Effects of Wind Farm Construction on Soil Nutrients and Vegetation: A Case Study of Linxiang Wind Farm in Hunan Province

Abstract

Amidst escalating global energy demands, the advancement and utilization of renewable energy sources have emerged as critical strategies for addressing environmental concerns and alleviating energy crises. Among them, wind power, as a renewable and clean energy source, has been widely applied and developed in China. However, the construction of wind farms may have some impact on vegetation cover and soil properties. This study aims to assess the impact of wind farm construction on vegetation cover and soil characteristics, thereby offering a scientific foundation for the sustainable management of wind farm development sites. The present study was carried out in the area of Jingzhushan wind farm in Linxiang City, Hunan Province, to examine the trends of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), the fractional vegetation cover (FVC), and the indexes expressing the physicochemical properties of the soil in this area. The results showed the following: (1) The NDVI of the wind farm for the three periods was 0.742 in 2013, 0.770 in 2016, and 0.758 in 2023, respectively. According to the analysis of the index of FVC, it can be seen that the trend of the FVC of the study area for the three periods was basically the same as that of the NDVI. The average value of FVC was 0.754 in 2013, 0.791 in 2016, and 0.769 in 2023. This indicated that the vegetation cover in the early stage of wind farm construction (2013) was lower than that in the late stage of operation (2016, 2023), and it also suggested that the vegetation cover gradually recovered over time. (2) Compared with natural ecosystems, both altitude and wind farm construction significantly affected the organic carbon, the total nitrogen, the effective phosphorus, and the rapidly available potassium in the soil. At the same altitude, these four soil indicators in the area where the wind turbines were constructed had significantly lower levels compared with the control (CK), which indicated a decrease in soil fertility—the closer to the turbine construction area, the lower the levels of each indicator. In addition, soil pH did not change significantly during the construction of the wind farm. The analysis and comparison of various data showed that the construction and operation of wind farms can have an impact on local vegetation cover, and it had a significant negative impact on soil properties. Reasonable measures are needed to protect vegetation and soil to achieve the sustainable development of the ecological environment.