Data from: Wind turbines in managed forests partially displace common birds

Wind turbines are increasingly being installed in forests, which can lead
to land use disputes between climate mitigation efforts and nature
conservation. Environmental impact assessments precede the construction of
wind turbines to ensure that wind turbines are installed only in managed
or degraded forests that are of potentially low value for conservation. It
is unknown, nevertheless, if animals deemed of minor relevance in
environmental impact assessments are affected by wind turbines in managed
forests. We investigated the impact of wind turbines on common forest
birds, by counting birds along an impact-gradient of wind turbines in 24
temperate forests in Hesse, Germany. During 860 point counts, we counted
2,231 birds from 45 species. Bird communities were strongly related to
forest structure, season and the rotor diameter of wind turbines, but were
not related to wind turbine distance. For instance, bird abundance
decreased in structure-poor (-38%) and monocultural (-41%) forests with
wind turbines, and in young (-36%) deciduous forests with larger and more
wind turbines (-24%). Overall, our findings suggest that wind turbines in
managed forests partially displace common forest birds. If these birds are
displaced to harsh environments, wind turbines might indirectly contribute
to a decline of their populations. Yet, forest bird communities are
locally more sensitive to forest quality than to wind turbine presence. To
prevent further displacement of forest animals, forests of lowest quality
for wildlife should be preferred in spatial planning for wind turbines,
for instance small and structure-poor monocultures along highways.