Review article - Peer-reviewed, 2020
Bats and Wind Farms: The Role and Importance of the Baltic Sea Countries in the European Context of Power Transition and Biodiversity Conservation
Gaultier, Simon P.; Blomberg, Anna S.; Ijas, Asko; Vasko, Ville; Vesterinen, Eero J.; Brommer, Jon E.; Lilley, Thomas M.Abstract
Although labeled as environmentally friendly, wind power can have negative impacts on the environment, such as habitat destruction or wildlife fatalities. Considering the distribution and migratory characteristics of European bats, the negative effects of wind power should be addressed on an appropriate scale. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge on interactions between wind farms and bats in Europe, and compares it with the situation in the countries of the European boreal biogeographic region. We analyzed data from papers published in international and national scientific journals, focusing on studies conducted in Europe. The issue of the impacts wind power has on bats is clearly overlooked in most of the countries of the European boreal region, with low volumes of research available on the topic. This is probably due to fewer wind farms in the area, making this recent issue a less-prioritized topic. However, the Baltic Sea, and the countries surrounding it, are of extreme importance with regards to bat migration, especially for the Pipistrellus nathusii. Therefore, more research on wind power and bats is needed in this region, as well as more cooperation between all the stakeholders.Published in
Environmental Science and Technology2020, volume: 54, number: 17, pages: 10385-10398
Publisher: AMER CHEMICAL SOC
Authors' information
Gaultier, Simon P.
University of Turku
Blomberg, Anna S.
University of Turku
Ijas, Asko
University of Turku
Vasko, Ville
University of Helsinki
Vesterinen, Eero
University of Turku
Vesterinen, Eero
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Ecology
Brommer, Jon E.
University of Turku
Lilley, Thomas M.
University of Helsinki
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG15 Life on land
UKÄ Subject classification
Ecology
Publication Identifiers
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c00070
URI (permanent link to this page)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/108109