The character of windbreaks and their influence on mitigation of soil erosion

Abstract

Windbreaks create efficient soil protection against wind erosion particularly at the time when soil cover is not protected by vegetation cover of cultivated plant. The objective of this research was to find correlation between qualitative parameters of windbreaks and their efficiency in terms of wind speed reduction. The wind speed measurement was carried out by 4 stations along windbreak. The station contains 2 anemometers at heights 0.5 and 1 m above the surface. The character of windbreak was described by photogrammetry method as the value of optical porosity from the photo documentation of the windbreak at the time of ambulatory measurement. Important dependency between the value of optical porosity and efficiency of windbreak emerged from the results. An important protective effect of windbreak on soil was proven on the leeward side of the windbreak in the belt corresponding with approximately six times the height of the windbreaks.nema