Robotic lawnmower project provides new knowledge about management at airports
The Dokka Delta Wetland Centre has been commissioned by Autroni AS to map birds around robotic lawnmowers at Stavanger Airport, Sola and Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik.
The survey was based on seeing if there are differences in the number of birds in areas that are mowed with robotic lawnmowers in relation to areas that are mowed with a tractor. The areas with robotic lawnmowers have a constant height of the grass of 10 cm, while in the areas that are mowed with a tractor, the grass grows to about 30 cm before it is mowed. The mapping has taken place by counting the number of birds in eight squares, where four have been mowed with a robotic lawnmower and four have been mowed with a tractor. The areas have been located next to each other, so that one gets a direct comparison. At Kristiansand Airport, there is only one robotic lawnmower so far, so here only two areas have been mapped. The survey has taken place since mid-April and is still ongoing.
Preliminary figures from the survey show that there may be differences between the different bird species in the use of the areas, but the results will not be available until the autumn and will be included in a study at the University of Liège.
