Abstract
Agroforestry has been practiced in arid and semi-arid regions for the purposes of preventing desertification and to increase income for locals. However, the intended effects of such practices have been limited due to strong winds and aridity. This study undertook multi-year monitoring of the productivity of income crops associated with windbreak planting in a semi-arid region of Mongolia, and explored strategies of windbreak planning to enhance the multi-purpose effects of agroforestry practices. The tree crown density of windbreak planting was on average 40% in one year after planting and 65% 2-3 years after, and thereby windspeeds were reduced by about 30% and 54%, respectively. Average windspeed reductions at leeward distances from the windbreak planting were approximately 60% within 3H (H=tree height), 50% at 5H, and 42% at 7-9H, presenting a pattern in which the farther the distance the less the reduction in windspeeds. The windbreak planting increased crop productivity by up to 6.8 times, compared to the productivity absent of windbreaks. Increases in the crown density as stated above resulted in increases of crop productivity by up to 3.6 times. Based on such results, this study proposed a model of windbreak planning as a typical land-use system of border windbreak planting or alternate windbreak planting of combining trees and income crops. The model also included tree planting with a crown density of 60% and allocation of income crops within a leeward distance of 5 times the height of the trees to reduce windspeeds by about 50%. The results from this study are applicable to practicing agroforestry not only at the study site but also in other regions worldwide where strong winds and aridity are problematic.