By Krisy Gashler
Two new research papers shed light on the growing practice of grazing sheep in fields with solar arrays. One demonstrates that, in the right numbers, sheep grazing increases populations of beneficial insects like bees and lady beetles compared to mowing around solar panels. The other research describes a decision-making support tool to help farmers profitably grow their solar grazing herds.
A team from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) found that when two sheep per hectare graze around solar arrays, the abundance of wild bees, honey bees and lady beetles jumped by 38%, compared to a control plot that was mowed. The increase was driven primarily by an 83% increase in honey bees alone, according to the team’s findings in “Low solar-grazing densities support beneficial insects in agrivoltaic systems,” published Oct. 7 in Environmental Research Letters.
“Sheep grazing and beneficial insect habitat are two prominent conversation topics around solar development right now,” said Leana Zoller, the paper’s first author and a postdoctoral associate in natural resources in the Cornell CALS Ashley School of Global Development and the Environment. “But what’s been missing is research that treats them as parts of the same system. When we talk about sustainable solar development, integrating these discussions into a single framework is really helpful to farmers and community decision makers.”
Source : cornell.edu