Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2025
Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster E16
Höfundar / Authors: Jón Einar Jónsson
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: Rannsóknasetur Háskóla Íslands á Snæfellsnesi
Kynnir / Presenter: Jón Einar Jónsson
Land-based wind farms are planned all over Iceland, raising pressing questions about impacts on birdlife. Risks for birds include collision risk, displacement due to disturbance, barrier effect and habitat change and loss. In Iceland, certain species are at greater risk than others, given that wind farms are mostly planned inland at higher altitudes. Such locations may not seem like bird habitat at a glance but often cross migratory pathways across the country. Bird studies in relation to wind farms include point counts, radar counts and breeding bird surveys. The most important sources of information include environmental assessments, important bird areas, improved information on migratory pathways, and importantly, models projecting bird abundance maps based on geographic features. Based on research on same species in Europe, species at risk currently are the white-tailed sea eagle, of a special concern given the species vulnerability, but also heathland birds, many of which have breeding populations reaching 200-400+ meters above sea level. Present information on migratory pathways suggest that birds enter and leave Iceland all over the coastline and thus, avoiding bird migrations by strategic placements of wind farms is nearly impossible. Given the vibrant discussion and multiple stakeholders, accurate information on birds is key to ensure that developments minimize risk to the Icelandic birds.