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At least 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Idaho National Laboratory Site Natural Resources: Wildland Fire Recovery Framework

As pressures from invasive species, climate change, and anthropogenic impacts increase across the landscape in the western U.S., managing wildland fire recovery to promote healthy sagebrush steppe becomes an increasingly important stewardship responsibility. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has developed and implemented wildland fire recovery plans to hasten desirable vegetation re-establishment on several individual fires, but lacks an overarching wildland fire recovery strategy, or framework. The intent of this document is to develop the technical approach and scientific basis for wildland fire recovery at the INL Site and to evaluate the tools available to support it in a comprehensive and broadly applicable format. This wildland fire recovery framework will outline the process of assessing the potential impacts of wildland fire on natural resources, present a range of post-fire recovery options, outline an approach for post-fire monitoring, and provide a template for post-fire recovery plans designed to addresses the specific conditions of each wildland fire. There are numerous benefits to developing a wildland fire recovery framework for the INL Site. The first is streamlining the development of post-fire recovery plans for individual fires. A second benefit is more closely aligning INL’s post-fire planning processes with those of other federal agencies. The development of an INL Site fire recovery framework will also allow resource professionals to consider a broader set of recovery tools than they have before because all proposed tools included in the framework were vetted through the process of scoping and stakeholder review. Finally, this framework is a publicly available document that can be used as a basis for communicating and discussing post-fire natural resource recovery objectives with agency collaborators, conservation partners, and other stakeholders. Through the proactive land stewardship principles outlined in this framework, current INL sustainability initiatives can be enhanced, and future INL mission flexibility will be maintained.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Carnivore Survey Results for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Site 300

ECORP Consulting, Inc. conducted a suite of carnivore surveys at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) Experimental Test Site (Site 300; project site). The project site is located east of the City of Livermore and southwest of the City of Tracy, Alameda and San Joaquin Counties, California. Mesocarnivore surveys were conducted on the project site in 2002 in preparation for the 2005 LLNL Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS; Clark et al. 2003). The 2002 surveys included a combination of spotlighting, camera stations, and scat detection dog surveys. Additional scat detection dog surveys for San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica) were performed on Site 300 and the adjacent California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Corral Hollow Ecological Reserve in 2018 and 2020 (Woollett 2019, 2021). A variety of species, including American badger (Taxidea taxus), coyote (Canis latrans), and bobcat (Lynx rufus), were detected during the previous surveys; however, no San Joaquin kit fox or mountain lion (Puma concolor) were detected. In support of the preparation of the new SWEIS, ECORP performed carnivore surveys to document the carnivores and other animals present on Site 300, with a focus on determining if the federally listed (endangered) and state listed (threatened) San Joaquin kit fox, CDFW Species of Special Concern (SSC) American badger, and/or mountain lion are present on Site 300. American badgers are known to occur on the property and there have been a few sporadic sightings of mountain lions, but San Joaquin kit fox have not been documented on Site 300. Although mountain lion were not detected during the 2002 survey, it has been added as a focal species for this survey because the southern and central coast evolutionary significant units of mountain lions were recently advanced by CDFW as a Candidate species for listing as “threatened” under the California Endangered Species Act.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Bat Impact Minimization Technology: An Improved Bat Deterrent for the Full Swept Rotor Area of Any Wind Turbine

The growth in the number of wind turbine generators has led to a significant number of fatal interactions with bat species. The need to reduce the number of bat fatalities while minimizing power losses is the greatest conservation challenge for wind energy development in parts of the country, according to the American Wind Wildlife Institute. Technological solutions that can also allow turbines to operate normally would generate the maximum electricity and avoid financial losses. Bats use echolocation to perceive their surroundings by listening to features of echoes from their high frequency vocal signals reflecting from targets. In this project, Frontier Wind built on previous research demonstrating that ultrasonic noise can mask echolocation and act as a repellent or deterrent to bat flight activity. Whereas the initial study only broadcast ultrasonic transmissions from the center of the turbine, the Strike Free™ system developed for this project extended the ultrasonic coverage to the entire area swept by the turbine blades. Frontier Wind designed the system components and their integration and then tested them in the lab and in the field at Pattern Energy’s Hatchet Ridge Wind Facility near Redding, California. The researchers used an acoustic model to determine the optimal configuration of transmitters along the blades to provide sound transmission coverage across the turbine rotor swept area volume. The custom ultrasonic transmitters were designed specifically for the echolocation frequencies of the four main bat species that have been shown to have died at Hatchet Ridge, although the transmitters can be customized for different frequencies as needed in other geographic locations. The Strike Free™ system shows promise for reducing bat fatalities, and the path to commercialization requires further testing to validate and optimize performance in the field.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS2023

How do tradeoffs in satellite spatial and temporal resolution impact snow water equivalent reconstruction?

