Thesis supervisor: Csaba Tölgyesi
Location of studies (in Hungarian): University of Szeged, Department of Ecology Abbreviation of location of studies: SZTE
Description of the research topic:
Currently, solar development is considered the flagship of the green transition in the energy sector. Utility-scale solar parks are usually deployed on the ground, occupying over 2 ha of land for every MW of electric power generated. The exponential spread of solar parks inevitably leads to conflicts with other types of land use, including agriculture, nature conservation and ecosystem restoration. There are emerging ways to reach a win-win, one of which is the ecovoltaic concept, entailing the establishment of species-rich native vegetation under and between solar panel rows. The vegetation of ecovoltaic parks can be used for grazing, hay making or even bee keeping, and instead of degraded land surfaces, they represent biodiversity hot-spots. However, the technological details of creating ecovoltaic parks and how to reconcile the maintenance of high biodiversity with the operational needs of electricity generation, and the exact biodiversity patterns that can be achieved are poorly known. The task of the PhD student will be to characterize the flora and fauna (particularly pollinators and pest-controlling predatory arthropods) of recently established ecovoltaic parks in Hungary and in Germany, by comparing them to conventional solar parks (control groups) and intact native grasslands (reference groups).
Required language skills: English Recommended language skills (in Hungarian): experience in biodiversity Further requirements: endurance in the field, experience in biodiversity monitoring, and a driving license
Number of students who can be accepted: 1
Deadline for application: 2024-05-31
2024. IV. 17. ODT ülés Az ODT következő ülésére 2024. június 14-én, pénteken 10.00 órakor kerül sor a Semmelweis Egyetem Szenátusi termében (Bp. Üllői út 26. I. emelet).
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