Noise pollution harmful to tree growth
Loud industrial noise causes long-term damage to trees and plants by disrupting animal behaviour, study finds.
“Rock and roll ain’t noise pollution” sang rock band AC/DC, but they might want to reconsider their lyrics after a study by Californian scientists has shown that noise can cause long-term harm to natural plant communities.
The study centered on a region of New Mexico where gas wells operate in an area dominated by pinyon pine, juniper and sagebrush shrubland. Test areas were sampled twice over a 12-year period and sites exposed to the continuous noise of gas well compressors had less tree seedling recruitment than those which enjoyed the ‘sound of silence’. Pinyon seedlings, for example, were four times more abundant on quieter plots.
What’s more, sites where the noise had stopped were still shown to have suffered long-lasting effects to plants.
Researchers think that this is due to seed dispersers and pollinators, such as birds, bats, other mammals and insects, being disturbed by the noise, and that some are slow to return to the sites even after the noise has stopped. Pinyon pines, for instance, rely on corvids such as jays for dispersal, and corvids demonstrate the ability of memory, perhaps avoiding the previously noisy sites.
The findings could have implications for better understanding of how wildlife fares when it gets caught in the sounds of urban expansion.
“The compressor noise is similar to traffic noise in that it tends to be low pitched,” says Jennifer Phillips, assistant professor at Texas A&M University San Antonio, who conducted the research. “So I do think areas that have any type of noise pollution could see similar trends if seed dispersers or pollinating animals are discouraged from the area because of noise levels.”