DEC 16

We've already heard about how offshore wind turbines can help sustain sea life, but it looks like wind turbines can also help plant life on dry land.  Researchers from the U.S. Energy Department's Ames Laboratory have concluded a months-long study that shows that wind turbines may benefit surrounding crops.

The purpose of the study was to see if wind farms in rural farmlands have any impact on the crops growing nearby and, amazingly, it turns out that the turbines could benefit crops in a few ways.  The turbines direct airflow downward towards the crops, creating an increase in air turbulence, which can help the crops stay cooler on hot days and warmer on cold nights.  In the spring and fall, this would keep a more constant temperature around the crops, helping to prevent a frost and extend the growing season.

The extra turbulence also could help dry dew that settles on plants and keeping the plants dry would reduce the potential for fungi or toxins to grow on leaves.  That saves farmers from having to artificially dry crops.

The third benefit from the added air turbulence could be an amping up of the CO2 extraction process by the plants.  The airflow could also pump extra CO2 from the soil, facilitating photosynthesis.

The researchers think these benefits will mostly be subtle, but in years where temperatures are more extreme, the benefits could be significant.

via Physorg

Comments (10)

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What about fertilizer?
written by champ, December 17, 2010

It doesn't mention the free fertilizer in the form of dead birds killed by the spinning blades. I'm not just being facetious here, there are seriously large amounts of dead birds around the base of these! Go look some time

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written by simian, December 18, 2010

Surely if vegetation required the benefit of spinning propellers it would have evolved trees with spinning propellers.

This article sounds like a lame bit of spin designed to further the interests of the wind power lobby in the face of opposition from farmers.

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Fertilizer?
written by Craig, December 18, 2010

Seriously champ? This is what you are focusing on? Birds randomly killed by slowly rotating blades? The same birds that you see dodge 45MPH cars with split second timing?

Not to mention all the dead birds and animals, all the sickness and long term disability and poisoning of our Earth from fossil fuel extraction, transportation and consumption and this is what you want to focus on as your main point?

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@Craig
written by simian, December 18, 2010

I assume you have not studied this topic. The blade tip of a 'slowly' rotating wind turbine can reach of 200MPH - that is way faster than 45MPH.

No amount of your green-spin can change the fact that blades DO pose threats to birds.

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written by Craig, December 18, 2010

Simian, you know of course that anybody can look up the facts against what you just said just as they can look up the facts against any topic or subject they don't like and find the anomaly to support their position. Anomaly it is however as many wind mills have a cut out speed of 45-85mph (of which you should have realized the 45mph reference was only an example, flocks of birds fly out of the way of objects traveling faster then that as I'm sure you've seen)so while the 200mph probably has happened somewhere at some time it's not the norm due to safety concerns for the structure of the wind mill itself.

Having said all that you are still missing the bigger picture. Clean energy and a small amount of the overall amount of birds vs fossil fuels and the incredible polution to all kinds of animals and people that it comes into contact with and adversly affects.

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Time will tell...
written by Asaf Shalgi, December 18, 2010

I believe that in a few years time birds will evolve and know not to come close to the turbines. One thing's for sure - they'll survive many years after the human race...

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Great!
written by Marcela, December 20, 2010

I loved the post. Wind mills can be really benefitial.

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written by Nyak, December 23, 2010

Wow... The cut out speed of a wind turbine stands for the speed of the wind not the RPM of the turbine blades. Try to imagine scaling down the size of the blades to the size of a pinwheel you yould in you hand and the hold it out a car window doing 45mph.Again Wow. Avian impact is always going to be an issue as long as man is part of the eco system wind turbine or not.

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@Nyak
written by Simian, December 27, 2010

I think it goes over their heads. I am convinced that the technical level of most people here is pretty dismal.

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@ Simain
written by Nyak, December 29, 2010

Kind of makes you wonder where they find these so called facts. Happy New Year.

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