Given the tradeoffs between spatial and temporal resolution, questions about resolution optimality are fundamental to the study of global snow. Answers to these questions will inform future scientific priorities and mission specifications. Heterogeneity of mountain snowpacks drives a need for daily snow cover mapping at the slope scale (≤30 m) that is unmet for a variety of scientific users, ranging from hydrologists to the military to wildlife biologists. But finer spatial resolution usually requires coarser temporal or spectral resolution. Thus, no single sensor can meet all these needs. Recently, constellations of satellites and fusion techniques have made noteworthy progress. The efficacy of two such recent advances is examined: (1) a fused MODIS–Landsat product with daily 30 m spatial resolution and (2) a harmonized Landsat 8 and Sentinel 2A and B (HLS) product with 3–4 d temporal and 30 m spatial resolution. State-of-the-art spectral unmixing techniques are applied to surface reflectance products from 1 and 2 to create snow cover and albedo maps. Then an energy balance model was run to reconstruct snow water equivalent (SWE). For validation, lidar-based Airborne Snow Observatory SWE estimates were used. Results show that reconstructed SWE forced with 30 m resolution snow cover has lower bias, a measure of basin-wide accuracy, than the baseline case using MODIS (463 m cell size) but greater mean absolute error, a measure of per-pixel accuracy. However, the differences in errors may be within uncertainties from scaling artifacts, e.g., basin boundary delineation. Other explanations are (1) the importance of daily acquisitions and (2) the limitations of downscaled forcings for reconstruction. Conclusions are as follows: (1) spectrally unmixed snow cover and snow albedo from MODIS continue to provide accurate forcings for snow models and (2) finer spatial and temporal resolution through sensor design, fusion techniques, and satellite constellations are the future for Earth observations, but existing moderate-resolution sensors still offer value.

Edward H. Bair↗
NASA NTRS2016

Leveraging Technology in Invasive Species Mapping

Kenya has had several invasions of alien species that have had negative impacts on biodiversity, agriculture and human development. For instance, prickly pear out-competes native plants, precludes grazing and browsing near it, and inhibits the proliferation of indigenous species. The Northern Kenya Rangelands in the recent decades has experienced increased infestation by invasive plant species shrinking forage space available for both livestock and wildlife. An Invasive Species App has been co-developed and is currently being used in tracking locations and sightings of invasive species of trees or shrubs and the extensiveness of their effects. The App is customized to include any list of local invasive plants present in an area, take photos of the invasive species and is also able to work offline in cases of no internet connection in the remote areas.

remote sensing↗
NASA NTRS2007

Reconstructed Historical Land Cover and Biophysical Parameters for Studies of Land-Atmosphere Interactions within the Eastern United States

The local environment where we live within the Earth's biosphere is often taken for granted. This environment can vary depending on whether the land cover is a forest, grassland, wetland, water body, bare soil, pastureland, agricultural field, village, residential suburb, or an urban complex with concrete, asphalt, and large buildings. In general, the type and characteristics of land cover influence surface temperatures, sunlight exposure and duration, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, soil moisture amount, plant life, birds, and other wildlife in our backyards. The physical and biological properties (biophysical characteristics) of land cover help to determine our surface environment because they directly affect surface radiation, heat, and soil moisture processes, and also feedback to regional weather and climate. Depending on the spatial scale and land use intensity, land cover changes can have profound impacts on our local and regional environment. Over the past 350 years, the eastern half of the United States, an area extending from the grassland prairies of the Great Plains to the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, has experienced extensive land cover and land use changes that began with land clearing in the 1600s, led to extensive deforestation and intensive land use practices by 1920, and then evolved to the present-day landscape. Determining the consequences of such land cover changes on regional and global climate is a major research issue. Such research requires detailed historical land cover data and modeling experiments simulating historical climates. Given the need to understand the effects of historical land cover changes in the eastern United States, some questions include: - What were the most important land cover transformations and how did they alter biophysical characteristics of the land cover at key points in time since the mid-1600s? - How have land cover and land use changes over the past 350 years affected the land surface environment including surface weather, hydrologic, and climatic variability? - How do the potential effects of regional human-induced land cover change on the environment compare to similar changes that are caused by the natural variations of the Earth's climate system? To help answer these questions, we reconstructed a fractional land cover and biophysical parameter dataset for the eastern United States at 1650, 1850, 1920, and 1992 time-slices. Each land cover fraction is associated with a biophysical parameter class, a suite of parameters defining the biophysical characteristics of that kind of land cover. This new dataset is designed for use in computer models of land-atmosphere interactions, to understand and quantify the effects of historical land cover changes on the water, energy, and carbon cycles

