Effect of solar panels on greenhouse gas emissions in a rewetted peatland

Drained peatlands are a strong source of greenhouse gas emissions. Peatland rewetting projects that aim to return sites to their near-natural state may collide with the need for land use in an agricultural or alternative way. The installation of ground-mounted photovoltaic systems might be an economically attractive use option for rewetted peatlands, beside the utilisation with paludiculture - i.e. agriculture and forestry on wet peatlands. In the project Moor-PV we investigate the impact of photovoltaic systems (solar panels) in rewetted peatlands on biodiversity, peat conservation as well as the water and climate balances. For the latter we measure fluxes of the three most important greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) under and outside the rows of bifacial solar panels to estimate annual balances at two different solar parks east and west of a railway line. Once preliminary gas flux data are analyzed, the impact of solar panels on the microclimate and their shading effect as a driver for potentially altered vegetation growth will be investigated. Our results will help to foster our understanding of the greenhouse gas exchange in this specific environment and to inform solar park operators and farmers about climate friendly use options on rewetted peatlands.