Scholarly record
IMPACTS OF WIND FARMS ON GRASSLAND BIODIVERSITY USING SWOT ANALYSIS
Abstract
Grassland ecosystems represent extensive livestock farming systems and biodiversity conservation areas, with their ecological, social, and economic services. Wind turbines constitute one of the main sources of renewable energy that helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Nevertheless, the growing establishment of wind farms in grasslands and protected areas makes it necessary to evaluate their environmental impacts. A systematic literature review was carried out, and applied a SWOT analysis to study and assess the impact of wind turbines on grassland ecosystems. The data were organized through qualitative analysis and classified into Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, without any quantitative weighting or scoring. The results show that wind farms reduce carbon emissions and can exist with other land uses, such as grazing and beekeeping. On the other hand, they have very serious ecological impacts through habitat fragmentation, changes in vegetation structure, productivity, and quality, as well as microclimatic alterations that extend to the soil and ecological processes. They also influence land use and the functioning of agricultural ecosystems, with impacts largely dependent on spatial planning and facility management. These findings indicate that there should be a very specific siting of wind turbines by managers and decision-makers, while an application of SWOT analysis for each installation area and further research on the assessment of long-term environmental impacts is recommended.
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References20
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