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Impacts of wind turbines on vegetation and soil cover: a case study of Urla, Cesme, and Karaburun Peninsulas, Turkey

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Abstract

The study presents a GIS- and RS-based diagnostic model to determine the changes in the existing vegetation in the Urla, Çeşme, and Karaburun peninsulas, Turkey, between 2002 and 2017 after the installation of 239 wind power plants (WPP). The vegetation changes in 7 CORINE land cover classes within the 0–1 km (facility zone) and 1–2 km (control zone) buffer zones were detected in relation with the slope and aspect groups using NDVI analysis. The highest amount of negative change in broad-leaved forests, coniferous forests, and land principally occupied by agriculture, with significant areas of natural vegetation, was detected in the 3–5% slope group, while pasture lands, sclerophyllous vegetation and transitional woodland-shrubs showed the highest degradation in 1–2% slope areas. Negative changes in complex cultivation patterns were found to be on the flat surfaces. Except for the pasture lands and sclerophyllous vegetation classes, the highest degradations were observed on north-facing aspects. In all land cover classes, the most degraded areas were found to be within the facility zone. The results and the proposed model are expected to facilitate planning and decision-making processes for locations with similar landscape characteristics.

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The data sets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This study was produced from the PhD study supported within the scope of Eskisehir Technical University Scientific Research Projects Project Number 20DRP051

Funding

This study was produced from the PhD study supported within the scope of Eskisehir Technical University Scientific Research Projects project number 20DRP051.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Science, Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems, Ph.D. Programme, Eskisehir Technical University, Eskisehir, Turkey

    Talha Aksoy

  2. Faculty of Architecture, Department of City and Regional Planning, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey

    Mehmet Cetin

  3. Institute of Earth and Space Sciences, Department of Geodesy and Geographical Information Technologies, Eskisehir Technical University, Eskisehir, Turkey

    Saye Nihan Cabuk

  4. Faculty of Architecture, Department of City and Regional Planning, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

    Muzeyyen Anil Senyel Kurkcuoglu

  5. Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Landscape Architecture, Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey

    Gulsah Bilge Ozturk

  6. Faculty of Architecture and Design, Department of Architecture, Eskisehir Technical University, Eskisehir, Turkey

    Alper Cabuk

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  1. Talha Aksoy
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  2. Mehmet Cetin
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  3. Saye Nihan Cabuk
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  4. Muzeyyen Anil Senyel Kurkcuoglu
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Contributions

TA designed the study and performed the experiments; TA, GBO, AC, SNC, MASK and MC performed the experiments, analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Mehmet Cetin.

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Aksoy, T., Cetin, M., Cabuk, S.N. et al. Impacts of wind turbines on vegetation and soil cover: a case study of Urla, Cesme, and Karaburun Peninsulas, Turkey. Clean Techn Environ Policy 25, 51–68 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-022-02387-x

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