Fleckenstein Kylee, Stein Adam, Bateman Heather L, De Albuquerque Fabio
School of Applied Sciences and Arts, College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ, United States of America.
PeerJ. 2025 Jan 2;13:e18568. doi: 10.7717/peerj.18568. eCollection 2025.
The need for renewable energy has become increasingly evident in response to the climate change crisis, presenting a paradoxical challenge to biodiversity conservation. The Southwest United States is desirable for large-scale solar energy development (SED) due to its high global horizontal irradiance (GHI) values and vast open landscapes. However, this region is also rich in unique ecological and biological diversity. Several distinct species have garnered special attention as human population growth, habitat alteration, and climate change have accelerated in recent decades (, LeConte's Thrasher (), Bendire's Thrasher (), Sonoran Desert Tortoise (), Mojave Desert Tortoise (), and the Southwestern population of the Burrowing Owl (). As the United States prepares to increase its development in renewable energies, particularly solar energy, there has been a growing concern about how this development will further impact these species. In this study, we propose a novel combined approach to find areas of high habitat suitability for endangered species within areas of high SED potential. Specifically, we employed species distribution modeling (SDM) to identify areas with suitable habitats and likely species presence, and we conducted a site suitability analysis for potential SED locations within the Southwest. As a result, we found significant overlap between potential SED locations and the high-priority habitats of all target species, thus underlining the importance of prioritizing conservation efforts as more solar projects are reviewed in these Southwestern states. Our study aims to inform conservationists and developers in making sustainable decisions for the region's future development.
应对气候变化危机，对可再生能源的需求日益明显，这给生物多样性保护带来了自相矛盾的挑战。美国西南部因其较高的全球水平辐照度（GHI）值和广阔的开阔地貌，适合大规模太阳能开发（SED）。然而，该地区也拥有丰富独特的生态和生物多样性。随着近几十年来人口增长、栖息地改变和气候变化加速，几种独特的物种受到了特别关注（如勒孔特氏嘲鸫、本迪尔氏嘲鸫、索诺兰沙漠龟、莫哈韦沙漠龟以及穴小鸮的西南种群）。在美国准备加大可再生能源尤其是太阳能开发力度之际，人们越来越担心这种开发将如何进一步影响这些物种。在本研究中，我们提出了一种新颖的综合方法，以在高太阳能开发潜力区域内找到濒危物种高栖息地适宜性区域。具体而言，我们采用物种分布模型（SDM）来确定具有适宜栖息地和可能有物种存在的区域，并对美国西南部潜在的太阳能开发地点进行了场地适宜性分析。结果，我们发现潜在的太阳能开发地点与所有目标物种的高优先级栖息地之间存在显著重叠，这凸显了在这些西南部州审查更多太阳能项目时优先开展保护工作的重要性。我们的研究旨在为保护主义者和开发者提供信息，以便为该地区未来发展做出可持续决策。
