Effect of landscape elements and structures on the acoustic environment on wildlife overpasses located in rural areas

Abstract

The constantly growing number of motor vehicles increases the biodiversity conservation awareness of the public. To this end, numerous compensation measures are implemented, primarily provision of wildlife crossing infrastructure to guide animals over and under transport routes. There are different design aspects that must be considered in the case of wildlife crossings located in rural areas and in forests. An interdisciplinary approach should be employed for the wildlife crossing design, involving specialists from different fields of science. This article deals with the effect of local landscape elements and structures on the acoustic environment on the wildlife overpasses located in rural areas. Several tests were carried out, covering the levels of traffic, improvements around the existing overpasses and the noise distribution on them. For the final analysis, seven overpasses were chosen, differing in terms of the landscape elements and structures present. Five of them included noise barriers of different shapes and lengths and had a flat approach area. Two crossings did not have noise barriers and the approach areas were located in varied terrain. The analysis of the derived sound maps allowed for the determination of the effect of the different landscape elements and structures on the noise distribution on the overpasses under analysis. Earthen berms aligned with the noise barriers and extending to the length defined by the approach area topography were found to be the most effective noise-reducing measure.