The impacts of wind power on terrestrial mammals: A synthesis

Responsible organisation

2012 (English)Report (Other academic)

Abstract [en]

• We compiled available knowledge and experience of the impact of wind power on terrestrial mammals, both wild and domestic. The literature in the field is very limited, so we also tried to draw lessons from related fields, such as disturbance from noise, construction work, traffic, hunting and outdoor activities, and the effects of habitat change.
• Although the knowledge is generally sparse, the summary shows that it is possible that terrestrial mammals, especially large carnivores and ungulates including domestic reindeer, are affected by wind power development in various ways.
• For the larger game species as well as domestic reindeer, the influence from wind power should primarily be due to the network of access roads to the turbines. The main factor is probably the increased access for recreation, hunting and leisure traffic. It is well known that interference from such human activities can impact moose, wild deer, domestic reindeer and large carnivores, and in effect cause a habitat loss.
• New wind power farms are expected to be situated in more remote, upland, currently roadless areas, at least in the forested landscape. Such areas may serve as refugia for e.g. large predators or as important grazing areas for ungulates. Accordingly, wind power and associated infrastructure in these areas may have an impact on the population level of these species.
• By contrast, the habitat changes caused by access roads are not necessarily a problem for the larger mammal species. Open land, new edge zones and roadsides could rather benefit many wildlife species. Open land and edges create new browsing areas; roads can facilitate animal movement in the landscape or help animals escaping parasitic insects.
• The effects of power lines on reindeer tend to differ depending on the geographic scale studied; on a regional scale, an avoidance of large areas around power lines may be observed, while no effects have been shown for reindeer studied near power lines.
• A few studies available on wild deer, reindeer and large carnivores during construction work suggest that these animals may temporarily avoid wind farms during this period. However, the data is not conclusive.
• Noise emissions from wind turbines can theoretically disturb animal communication, and also visual stimuli (including reflections, shadows and lighting) may annoy or stress both wildlife and livestock. However, the few studies available suggest the lack of such effects, or a swift habituation to the disturbance, and therefore a limited impact.
• Animals may also get accustomed to the other disturbances from wind power. For example, both domestic and wild reindeer appear to remain in areas despite human presence, at least when no alternative areas are available. The ability to habituate varies with species, sex, age, individual, time of year, type of disturbance, and how frequent and predictable disturbances are, so overall, habituation cannot be presupposed.
• There may be differences in the response to disturbance, depending on landscape and current land use. In already disturbed areas, such as most agricultural landscapes, wind power may not affect the occurring species to the same extent as it would in more sparsely populated forest and mountain areas.
• The effects may also depand on the size of the wind farm. At the construction of large wind farms, even small and localised effects may sum up to significant impact, with consequences at the population level.
• Our summary highlights the large knowledge gaps in the field and indicates the need for research as well as for efficient environmental monitoring. Of particular need is to study the effects of noise and visual impacts from the turbines. Also studies are needed on the localisation of new wind power in relation to areas of particular value for ungulates and large predators. It is important that the potential cumulative impacts of wind power are considered, as these may lead to consequences at the population level and thus be most relevant from a conservation perspective.
• To address the large knowledge gaps, it is crucial that monitoring programs for new wind power are set up to create new, generalisable knowledge. We describe some principles that should be followed to achieve this. It is also important that monitoring programs are coordinated nationally and that the data are analysed on a comprehensive level.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages

Stockholm: Naturvårdsverket, 2012. , p. 51

Series

Rapport / Naturvårdsverket, ISSN 0282-7298 ; 6510

Keywords [sv]

Vindval

National Category

Environmental Sciences

Identifiers

URN: urn:nbn:se:naturvardsverket:diva-9269ISBN: 978-91-620-6510-2 (print)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:naturvardsverket-9269DiVA, id: diva2:1613973

Available from: 2021-11-24 Created: 2021-11-24 Last updated: 2023-05-26Bibliographically approved

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Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

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