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Quantifying land impacts of wind energy: a regional-scale assessment in Finland.

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Title: Quantifying land impacts of wind energy: a regional-scale assessment in Finland.
Authors: Balotari-Chiebáo, Fábio1 (AUTHOR) fabio.balotari@novia.fi, Byholm, Patrik1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Environment, Development & Sustainability. Jan2026, Vol. 28 Issue 1, p1467-1480. 14p.
Subject Terms: *Land use, *Deforestation, *Carbon sequestration, *Forest ecology, *Fragmented landscapes, *Wind power, *Landscape assessment, Environmental protection planning
Geographic Terms: Finland
Abstract: Large-scale deployment of wind energy raises ecological concerns about land use changes. Here, we conducted a quantitative assessment of land impacts of 42 wind farms (513 turbines) from Ostrobothnia, Finland. Located on the Baltic Sea coast, Ostrobothnia is a strategic region for national wind energy targets. Our main objectives were (1) to calculate landscape metrics (e.g., habitat composition, loss and fragmentation) within wind farm project areas, (2) compare the amount of building-related deforestation between project areas and simulation-based control areas and (3) compute the overlap between project areas and regional land use plans. According to CORINE Land Cover datasets, the predominant habitats within project areas were forests (371.7 km2; 81%) and transitional forests (52.7 km2; 11%). The remaining 8% were agricultural areas (17.6 km2; 4%), waters (12.5 km2; 3%) and artificial surfaces (2.9 km2; 1%). Wind farm infrastructure corresponded to 1.4-6.0% of project areas and caused similar degrees of habitat fragmentation. Deforestation levels in project areas were higher (~ 6 times on average) than in control areas, and the micro-siting of turbines did not avoid mature forests by favouring e.g., transitional forests (which are ecologically less valuable). We found some spatial incongruence between project areas and regional land use plans, with 78 turbines falling outside the established boundaries. Our results highlight the need for careful ecological considerations in wind energy spatial planning in Finland (and countries with similar landscapes and land uses) to limit forest loss and its detrimental impacts on forest-dependent species, but also on carbon storage and sequestration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Database: Energy & Power Source
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Header DbId: enr
DbLabel: Energy & Power Source
An: 191807250
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
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  Data: Quantifying land impacts of wind energy: a regional-scale assessment in Finland.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Environment%2C+Development+%26+Sustainability%22">Environment, Development & Sustainability</searchLink>. Jan2026, Vol. 28 Issue 1, p1467-1480. 14p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Land+use%22">Land use</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Deforestation%22">Deforestation</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Carbon+sequestration%22">Carbon sequestration</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Forest+ecology%22">Forest ecology</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fragmented+landscapes%22">Fragmented landscapes</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Wind+power%22">Wind power</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Landscape+assessment%22">Landscape assessment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Environmental+protection+planning%22">Environmental protection planning</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Finland%22">Finland</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Large-scale deployment of wind energy raises ecological concerns about land use changes. Here, we conducted a quantitative assessment of land impacts of 42 wind farms (513 turbines) from Ostrobothnia, Finland. Located on the Baltic Sea coast, Ostrobothnia is a strategic region for national wind energy targets. Our main objectives were (1) to calculate landscape metrics (e.g., habitat composition, loss and fragmentation) within wind farm project areas, (2) compare the amount of building-related deforestation between project areas and simulation-based control areas and (3) compute the overlap between project areas and regional land use plans. According to CORINE Land Cover datasets, the predominant habitats within project areas were forests (371.7 km2; 81%) and transitional forests (52.7 km2; 11%). The remaining 8% were agricultural areas (17.6 km2; 4%), waters (12.5 km2; 3%) and artificial surfaces (2.9 km2; 1%). Wind farm infrastructure corresponded to 1.4-6.0% of project areas and caused similar degrees of habitat fragmentation. Deforestation levels in project areas were higher (~ 6 times on average) than in control areas, and the micro-siting of turbines did not avoid mature forests by favouring e.g., transitional forests (which are ecologically less valuable). We found some spatial incongruence between project areas and regional land use plans, with 78 turbines falling outside the established boundaries. Our results highlight the need for careful ecological considerations in wind energy spatial planning in Finland (and countries with similar landscapes and land uses) to limit forest loss and its detrimental impacts on forest-dependent species, but also on carbon storage and sequestration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=enr&AN=191807250
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s10668-024-05048-9
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 14
        StartPage: 1467
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Land use
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Deforestation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Carbon sequestration
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Forest ecology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Fragmented landscapes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Wind power
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Landscape assessment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Environmental protection planning
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Finland
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Quantifying land impacts of wind energy: a regional-scale assessment in Finland.
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          Name:
            NameFull: Balotari-Chiebáo, Fábio
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          Name:
            NameFull: Byholm, Patrik
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            – D: 01
              M: 01
              Text: Jan2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 28
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            – TitleFull: Environment, Development & Sustainability
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