Will red-crowned cranes avoid coastal wind farms? A research based on satellite tracking in Yancheng coastal wetland

• Published in: Journal of environmental management 2025-01, Vol.373, p.123508, Article 123508
• Main Authors: Hu, Xinyi, Wu, Dawei, Chen, Hao, Chen, Weihua, Chen, Guoyuan, Hu, Wei, Chen, Taiyu, Lu, Changhu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Coastal wetland; Grus japonensis; Kernel density analysis; Satellite tracking; Wind farms
• ISSN: 0301-4797; 1095-8630; 1095-8630
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123508

The number of wind farms operating along coastal wetland in East China has rapidly increased in recent years, and it may have an adverse effect on various large wading birds including red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis), such as collision mortality, flight changes, and habitat loss. The Yancheng coastal wetland, a Ramsar site, serves as a critical habitat for the vulnerable red-crowned cranes and is densely populated with wind turbines. Risks associated with wind-energy infrastructure are not well understood for red-crowned cranes. More than 20 captive-bred cranes were released into the Yancheng coastal wetland to augment wild crane population, and 6 of them were tagged by GPS for tracking their movement. We used 36,609 GPS locations to analyze their spatial response to coastal wind farms. Results revealed that the cranes concentrate their activities (89.64% of the 36,609 GPS locations) within the Yancheng National Nature Reserve for Rare Birds where there are no turbines. While there is some overlap between wind farms and red-crowned cranes, these cranes tend to avoid wind farms—the average distance from cranes to the nearest wind turbine was 6.97 km. This indicates that the collision risk between red-crowned cranes and wind turbines in the coastal wetlands of Yancheng is relatively low. However, this also means that the construction of wind farm has led to a reduction of suitable habitats for cranes. •Wind turbines are widely distributed in Yancheng coastal wetland, which is an important habitat for the red-crowned cranes.•No wind turbines in red-crowned cranes' main activity area, indicating spatial avoidance.•The survival threat of wind farms to red-crowned cranes lies in the loss of suitable habitats.