Steyaert, Louis T.↗
NASA NTRS2022

Padre Island Water Resources: Monitoring Historic Shoreline Change and Suspended Sediment Patterns along Padre Island National Seashore

Land loss along Padre Island National Seashore threatens the safety of the recreational beach for the general public and endangers wildlife habitats and nesting sites. Historically, the Army Corps of Engineers has conducted dredging efforts to thwart erosion. Quantifying spatial and temporal variations of shoreline change is vital to understanding the interaction of land loss and historical dredging efforts. NASA DEVELOP collaborated with the National Park Service to use remote sensing to investigate the impact of dredging on Padre Island National Seashore’s shoreline. The team utilized high-resolution imagery from Maxar and Planet to create a time series of shoreline changes between 2011 and 2020, conduct shoreline extraction, and quantify shoreline changes. Additionally, the team monitored turbidity and sediment dynamics using Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI), Landsat 4 Thematic Mapper (TM), Landsat 5 TM, and Sentinel-2 MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI). Shoreline change results demonstrated an average change between 4.5 to 32 meters annually. Meanwhile, the dredging area directly north of the seashore’s Port Mansfield Channel experienced an areal gain of 152,000 m² between 2010 and 2021. The team also observed that turbidity values increased in areas close to the channel where dredging occurred, especially in the 2018 and 2021 dredging years. Dredging years corresponded with less shoreline change than years without dredging. These results will be used to better inform future partner-designed shoreline management projects in the face of continued erosion and sea level rise.

Lisa Tanh↗
DOE OSTI2021

Small Mammal Trapping Survey for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Site 300 and Corral Hollow Ecological Reserve

ECORP Consulting, Inc. conducted a nocturnal small mammal trapping survey within Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) Site 300 and the adjacent California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Corral Hollow Ecological Reserve. Both sites are located east of the City of Livermore and southwest of the City of Tracy, Alameda and San Joaquin Counties, California (Figure 1-1). A small mammal trapping survey of the project site was conducted in 2002 in preparation for the 2005 LLNL Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS; Jones & Stokes 2003). The San Joaquin pocket mouse (Perognathus inornatus) was the only special-status species (federal species of concern) captured on Site 300 during the study (West and Woollett 2003). However, since then P. inornatus was taxonomically split into separate subspecies and the pocket mouse species identified on Site 300 in 2002 is no longer considered a special-status species. The 2002 survey also captured woodrats, but identification of the subspecies was not possible. Further investigation was necessary to determine if the woodrat species on the project site was the federally listed (endangered) riparian (San Joaquin Valley) woodrat (Neotoma macrotis riparia [Formerly described as Neotoma fuscipes riparia]), the common Diablo Range woodrat (N. f. perplexa), or another form.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1992

Environmental monitoring and research at the John F. Kennedy Space Center

The Biomedical Operations and Research Office at the NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center has been supporting environmental monitoring and research since the mid-1970s. Program elements include monitoring of baseline conditions to document natural variability in the ecosystem, assessments of operations and construction of new facilities, and ecological research focusing on wildlife habitat associations. Information management is centered around development of a computerized geographic information system that incorporates remote sensing and digital image processing technologies along with traditional relational data base management capabilities. The proactive program is one in which the initiative is to anticipate potential environmental concerns before they occur and, by utilizing in-house expertise, develop impact minimization or mitigation strategies to reduce environmental risk.

Hall, C. R.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Hyperspectral Mapping of the Invasive Species Pepperweed and the Development of a Habitat Suitability Model

