Impact of mountain wind farms on different vegetation types: A case study in Yunnan Province

Abstract

While wind power is regarded as a natural green energy source, the construction and operation of wind farms will inevitably have an impact on the local and even broader ecological environment. Therefore, exploring the ecological impacts caused by the construction and operation of wind farms to achieve a balance between energy transition and environmental protection is highly important. There is a paucity of research examining the impact of mountain wind farms on regional vegetation. This study examined the impact of mountain wind farms on different vegetation types, including forest, farmland, and grassland, in Yunnan Province, China, from 2008 to 2022. This study aimed to identify the potential causes of spatial heterogeneity in the impact of mountain wind farms on regional vegetation. The findings indicated that the influence of mountain wind farms on diverse vegetation types was predominantly evident within a 0.5 km radius. The wind farms exhibited notable uniformity in their inhibitory impact on the fractional vegetation cover (FVC) and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) across the different vegetation types, whereas the effects on the leaf area index (LAI) exhibited greater variability. The spatial heterogeneity in the impact of mountain wind farms on the FVC, NDVI, and LAI was associated with a range of factors. The study also revealed that the negative impact of mountain wind farms on forests is due mainly to their direct destruction during wind farm construction, so the area occupied by forests should be strictly controlled during wind farm construction, with stronger management of damaged vegetation restoration.