The impact of energy sprawl on biodiversity and ecosystem services
Date
2012
Authors
Jones, Nathan Forrest, author
Pejchar, Liba, advisor
Theobald, David M., committee member
Aldridge, Cameron L., committee member
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Abstract
The future of energy production is uncertain as society demands clean and abundant energy to meet the needs of a growing and increasingly developed population. Wind energy offers the benefit of reduced greenhouse gas emissions; however, like conventional power sources such as oil and natural gas, wind energy results in an environmental footprint that contributes to energy sprawl, or the use and degradation of land due to energy production. In order to better understand these potential affects I summarized and evaluated the impacts on a diverse set of indicators including habitat loss, fragmentation, wildlife mortality, noise and light pollution, invasive species, and changes in carbon stock and water resources. I quantified these indicators by digitizing the land-use footprint within 375 randomly selected one kilometer diameter plots, stratified across each energy type, within Colorado and Wyoming, USA. I found substantial differences in impacts between energy types for most indicators, although the magnitude and direction of the differences varied. Wind energy resulted in greater impacts to noise and light pollution whereas oil and natural gas development resulted in greater habitat fragmentation and impacts to biomass carbon stock and water resources. Underlying land-use and location of production activities were a critical factor in describing the impacts. This novel technique and my specific findings can be used by developers, planners and policy-makers to design energy development that retains biodiversity while meeting society's demand for energy.
Description
Rights Access
Subject
conservation
indicator
landscape
natural gas
oil
wind energy