Mapping and predicting the spatial distribution of invasive plant species is central to habitat management, however difficult to implement at landscape and regional scales. Remote sensing techniques can reduce the impact field campaigns have on these ecologically sensitive areas and can provide a regional and multi-temporal view of invasive species spread. Invasive perennial pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium) is now widespread in fragmented estuaries of the South San Francisco Bay, and is shown to degrade native vegetation in estuaries and adjacent habitats, thereby reducing forage and shelter for wildlife. The purpose of this study is to map the present distribution of pepperweed in estuarine areas of the South San Francisco Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project (Alviso, CA), and create a habitat suitability model to predict future spread. Pepperweed reflectance data were collected in-situ with a GER 1500 spectroradiometer along with 88 corresponding pepperweed presence and absence points used for building the statistical models. The spectral angle mapper (SAM) classification algorithm was used to distinguish the reflectance spectrum of pepperweed and map its distribution using an image from EO-1 Hyperion. To map pepperweed, we performed a supervised classification on an ASTER image with a resulting classification accuracy of 71.8%. We generated a weighted overlay analysis model within a geographic information system (GIS) framework to predict areas in the study site most susceptible to pepperweed colonization. Variables for the model included propensity for disturbance, status of pond restoration, proximity to water channels, and terrain curvature. A Generalized Additive Model (GAM) was also used to generate a probability map and investigate the statistical probability that each variable contributed to predict pepperweed spread. Results from the GAM revealed distance to channels, distance to ponds and curvature were statistically significant (p < 0.01) in determining the locations of suitable pepperweed habitats.

Pepperweed↗
NASA NTRS2020

Corrosion Atmospheric Exposure Facility PRL #239 SWMU Assessment Report/Confirmation Sampling Work Plan

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permit requires identification and evaluation of known Solid Waste Management Units (SWMU) located at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The Corrosion Atmospheric Exposure Facility (CAEF), also known as facility number K8-0600, and the Corrosion Test Area (CTA); also known as facility number K8-0237, herein referred to as the site, is designated Potential Release Location (PRL) 239 under the NASA RCRA permit. A SWMU Assessment (SA) was conducted between November 2019 and February 2020 to identify potential environmental impacts related to current and historic operations being conducted at the site. The SA included a site reconnaissance visit in February 2020, interviews with various personnel possessing knowledge of past work practices and operations at the site, and review of available historical documentation, engineering drawings, and facility inspection reports. Current site conditions were documented in photographs. Soil types and wildlife habitat were also evaluated. The objective of the assessment was to identify potential locations of concern (LOC) at the site and to determine whether further evaluation is required.

Kimberly Clower↗
NASA NTRS2009

Modeling Bird Migration under Climate Change: A Mechanistic Approach

How will migrating birds respond to changes in the environment under climate change? What are the implications for migratory success under the various accelerated climate change scenarios as forecast by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change? How will reductions or increased variability in the number or quality of wetland stop-over sites affect migratory bird species? The answers to these questions have important ramifications for conservation biology and wildlife management. Here, we describe the use of continental scale simulation modeling to explore how spatio-temporal changes along migratory flyways affect en-route migration success. We use an individually based, biophysical, mechanistic, bird migration model to simulate the movement of shorebirds in North America as a tool to study how such factors as drought and wetland loss may impact migratory success and modify migration patterns. Our model is driven by remote sensing and climate data and incorporates important landscape variables. The energy budget components of the model include resting, foraging, and flight, but presently predation is ignored. Results/Conclusions We illustrate our model by studying the spring migration of sandpipers through the Great Plains to their Arctic breeding grounds. Why many species of shorebirds have shown significant declines remains a puzzle. Shorebirds are sensitive to stop-over quality and spacing because of their need for frequent refueling stops and their opportunistic feeding patterns. We predict bird "hydrographs that is, stop-over frequency with latitude, that are in agreement with the literature. Mean stop-over durations predicted from our model for nominal cases also are consistent with the limited, but available data. For the shorebird species simulated, our model predicts that shorebirds exhibit significant plasticity and are able to shift their migration patterns in response to changing drought conditions. However, the question remains as to whether this behavior can be maintained over increasing and sustained environmental change. Also, the problem is much more complex than described by the current processes captured in our model. We have taken some important and interesting steps, and our model does demonstrate how local scale information about individual stop-over sites can be linked into the migratory flyway as a whole. We are incorporating additional, species specific, mechanistic processes to better reflect different climate change scenarios

Smith, James A.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Trace elements and heavy metals in black vultures ( Coragyps atratus ) and turkey vultures ( Cathartes aura ) in the southeastern United States

