gravel roads in 2020 that blocked drainage ditches and allowed the former farm field to accumulate water and revert to peatland. 70259, is the first to examine biodiversity impacts of solar arrays on rewetted peatland.
Hanna Rae Martens of the University of Greifswald, who worked on the research, said the rewetted peat, reduced mowing and presence of panels for perching together created habitat for wetland and some endangered species. Catherine Waite of the University of Cambridge said peatland photovoltaics could help regenerate heavily degraded agricultural peat but should not be placed on healthy peatlands.
Peatlands store twice as much carbon as all forests combined.
Ninety-five per cent of peatlands in Germany and 80 per cent in the UK have been degraded. The UK has restored 2500 square kilometres of peatland, one-tenth of the area damaged, while Germany has restored far less. Germany has barred solar farms on degraded peatland from receiving a minimum guaranteed electricity price since 2023.
Some of the 165 solar farms already sited on degraded peatlands in Germany release more greenhouse gases than they avoid through carbon-free generation. A German state-funded research programme is examining whether solar farms can support peatland restoration. Martens noted that landowners need income options beyond strict nature conservation.
Waite said additional government incentives will likely be required for peatland photovoltaics to expand.
