Professor Yvonne Buckley:

That is a really interesting question. Those are the kinds of land use changes we must assess in terms of their impact on biodiversity and the climate change impact of that land use transition. It really depends on what existing biodiversity is present in the land use one is moving away from and whether that would be retained and enhanced in the new land use or whether moving from one land use to another involved the destruction of biodiversity. In the case of a dairy farm changing to a wind farm, it is not clear what the land would be used for. One has the footprint of the turbines but then there is the question of the management of the land around the turbines, that whole block going up into the air and how animals and plants use that area once it has been converted. One would need to carry out quite a careful study to make the call regarding whether the conversion from a dairy farm to a wind farm was net positive or net negative for biodiversity in that moment. One would take into account the change in emissions - the climate warming involved in going from dairy farm land use to wind farm land use and the potential impact of that reduction or increase in emissions depending on how it is calculated on biodiversity. Again, that is another question. Scientifically, it is hard for me to answer that question without looking at exactly what biodiversity is there before and after the land use change, how the land is used and how measures can be put in place in the new land use to support biodiversity and reduce the negative effects of those land uses on biodiversity. I am sorry I cannot be more specific. I will give a scientist's answer, which is more research.