Many vulture species worldwide are declining at alarming rates due to a variety of anthropogenic causes, including exposure to pollutants and pharmaceuticals through consumption of contaminated carrion. However, little is known about the extent to which vultures are exposed to various contaminants as well as toxicity thresholds for trace elements and heavy metals. Our objective was to quantify levels of trace elements and heavy metals within black vulture (Coragyps atratus) and turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) tissues to determine the extent to which populations in the southeastern United States are exposed to carrion that contains high levels of contaminants. We collected black vulture liver samples and examined differences in trace element and heavy metal concentrations between sexes and age classes (adult and juvenile). Further, we collected 81 blood and 42 feather samples from additional black and turkey vultures and compared differences between species and age classes. We found similar element concentrations between juvenile and adult black vultures with the exception of Cu, where levels 40 were higher in juveniles compared to adults. However, we did observe substantial differences in element concentrations between species for both blood and feather samples, with black vultures generally having higher concentrations of most elements. Our data revealed higher element levels in both species compared to toxicity thresholds found in other bird of prey species, such as blood and liver toxicity threshold suggestions for Pb poisoning in Falconiformes. Further, while average contaminant levels were generally low, extreme outliers were observed for some elements, including Pb, suggesting some individuals were exposed to high levels of potentially toxic elements. In conclusion, more research is needed to better understand contaminant exposure in black and turkey vultures across a broader geographic region, as well as elucidate toxicity thresholds and non-lethal impacts of contaminant exposure in these species.

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTAN↗
DOE OSTI2025

Comprehensive Evaluation of Agrivoltaics Research: Breadth, Depth, and Insights for Future Research

Agrivoltaics integrates agricultural production with solar energy generation to address challenges related to land use, food security, and renewable energy development. This study provides the most comprehensive evaluation to date of global agrivoltaic research, aiming to classify the literature, identify strengths and gaps, and guide future work. We systematically screened over 3000 English-language publications through 2023 for relevant agrivoltaic publications. A total of 670 studies were categorized in the InSPIRE Data Portal across five agrivoltaic activities and multiple hierarchical themes, including physical, biological, technological, social, and crosscutting domains. We found that research was concentrated on crop production, microclimate dynamics, and PV performance, with gaps in areas like human health, wildlife, policy, and standardized methodologies. Although the U.S. emphasizes animal grazing and habitat-based systems in practice, most U.S.-based studies focused disproportionately on crop production. The analysis revealed uneven geographic and topical representation and highlighted a lack of integrated, interdisciplinary approaches. This study concludes that while agrivoltaic research has grown rapidly, more coordinated efforts could support standardized data collection, address overlooked ecological and social impacts, and align research focus with real-world system implementation, ultimately improving the scalability and successful deployment of agrivoltaic systems.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Multi-Sensor Approach for Measuring Bird and Bat Collisions with Offshore Wind Turbines (Final Technical Report)

Collision of birds and bats with wind turbines is a conservation concern for both land-based and offshore wind projects. The fatality rates of birds and bats at land-based turbines are well documented. The measurement strategies on land focus on finding carcasses following collision, estimating the number of carcasses missed through searcher efficiency, carcass persistence trials and carcass fall distributions, and modeling statistically robust fatality rates. Few technologies have been developed to monitor offshore bird and bat collisions, and many that have been developed focused on detecting collisions with large birds. The few studies that have attempted to document collisions at offshore turbines do not account for smaller bodied animals or for collisions that might be missed, which prevents the calculation of statistically robust fatality rates. The overall goal of this report, A Multi-Sensor Approach for Measuring Bird and Bat Collisions with Offshore Wind Turbines (Project), was to develop an effective multi-sensor system for quantifying bird and bat collision rates, specifically for offshore wind facilities. The Project goal and resulting automated collision detection system was achieved through two major technological advancements: 1) refining The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research’s (TNO’s) existing WT-Bird® vibration sensing system, that had successfully detected large bird collisions during daytime, to allow for improved detection of smaller birds and bats during both daytime and nighttime hours and 2) improving image processing systems and developing and integrating machine learning algorithms to automatically detect and classify small and large bird and bat collisions with offshore turbines. This final technical report (FTR) summarizes Methods , Results , Conclusions , and Lessons Learned during each of the five Tasks identified for this research and development effort. This FTR includes summaries of the following: Task 1. Initial Engineering Tests to Improve WT-Bird® Task 2. Installation of WT‐Bird® on a Utility-scale Turbine at the National Wind Technology Center – National Renewable Energy Laboratory Task 3. Field Tests and Refinement of the Object Detection System Task 4. Validation of WT-Bird® on a Land-based Turbine Task 5. Preparation for the Implementation of WT-Bird® on an Offshore Turbine. This research and development effort documented successful improvement of the WT Bird® collision detection system to detect small birds and bats, and WT-Bird® is the first collision detection system to validate results compared to land-based post-construction monitoring. The collision trials provide estimates of missed targets that can be used to estimate fatality rates, a significant improvement relative to other offshore collision monitoring systems. Advances were made in developing an edge-processing solution to reduce data storage requirements, which is important if the system is deployed for long periods of time at offshore turbines. The improved WT-Bird® system also provides an important option for wind operators on land or offshore who need to document specific details about when collisions occur, particularly efforts to further research on bat impact minimization, or when standard fatality searches are impractical (e.g. offshore) or inadequate (e.g. challenging locations on land).

