Shelterbelts
From SCIANS
Contents |
Shelterbelts: A Growing Investment
Shelterbelt, windbreak, energy savings, odor control, pesticide drift, greenhouse gas emissions, property improvement, deforestation, snow belt, snow barrier, property screen, sound barrier
In the past trees have been cleared from farm land to maximize crop land for production as well as make it easier to move equipment around. Today we recognize that trees provide us with many benefits on an agricultural landscape. Many farms are installing shelterbelts to take advantage of these benefits.
Here are some of them:
- Save on your energy costs
- Create a second farm income
- Control smells on your farm
- … and more
1. The shelterbelt as a windbreak
Trees planted around your farm buildings can save you 10 to 15 percent of your heating costs in winter. Planted properly, your shelterbelt could also drop your summer cooling costs by a whopping 70 percent. That’s because heat loss through windows, walls, and cracks is such a problem. The shelterbelt acts as a windbreak to protect the buildings from winds blowing through. This way, heating (and cooling) stays in your building—and money stays in your pocket.
2. Secondary farm income
Income from timber can be generated with a shelterbelt that includes poplars, and/or hardwoods. Timber from these designs can be worth up to $40,000. And that doesn’t include branches that could be sold as firewood, which would be added income.
Incorporating fruit bearing and ornamental shrubs in your shelterbelt could also increase its value. For example, species such as American elder and service berry produce small berries that can be used in pies and jellies or to make wine.
3. Odor control
Shelterbelts may help control odor associated with some farms. A functioning shelterbelt can reduce odor plume by 25%. Odor concentration shows an even greater reduction of 33%.
4. Other benefits: protecting livestock, pesticide drift reduction
Many other benefits come from installing a shelterbelt, such as the protection it provides for your livestock. The line of trees creates a barrier between your animals and roadways. This barrier also acts as a buffer to decrease noise, not to mention block the unpleasant view of the road. The reduced wind velocity also helps when spraying pesticides. Studies have shown a reduction of 70-90% in pesticide drift.
Want more info?
- Check out this pdf that discusses how farmstead shelterbelts can benefit you and the environment
Interesting tidbits about shelterbelts around the world
- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s initiates a project in 1934 as a plan to alter weather and prevent soil erosion. Known as the "Great Plains Shelterbelt", this project resulted in the installation of over 30,000 shelterbelts containing 220 million trees that stretched for more than 18,000 miles.
- In USSR Marshal Stalin called for the planting of a massive network of shelterbelts (Russian: лесополоса, lesopolosa, 'forest strip') in his “Great Plan for Transformation of Nature" (October 1948)
- An ambitious project intended to plant 4,800 km of shelterbelts across Northern China by 2074 is known as The Green Wall of China.
