Solar Energy-driven Land-cover Change Could Alter Landscapes Critical to Animal Movement in the Continental United States.
Environ Sci Technol
; 57(31): 11499-11509, 2023 08 08.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37498168
ABSTRACT
The United States may produce as much as 45% of its electricity using solar energy technology by 2050, which could require more than 40,000 km2 of land to be converted to large-scale solar energy production facilities. Little is known about how such development may impact animal movement. Here, we use five spatially explicit projections of solar energy development through 2050 to assess the extent to which ground-mounted photovoltaic solar energy expansion in the continental United States may impact land-cover and alter areas important for animal movement. Our results suggest that there could be a substantial overlap between solar energy development and land important for animal movement across projections, 7-17% of total development is expected to occur on land with high value for movement between large protected areas, while 27-33% of total development is expected to occur on land with high value for climate-change-induced migration. We also found substantial variation in the potential overlap of development and land important for movement at the state level. Solar energy development, and the policies that shape it, may align goals for biodiversity and climate change by incorporating the preservation of animal movement as a consideration in the planning process.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Energia Solar
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Animals
País como assunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article