Building a Windbreak to Protect Crops (1/2)

Farmers use different kinds of soil conservation" class="hjdict" word="conservation" target=_blank>conservation methods to protect their land from damage by farming and the forces of nature. One important form of soil conservation is the use of windbreaks.

Windbreaks are barriers formed by trees and other plants. Farmers plant these barriers around their fields. Windbreaks stop the wind from blowing soil away. They also keep the wind from destroying or damaging crops. They are very important for protecting grain crops.

There have been studies done on windbreaks in parts of West Africa, for example. These found that grain harvests can be twenty percent higher in fields protected by windbreaks compared to fields without such protection.

But windbreaks seem to work best when they allow some winds to pass through them. If the wall of trees and plants blocks the wind completely, then violent air motions will take place close to the ground. These motions will lift soil into the air where it will be blown away.