Infrastructure profile and surrounding land use determine bird-train collision risk in a High-Speed Railway
High-Speed Railways (HSRs) are a growing transportation mode with significant environmental advantages, particularly in reducing carbon emissions. However, their direct impacts on wildlife, especially birds, are not fully understood. This study investigates the factors influencing bird-train collisi...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-06-01
|
| Series: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425001398 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850055676181610496 |
|---|---|
| author | Lourenço Falcão Rodrigues Jesús Herranz Barrera Eladio L. García de la Morena Cristina Mata Estacio Juan E. Malo |
| author_facet | Lourenço Falcão Rodrigues Jesús Herranz Barrera Eladio L. García de la Morena Cristina Mata Estacio Juan E. Malo |
| author_sort | Lourenço Falcão Rodrigues |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | High-Speed Railways (HSRs) are a growing transportation mode with significant environmental advantages, particularly in reducing carbon emissions. However, their direct impacts on wildlife, especially birds, are not fully understood. This study investigates the factors influencing bird-train collisions and risky bird crossings (crossings through the danger zone, defined as the 8.5-meter area between the railway tracks and the catenary) along a 300 km section of an HSR line in Spain. Using on-board video data, we recorded 675 bird risky crossing events over two years of data collection, totalling 127 journeys and 34,250 km of cumulative travel. Geographic Information System (GIS) data was used to explore three environmental factors affecting risky crossings and potential collision risks: (i) railway height (orography), (ii) surrounding landscape, and (iii) wildlife protected areas. Our findings reveal that certain HSR infrastructure features, such as the presence of tall embankments and surrounding landscape such as nearby open lands (crops and shrubland), significantly increase the frequency of risky crossings. Additionally, we found that species associated with human modified landscapes were particularly prone to these risky crossings, whereas forest birds were rarely observed performing risky crossings. These results highlight that birds’ collision risk is influenced by the biotic changes caused by the HSR. This research offers critical insights into the environmental impacts of HSRs on avian species, offering guidance for future infrastructure development and mitigation strategies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bfe67c10f6f64b8991decf8f6fa6e96f |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2351-9894 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| spelling | doaj-art-bfe67c10f6f64b8991decf8f6fa6e96f2025-08-20T02:51:53ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942025-06-0159e0353810.1016/j.gecco.2025.e03538Infrastructure profile and surrounding land use determine bird-train collision risk in a High-Speed RailwayLourenço Falcão Rodrigues0Jesús Herranz Barrera1Eladio L. García de la Morena2Cristina Mata Estacio3Juan E. Malo4Terrestrial Ecology Group, Department of Ecology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), C. Darwin, 2, Madrid 28049, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), C. Darwin, 2, Madrid 28049, Spain; Corresponding author.Terrestrial Ecology Group, Department of Ecology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), C. Darwin, 2, Madrid 28049, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), C. Darwin, 2, Madrid 28049, SpainTerrestrial Ecology Group, Department of Ecology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), C. Darwin, 2, Madrid 28049, Spain; Biodiversity Node, S.L., Sector Foresta, 17 1B, Tres Cantos 28760, SpainTerrestrial Ecology Group, Department of Ecology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), C. Darwin, 2, Madrid 28049, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), C. Darwin, 2, Madrid 28049, SpainTerrestrial Ecology Group, Department of Ecology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), C. Darwin, 2, Madrid 28049, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), C. Darwin, 2, Madrid 28049, SpainHigh-Speed Railways (HSRs) are a growing transportation mode with significant environmental advantages, particularly in reducing carbon emissions. However, their direct impacts on wildlife, especially birds, are not fully understood. This study investigates the factors influencing bird-train collisions and risky bird crossings (crossings through the danger zone, defined as the 8.5-meter area between the railway tracks and the catenary) along a 300 km section of an HSR line in Spain. Using on-board video data, we recorded 675 bird risky crossing events over two years of data collection, totalling 127 journeys and 34,250 km of cumulative travel. Geographic Information System (GIS) data was used to explore three environmental factors affecting risky crossings and potential collision risks: (i) railway height (orography), (ii) surrounding landscape, and (iii) wildlife protected areas. Our findings reveal that certain HSR infrastructure features, such as the presence of tall embankments and surrounding landscape such as nearby open lands (crops and shrubland), significantly increase the frequency of risky crossings. Additionally, we found that species associated with human modified landscapes were particularly prone to these risky crossings, whereas forest birds were rarely observed performing risky crossings. These results highlight that birds’ collision risk is influenced by the biotic changes caused by the HSR. This research offers critical insights into the environmental impacts of HSRs on avian species, offering guidance for future infrastructure development and mitigation strategies.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425001398RoadkillWildlife-train collisionsEnvironmental impact assessmentMitigationMortalitySustainable engineering |
| spellingShingle | Lourenço Falcão Rodrigues Jesús Herranz Barrera Eladio L. García de la Morena Cristina Mata Estacio Juan E. Malo Infrastructure profile and surrounding land use determine bird-train collision risk in a High-Speed Railway Global Ecology and Conservation Roadkill Wildlife-train collisions Environmental impact assessment Mitigation Mortality Sustainable engineering |
| title | Infrastructure profile and surrounding land use determine bird-train collision risk in a High-Speed Railway |
| title_full | Infrastructure profile and surrounding land use determine bird-train collision risk in a High-Speed Railway |
| title_fullStr | Infrastructure profile and surrounding land use determine bird-train collision risk in a High-Speed Railway |
| title_full_unstemmed | Infrastructure profile and surrounding land use determine bird-train collision risk in a High-Speed Railway |
| title_short | Infrastructure profile and surrounding land use determine bird-train collision risk in a High-Speed Railway |
| title_sort | infrastructure profile and surrounding land use determine bird train collision risk in a high speed railway |
| topic | Roadkill Wildlife-train collisions Environmental impact assessment Mitigation Mortality Sustainable engineering |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425001398 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lourencofalcaorodrigues infrastructureprofileandsurroundinglandusedeterminebirdtraincollisionriskinahighspeedrailway AT jesusherranzbarrera infrastructureprofileandsurroundinglandusedeterminebirdtraincollisionriskinahighspeedrailway AT eladiolgarciadelamorena infrastructureprofileandsurroundinglandusedeterminebirdtraincollisionriskinahighspeedrailway AT cristinamataestacio infrastructureprofileandsurroundinglandusedeterminebirdtraincollisionriskinahighspeedrailway AT juanemalo infrastructureprofileandsurroundinglandusedeterminebirdtraincollisionriskinahighspeedrailway |