Occupancy of roe deer, water deer, and wild boar in wind farm-integrated forest ecosystems: A case study in Korea

Abstract

Understanding the impact of anthropogenic structures on wildlife is essential for balancing ecosystem services. This study explored the impacts of anthropogenic disturbances, particularly wind farms, on South Korean Forest ecosystems using spatial occupancy models and camera trap survey data. We examined the occupancy probability of mammals (roe deer, water deer, and wild boar) around wind farms and identified the influencing factors. The results revealed that roe deer exhibited the highest occupancy probability (0.936), water deer exhibited the lowest (0.503), and wild boar exhibited intermediate values (0.657). For roe deer, the occupancy probability increased with distance from the wind turbine, whereas a high canopy height had a negative impact. Water deer showed a positive correlation with decreasing distance to agricultural land and increasing distance to residential land. Canopy height also contributed positively. Similarly, wild boar displayed a positive association with increased canopy height. Analyzing the impact of wind farm construction time, water deer exhibited a decrease in occupancy probability with more recent construction, whereas wild boars showed the opposite trend. The predicted occupancy probability indicated that roe deer and water deer had the lowest probability near the recently built wind farms, whereas wild boar had the highest probability. The findings of this study contribute to an ecologically informed conservation approach alongside the expansion of wind energy infrastructure. This study serves as a reference for future studies exploring the complex interactions between anthropogenic disturbances and for sustainable wildlife management.