A predictive flight-altitude model for avoiding future conflicts between an emblematic raptor and wind energy development in the Swiss Alps.

ABSTRACT: Deployment of wind energy is proposed as a mechanism to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, wind energy and large birds, notably soaring raptors, both depend on suitable wind conditions. Conflicts in airspace use may thus arise due to the risks of collisions of birds with the blades of wind turbines. Using locations of GPS-tagged bearded vultures, a rare scavenging raptor reintroduced into the Alps, we built a spatially explicit model to predict potential areas of conflict with future wind turbine deployments in the Swiss Alps. We modelled the probability of bearded vultures flying within or below the rotor-swept zone of wind turbines as a function of wind and environmental conditions, including food supply. Seventy-four per cent of the GPS positions were collected below 200 m above grou

SUBMITTER: Vignali S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8826134 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature