Effects of development of wind energy and associated changes in land use on bird densities in upland areas

• Published in: Conservation biology 2019-04, Vol.33 (2), p.413-422
• Main Authors: Fernández-Bellon, Darío, Wilson, Mark W., Irwin, Sandra, O’Halloran, John
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biodiversity; bird guilds; Birds; Breeding; Breeding seasons; cambio de uso de suelo; campos eólicos; Community composition; Construction; Contributed Paper; Control; Control stability; desplazamiento; Displacement; Energy; Environmental factors; Forests; gremios de aves; Habitat loss; habitat modification; Habitats; Land use; Landscape; land‐use change; modificación de hábitat; Species; Species diversity; Surveys; tierras altas; turbinas de viento; Turbine engines; Turbines; uplands; Wind effects; Wind farms; Wind power; Wind power generation; wind turbines; 土地利用变化; 山地; 生境改造; 被迫迁徙; 风力涡轮机; 风电场; 鸟类同资源种团
• ISSN: 0888-8892; 1523-1739
• DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13239

Wind energy development is the most recent of many pressures on upland bird communities and their habitats. Studies of birds in relation to wind energy development have focused on effects of direct mortality, but the importance of indirect effects (e.g., displacement, habitat loss) on avian community diversity and stability is increasingly being recognized. We used a control-impact study in combination with a gradient design to assess the effects of wind farms on upland bird densities and on bird species grouped by habitat association (forest and open-habitat species). We conducted 506 point count surveys at 12 wind-farm and 12 control sites in Ireland during 2 breeding seasons (2012 and 2013). Total bird densities were lower at wind farms than at control sites, and the greatest differences occurred close to turbines. Densities of forest species were significantly lower within 100 m of turbines than at greater distances, and this difference was mediated by habitat modifications associated with wind-farm development. In particular, reductions in forest cover adjacent to turbines was linked to the observed decrease in densities of forest species. Open-habitat species’ densities were lower at wind farms but were not related to distance from turbines and were negatively related to size of the wind farm. This suggests that, for these species, wind-farm effects may occur at a landscape scale. Our findings indicate that the scale and intensity of the displacement effects of wind farms on upland birds depends on bird species’ habitat associations and that the observed effects are mediated by changes in land use associated with wind-farm construction. This highlights the importance of construction effects and siting of turbines2, tracks, and other infrastructure in understanding the impacts of wind farms on biodiversity. El desarrollo de la energía eólica es la más reciente de muchas presiones ejercidas sobre las comunidades de aves de tierras altas y sus hábitats. Los estudios sobre aves en relación con el desarrollo de la energía eólica se han enfocado en los efectos de la mortalidad directa, pero la importancia de los efectos indirectos (p. ej.: desplazamiento, pérdida de hábitat) sobre la diversidad y estabilidad de las comunidades aviares cada vez se reconoce más. Usamos un estudio de control-impacto combinado con un diseño de gradiente para evaluar los efectos de los campos eólicos sobre las densidades de aves de tierras altas y sobre las especies de aves agr