According to a news story from Iowa News Service, researchers in the Midwest are studying the economic and ecological impacts of mature trees that have protected many Iowa farms for nearly half a century. They’re asking farmers how natural windbreaks, rows of trees or shrubs that slow wind and create beneficial soil conditions, have contributed to the success of farms. They’re also asking how windbreaks could be improved in the future. Nate Lawrence, an ecosystems scientist with Savanna Institute, says the study is focusing on a host of issues that haven’t been critically evaluated before.
“Things like how they impact adjacent crop yield, could they be providing some protection to adjacent crops from extreme weather events, for instance,” says Lawrence. “As well as some questions like soil health, water quality impact and what they do for wildlife and biodiversity.”
The Savanna Institute received a five-year, $1.7 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to conduct the study in parts of Iowa and Illinois.
Scientists are also measuring the economic benefits of the windbreaks and their capacity to generate revenue through carbon capture, nutrient loss and soil erosion reduction. Researchers are even looking at recreational opportunities windbreaks may create. Lawrence says there’s also a social component to this research, and adds that farmers are at the heart of it.
“We want to know from farmers what we don’t know,” says Lawrence. “So, we’re going to be interviewing farmers very early in the process about both what they like about windbreaks, and the barriers that they see and that we might be missing, so that we can then target future research to help fill in some of those gaps.”
Scientists are working with researchers at Iowa State University to implement their findings and get the information into the hands of farmers, who can put it to work in their modern operations.
