Identifying the exposure of taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of steppe birds to renewable energy development.

Biodiversity is globally threatened by human impacts, including land-use transformation and climate change, which has prompted a rapid transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources, such as photovoltaic (PV) energy. However, utility-scale PV plants require vast areas and can lead to conflicts with biodiversity conservation, making strategic planning essential. We used steppe birds, a highly threatened group occurring in lands potentially suitable for PV plants, as a model to evaluate the spatial overlap between conservation priorities and PV infrastructure. We quantified and mapped taxonomic (TD), functional (FD), and phylogenetic (PD) diversity of 26 species across one of the main strongholds of European steppe birds (mainland Spain and Balearic Islands) to identify prioritization scenarios that best preserved all steppe bird diversity facets (TD, FD, and PD) and steppe birds of conservation concern. We generated a multifaceted diversity map based on the combination of TD, FD, and PD and overlaid existing PV infrastructure to determine bird exposure areas (i.e., high multifaceted diversity with current high PV occupancy) and PV avoidance areas (high multifaceted diversity with low or no current PV occupancy). The prioritization scenario that combined TD, FD, and PD retained 68.5% of TD, 75.5% of FD, and 59.7% of PD and 62.8% of areas with species of conservation concern, providing a more balanced representation across biodiversity facets than other prioritization scenarios. PV infrastructure occurred in 53.1% of high-multifaceted-diversity cells. Exposure areas (7.2% of the study area) were mainly concentrated in central, southern, and northwestern Spain, and PV avoidance areas (19.9% of the study area) were concentrated in northern, central, and central-western Spain. Our method is adaptable to other species, communities, and regions and offers a robust framework for balancing development projects with biodiversity conservation.