• Living windbreaks
• a plantation usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion.
• commonly planted around the edges of fields on farms.

Functions of shelter belt

• Reduces wind speed and wind erosion
• Lowers evapotranspiration;
• Regulates air temperature
• Enhances soil moisture
• Ultimately, increase in crop yield

Vegetation pattern in shelterbelt

• a single line of trees or multiple rows of trees
• Rows of shrubs can also be added
• placed on the windward side

Selection of species for shelter belt

• rapid growing,
• tolerant of wind and light
• frost resistant where necessary.
• The branches should be pliable so that they bend with the wind instead of breaking off.
• The root system should provide a firm anchorage to the soil.
• Local species rather than imported species.
• Mix of species

Width of shelter belt

• about 9 m for a two-row tree belt with associated shrubs
• About 3m for single-row hedge belts.

Spacing of shelter belt

• Shelterbelt generally protects the soil from wind erosion to distance about 10-12 times its height, provided that the belt is at right angles to the wind.
• So spacing of shelterbelt = (10-12)×height of belt

Length of shelter belt

• a minimum of 12 times the belt height provided that the belt is at right angles to the wind.
• To allow for deviations in wind direction, a longer length is desirable and a length of 24H is generally recommended (Bates 1924).