Techno-ecological synergies of solar energy produce outcomes that mitigate global change Abstract | The strategic engineering of solar energy technologies-from individual rooftop modules to large solar energy power plants-can confer significant synergistic outcomes across industrial and ecological boundaries. Here, we propose technoecological synergy (TES), a framework for engineering mutually beneficial relationships between technological and ecological systems, as an approach to augment the sustainability of solar energy across a diverse suite of recipient environments, including land, food, water, and built-up systems. We provide a conceptual model and framework to describe 16 TESs of solar energy and characterize 20 potential techno-ecological synergistic outcomes of their use. For each solar energy TES, we also introduce metrics and illustrative assessments to demonstrate techno-ecological potential across multiple dimensions. The numerous applications of TES to solar energy technologies are unique among energy systems and represent a powerful frontier in sustainable engineering to minimize unintended consequences on nature associated with a rapid energy transition.
Summary1. The global growth of wind energy has outpaced our assessment of possible impacts on wildlife. There is a pressing need for studies with pre-and post-construction data to determine whether wind facilities will have detrimental effects on susceptible avian groups such as raptors. 2. A pre-and post-construction study was conducted to determine the impact of a windfarm on the abundance and behaviour of raptors in Wisconsin, USA. Variation in abundance and behaviour was examined both within and among years and relative to selected spatial, temporal and weather covariates. Raptor avoidance rates and indices of collision risk were calculated. 3. Raptor abundance post-construction was reduced by 47% compared to pre-construction levels. Flight behaviour varied by species, but most individuals remained at a distance of at least 100 m from turbines and above the height of the rotor zone. 4. Turkey vultures Cathartes aura and red-tailed hawks Buteo jamaicensis displayed high-risk flight behaviours more often than all other raptor species, but also showed signs of avoidance. Red-tailed hawks were the only raptor species found dead beneath turbines during mortality searches. There were few observed mortalities and corrected mortality estimates were comparable to those from other windfarm studies. 5. Synthesis and applications. The decline in raptor abundance post-construction together with other lines of evidence suggests some displacement from the windfarm project area. While certain species may be at risk, flight behaviour data and mortality estimates indicate that the majority of raptors may not be directly affected by the presence of turbines. The avoidance rates recorded in this study should be used to improve collision risk models, and both current and future windfarms should investigate avoidance behaviour post-construction.
Abstract. Increased market viability of harvest residues as forest bioenergy feedstock may escalate removal of coarse woody debris in managed forests. Meanwhile, many forest invertebrates use coarse woody debris for cover, food, and reproduction. Few studies have explicitly addressed effects of operational-scale woody biomass harvesting on invertebrates following clearcutting. Therefore, we measured invertebrate community response to large-scale harvest residue removal and micro-site manipulations of harvest residue availability in recently clearcut, intensively managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) forests in North Carolina (NC; n = 4) and Georgia (GA; n = 4), USA. We captured 39,794 surface-active invertebrates representing 171 taxonomic groups using pitfall traps situated among micro-site locations (i.e., purposefully retained piles of hardwood stems and piles of conifer stems and areas without coarse woody debris in NC; windrows and no windrows in GA). Micro-site locations were located within six, large-scale treatments (7.16-14.3 ha) in clearcuts. Large-scale treatments represented intensive harvest residue removal, 15% and 30% harvest residue retention, and no harvest residue removal. In NC, ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) were three times more abundant in treatments with no harvest residue removal than those with the most intensive harvest residue removal and were reduced in treatments that retained 15% or 30% of harvest residues, although not significantly. Invertebrate taxa richness was greater at micro-site locations with retained hardwood and pine (Pinus spp.) harvest residues than those with minimal amounts of coarse woody debris. In both states, relative abundances of several invertebrate taxa, including cave crickets (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae), fungus gnats (Diptera: Mycetophilidae and Sciaridae), millipedes (Diplopoda), and wood roaches (Blattodea: Ectobiidae), were greater at micro-site locations with retained harvest residues than those with minimal coarse woody debris. Intensified woody biomass harvesting without retention of ≥15% of harvest residue volume may reduce invertebrate taxa richness and abundances of some key invertebrate taxa in regenerating stands. Further, harvest residue management during and after woody biomass harvesting may be an important consideration for maintaining invertebrate diversity and conserving invertebrates that are influential in the maintenance of ecosystem function and integrity in young forests.
Increased market viability of harvest residues gleaned for forest bioenergy feedstocks may intensify downed wood removal, particularly in intensively managed forests of the Southeast. Downed wood provides food and cover for many wildlife species, including birds, yet we are aware of no study that has examined winter bird response to experimentally manipulated,
Invertebrates are among the most diverse organisms on Earth, significantly contribute to ecosystem function and integrity, and possess high potential as bioindicators. By definition, invertebrates also are wildlife. Yet, inclusion of invertebrates in peer-reviewed wildlife journals has not been investigated. As such, our objective was to assess inclusion of invertebrates in prominent wildlife journals published in the last decade. Based on our review and first-hand experience, we also aimed to provide recommendations for integration of invertebrates into wildlife science, education, and peer-reviewed literature. We performed a systematic literature review by manually searching all issues and articles from Wildlife Society Bulletin. We analyzed data derived from our review to elucidate trends in the inclusion of invertebrates in these journals. We identified 4,916 articles that involved animal taxa, of which 122 (2.5%) included invertebrates and <1% included invertebrates as focal taxa. Our results indicated invertebrates are included in a minute portion of articles in top wildlife journals. We recommend a paradigm shift to a less taxonomically homogenized and vertebrate-centric approach to wildlife science and education, integrating invertebrates into wildlife studies, and publishing results of those studies in wildlife journals to facilitate effective management of all wildlife species. Ó 2015 The Wildlife Society.
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