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

A framework for studying the effects of offshore wind energy development on birds and bats in the Eastern United States

Offshore wind energy development (OWED), while a key strategy for reducing carbon emissions, has potential negative effects to wildlife that should be examined to inform decision making and adaptive management as the industry expands. We present a conceptual framework to guide the long-term study of potential effects to birds and bats from OWED. This framework includes a focus on exposure and vulnerability as key determinants of risk. For birds and bats that are exposed to OWED, there are three main effects of interest that may impact survival and productivity: 1) collision mortality, 2) behavioral responses, including avoidance, displacement, and attraction, and 3) habitat-mediated effects to prey populations. If these OWED effects cause changes in survival and/or breeding success (e.g., fitness), they have the potential for population-level consequences, including changes in population size and structure. Understanding the influence of ecological drivers on exposure and effect parameters can help to disentangle the potential impacts of OWED from other stressors. We use this theoretical framework to summarize existing relevant knowledge and identify current priority research questions (n=22) for the eastern United States, where largescale development of OWED is primarily in the planning and early construction phase. We also identify recommendations for study design and further prioritization of research topics.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS2004

NASA LCLUC Program: An Integrated Forest Monitoring System for Central Africa

Central Africa has the second largest unfragmented block of tropical rain forest in the world; it is also one of the largest carbon and biodiversity reservoirs. With nearly one-third of the forest currently allocated for logging, the region is poised to undergo extensive land-use change. Through the mapping of the forests, our Integrated Forest Monitoring System for Central Africa (INFORMS) project aims to monitor habitat alteration, support biodiversity conservation, and promote better land-use planning and forest management. Designed as an interdisciplinary project, its goal is to integrate data acquired from satellites with field observations from forest inventories, wildlife surveys, and socio-economic studies to map and monitor forest resources. This project also emphasizes on collaboration and coordination with international, regional, national, and local partners-including non-profit, governmental, and commercial sectors. This project has been focused on developing remote sensing products for the needs of forest conservation and management, insuring that research findings are incorporated in forest management plans at the national level. The societal impact of INFORMS can be also appreciated through the development of a regional remote sensing network in central Africa. With a regional office in Kinshasa, (www.OSFAC.org), the contribution to the development of forest management plans for 1.5 million hectares of forests in northern Republic of Congo (www.tt-timber.com), and the monitoring of park encroachments in the Albertine region (Uganda and DRC) (www.albertinerift.org).

Laporte, Nadine↗
DOE OSTI2023

Modelos de riesgo de colision: una herramienta para evaluar los riesgos para las aves rapaces en instalaciones de energia eolica (Spanish)

In January 2022, the International Energy Agency Wind Task 34 - Working Together to Resolve the Environmental Effects of Wind Energy (WREN) - organized a forum to discuss aspects of raptor collision risk with wind turbines. The forum included experts in raptor biology and physiology, collision risk modeling, wind energy development, and atmospheric scientists from seven countries. They represented a range of international stakeholder groups including academia, government agencies, national laboratories, and wildlife consultants. This educational brief summarizes the discussion during the forum and written comments from those who could not attend. Relevant literature was used to provide additional context when needed. For several species of raptors, such as golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) and white-tailed eagles (Haliaatus albicilla), collision risk with wind turbines continues to be a concern among stakeholders. These concerns include the potential population-level impact related to collisions, compliance with regulatory mechanisms for protected species, and the ability to generate renewable energy. To make siting and operational decisions, stakeholders require some level of certainty of the risk associated with a proposed project. Understanding this risk, in part, requires species-specific data on raptors and how they perceive and interact with wind farms or individual wind turbines. Collision risk models (CRMs) are a tool, often used in environmental impact assessments, that can provide estimates of risk relative to specific turbines or an entire wind farm. However, questions associated with the uncertainty in CRM estimates remain. This is the Spanish translation of NREL/FS-5000-84747, "Collision Risk Modeling - A Tool for Assessing Risks to Raptors at Wind Energy Facilities."

collision risk↗