Shelter belt
Topic: Soils of India: Types, Degradation and Conservation · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 1 "Resources and Development"
Meaning
A shelter belt is a row, or several rows, of trees planted to break the force of the wind. The trees slow the wind before it reaches the fields. Slower wind blows away less loose soil and dries the crops less. Shelter belts are a key way to fight wind erosion, the loss of soil blown off by wind, in dry and windy areas.
Example
In the Thar Desert of western Rajasthan, shelter belts of trees have helped hold sand dunes in place and stabilise the desert. They also protect nearby fields from blowing sand.
Don't confuse with
- Strip cropping: this leaves strips of grass between crop strips inside a field. A shelter belt uses rows of trees, usually along the edge of fields.
- Afforestation: this means planting forest over a large area. A shelter belt is a narrow line of trees with one job, which is blocking the wind.
Related concepts
- Soil conservation
- Contour ploughing
- Terrace farming
- Strip cropping
- Contour bunding
- Continuous contour trench