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.