At the sampling-plot scale, however, selection of habitats affected by wind turbines was reduced, indicating a form of habitat deterioration. We did not find a significant difference in overall observation densities between turbine and control areas after turbine construction. We studied effects of wind turbines on the observation density (percent of sampling plots with capercaillie presence per year and study area) and habitat selection. We combined systematic mapping of habitat structure and species presence before and after turbine-construction at 6 study areas in Germany, Austria and Sweden to study the effects of wind turbine presence on a large forest grouse species: the capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus). Additional mortality due to collisions with wind turbines has long been recognized as a direct negative effect, but less obvious effects such as changes in behaviour or displacement of disturbance sensitive wildlife are increasingly moving into focus. There are growing concerns about the effects of wind turbines on wildlife. Future studies should preferably apply a long-term before-after-control-impact design for multiple areas to allow for more general conclusions to be drawn on the effects of WEF on rare and threatened wildlife species.
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We advise applying the precautionary principle by keeping grouse habitats free of wind energy developments, in particular where populations are small or locally threatened. Due to the differences in study duration and design, we cannot provide general conclusions on the effects of WEF on grouse populations. In six cases, a local reduction in grouse abundance was reported in areas with wind turbines, which possibly affected population size. Grouse were affected at up to distances of 500 m by WEF infrastructure, with indications of effects also at bigger distances. Fifteen studies reported behavioural responses in relation to wind turbine facilities in grouse (seven species), including spatial avoidance, displacement of lekking or nesting sites, or the time invested in breeding vs. Five grouse species have been found to collide with wind turbines, in particular with the towers. Effects of wind turbine facilities on grouse have been studied for eight species. Our review is based on 35 sources, including peer-reviewed articles as well as grey literature.
We studied whether grouse (1) collide with wind turbines, (2) show behavioural responses in relation to wind turbine developments, and (3) if there are documented effects of WEF on their population sizes or dynamics. We conducted a literature review to examine the potential impacts of WEF on grouse species. However, the direct and indirect effects of these facilities on the mortality, occurrence and behaviour of rare and threatened species are poorly understood. There is increasing concern about the impact of the current boom in wind energy facilities (WEF) and associated infrastructure on wildlife.
In addition, we provide proximity thresholds below which effects are likely to be present as a basis for conservation planning. recreation) are also likely to be affected by wind turbine presence. Our study reveals that forest dwelling species with known sensitivity to other forms of human disturbance (i.e. Due to the high collinearity of the wind turbine predictors it was not possible to identify the specific mechanism causing turbine avoidance. Furthermore, we found an avoidance of turbine access roads. During summer, we found reduced resource selection with increasing proximity to the turbines (up to 865 m), turbine density, noise, shadow and visibility. During the lekking season, the probability of site-selection by capercaillie decreased with increasing turbine noise, turbine visibility and turbine shadow. Using GPS-tracking of 16 individuals, we studied how seasonal resource selection of the capercaillie Tetrao urogallus, a forest grouse species known as sensitive to disturbance by human presence and infrastructure, was related to wind turbines and other environmental covariates in a wind farm in Sweden. Indeed, effects of WEF on the behaviour of forest dwelling wildlife still remain largely unknown. While the focus of most studies has mainly been on increased mortality of birds and bats due to collision, indirect effects, such as behavioural responses, are currently gaining attention. The recent increase in wind energy facilities (WEF) has led to concerns about their effect on wildlife.
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