Effect of noise measures for birds

Background

The impacts of noise on birdlife are well proven. Dose-effect relationships and critical levels are described in scientific literature.

On the basis of previous TRIEKOL research, the Swedish Transport Administration (STA) developed a method that points out road stretches where the traffic noise exceeds critical levels and impacts species of conservation concern. In addition they pointed out habitats where noise prevention should be prioritized. 

While a number of measures to reduce noise for people are used (e.g. screens, berms, adapted paving, traffic calming), their performance for birds have not been tested. Mitigating traffic noise in important bird areas is expected to add significantly to the cost of road/railway construction and maintenance.

To enable cost-effectiveness analyses of noise reduction in important bird areas, the reduction effect of different measures need to better known, and combined with available cost estimates for the different types of measures.

Acoustic ecology is an emerging field, and to our knowledge, similar studies as the ones proposed here has not been conducted. Hence, the results are expected to gain international attention. 

Activities

In this subproject we will study the effects of noise mitigation along existing road/railway stretches near important bird habitats. Birds are censused in areas where noise screens are installed along an impacting road/railway and in comparable but unmitigated reference habitats, both before and after mitigation (i.e. BACI design). 

In addition to these new studies, available data from the previous BACI studies on birds along the Botniabanan railway will be compiled, (re-)analyzed and published scientifically, to produce a final insight in the main results regarding the railway´s impact on birds. This publication will also contain an overview of the international knowledge level regarding the impact of railway disturbance on birds (particularly wetland birds).