A windbreak (shelterbelt) is a planting 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. Farmers sometimes use windbreaks to keep snow drifts on farm land that will provide water when the snow melts in the spring.

1. SAM HIGGINBOTTOM UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE, TECHNOLOGY
& SCIENCES NAINI, PRAYAGRAJ, UTTARPRADESH, 211007, INDIA.
TOPIC: -Role Of Grasses And Pastures, Windbreaks or Shelter Belts In Soil Conservation
COURSE: - Agrometeorology and weather forecasting
COURSE CODE: -ENVS 716
SUBMITTEDTO: SUBMITTED BY:
Dr. Shraddha Rawat Vishnu Gopan G M
PID NO. 20MSASSACO73
M.Sc. Soil Science & Ag: Chemistry

2. CONTENTS
1. Pastures
2. How pastures help in soil conservation ?
3. Windbreaks or shelter belts.
4. How shelter belts reduce impacts of wind erosion ?
5. Shelter belts design for reduction in wind erosion.
6. How to plant a shelter belt ?
7. Advantage of wind breaks
8. Conclusion
9. References

3. Pastures
 Pasture is a Latin word from the word pastrus – “ to feed “.
 Enclosed tract of farmland grazes by domesticated livestock. Such as Horses, Cattle’s,
Sheep’s etc.
 Pastures includes rangelands, used by wild animals.
 Consisting of legumes, Grasses, Non-grass herbaceous.
 Managed by intensive agricultural practices
- Use of fertilizers
- Controlled burning (prescribed burning)
- Irrigation
- Seeding with special grasses

4. How pastures help in soil conservation ?
 Most of the available nutrients and organic matters are seen in the top few centimeters of
soil.
 By losing this soil become less receptive to rainfall, resulting in drought to remaining
pastures.
 To conserve this by management practices for maintaining and enriching the soil.
- Protect soil with vegetation cover against the beating action of raindrops.
- Minimize humus loss.
- Improve soil stability and structure.
- Improve soil permeability.
- Livestock practice can improve soil fertility led to the development of pastures.
 If the herd remains permanently on the pastures, the majority of the minerals in the forage
are returned directly into the soil.

5. The use of grazing as apart of soil conservation measure may be employed
on different classes of land
A. On land suitable for crops
 Rotating grazing with crops is preferable to permanent grazing
 The length of time the land will be grazed depends on the soil erosion hazards.
 2 out of 6 years will be given over to grazing for class I land (Good for agriculture),
 2 out of 4 for class II land (similar to class 1 but sloppy)
 3 years out of 5 for class III land. (low fertile compared to class 1 and II)
B. On land not suitable for crops
➢ Soils in class V (good for pastures) are less susceptible to erosion and are more suitable
for pasture than soils in classes VI and VII.

6. Windbreaks or Shelterbelts
 A windbreak (shelterbelt) is a planting 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.
 They are commonly planted in hedgerows around the edges of fields on farms. If designed
properly, windbreaks around a home can reduce the cost of heating and cooling and save
energy. Windbreaks are also planted to help keep snow from drifting onto roadways or yards.

7. How shelter belts reduce impacts of wind erosion ?
• Prevent wind erosion by intercepting wind and consequently reducing wind speed as
wind passes through or over the bell.
• It decrease wind speed within the sheltered zone to a level below the threshold for soil
movement.
• Moderate wind speeds can begin the process of soil erosion.
• Once soils are suspended, the soil carrying capacity increases in proportion to the wind
velocity cubed. Means reducing wind speed by half can reduce the rate of erosion
to 1/8.
• Modest reduction in wind speed can result in a significant reduction in soil erosion.
• Even wind approaching belts on angles that are almost parallel to the belt can decrease
wind speed and sparse shelterbelts can provide considerable reductions in soil erosion.
• They provide suitable habitat for hirds, wildlife and honeybees as well as produce
cattle feed and fuel wood.
• They protect the agricultural crops and residential lands from being sandblasted by
dust-storms

8. Shelter belts design for reduction in wind erosion.
 The location, density, height and length of a shelterbelt
will determine its effectiveness in reducing wind
erosion.
 A grid of shelterbelts positioned at appropriate distances
apart. provides the maximum level of shelter for a
property as shelter will be provided from all wind
directions.
 Shelterbelts provide the highest level of protection when
they are located at right angles to erosive winds. It
reduces the wind speed up to 60-80% on leeward side.
 Good protection from wind erosion can be maintained
for up to 30H of a shelterbelt if wind is approaching the
hell at right angles.
 Low porosity ( very dense) reduce maximum wind speed
reduction.
 In large areas height of belts needs to be maximized (at
least one row of tall species)

10. How to plant a shelter belt ?
 An effective shelterbelt should contain a combination of shrubs. fast growing trees, and dense long lived
trees.
 The outside row of a shelterbelt should generally be a dense shrub that will act to reduce wind near the
ground and act as a snow trap.
 The next row should consist of a fast growing tree species that will allow the shelterbelt to quickly gain
height.
 The next row should be made up of long lived trees that will allow shelterbelt to remain effective for a
long time.
 The next rows that would be closest to the yard should be made up of tall dense crowned trees that retain
their foliage through out the year.

11. Advantage of wind breaks
 Enhance crop yield
 Protect soil from wind erosion
 Shelter livestock and crops
 Capture water runoff and nutrients
 Improve irrigation efficiency
 Filter and reduce dust
 Screen unsightly areas
 Provide wildlife travel corridors and habitat
 Protect structures (homes, outbuildings, roads)
 Reduce noise
 Improve aesthetics

12. Conclusion
At the places, where dominant erosive wind is blowing from a single direction, then there is
greater probability of soil removal by the wind currents. In this situation, the best protection is
achieved by aligning the shelterbelt in parallel rows at right angles to the wind direction. But
where erosive winds come from more than one directions, then grid or herringbone system of
layout is used for establishing the shelterbelt.
Trees like Eucalyptus, Babul, Neem etc.
Shrubs like ipomea, Agave etc.
Grasses like Dub ghas, Star ghas, Blue panic, Napier grass etc.
In traditional agriculture in many places, farmers grow trees along the edges of fields, a
technique that slows the wind and stirs up the air, benefiting the crops in the field. They beautify
the landscape and provide travel routes and habitat for wildlife.

13. References
 "Windbreaks". National Agroforestry Center. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
 User, Super. "Role of trees in agriculture". Retrieved 2018-02-13.
 National Agroforestry Centre (USDA)
 en.wikipedia.org