Above- and Below-Ground Carbon Sequestration in Shelterbelt Trees in Canada: A Review

Abstract

Shelterbelts have been planted around the world for many reasons. Recently, due to increasing awareness of climate change risks, shelterbelt agroforestry systems have received special attention because of the environmental services they provide, including their greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potential. This paper aims to discuss shelterbelt history in Canada, and the environmental benefits they provide, focusing on carbon sequestration potential, above- and below-ground. Shelterbelt establishment in Canada dates back to more than a century ago, when their main use was protecting the soil, farm infrastructure and livestock from the elements. As minimal-and no-till systems have become more prevalent among agricultural producers, soil has been less exposed and less vulnerable to wind erosion, so the practice of planting and maintaining shelterbelts has declined in recent decades. In addition, as farm equipment has grown in size to meet the demands of larger landowners, shelterbelts are being removed to increase efficiency and machine maneuverability in the field. This trend of shelterbelt removal prevents shelterbelt’s climate change mitigation potential to be fully achieved. For example, in the last century, shelterbelts have sequestered 4.85 Tg C in Saskatchewan. To increase our understanding of carbon sequestration by shelterbelts, in 2013, the Government of Canada launched the Agricultural Greenhouse Gases Program (AGGP). In five years, 27 million dollars were spent supporting technologies and practices to mitigate GHG release on agricultural land, including understanding shelterbelt carbon sequestration and to encourage planting on farms. All these topics are further explained in this paper as an attempt to inform and promote shelterbelts as a climate change mitigation tool on agricultural lands.

Carbon sequestration in hedgerow biomass and soil in the temperate climate zone

“…hedge-banks) or their origin type (planted or remnant), and they differ in their length, width, height, management, species composition and age (Forman and Baudry 1984;Kühne et al 2000;Weber 2008). There is no common definition of the term hedgerow (Haddaway et al 2018), and shelterbelts or windbreaks are often also considered hedgerows (Mayrinck et al 2019). Moreover, local names such as "bocage" in France or "Knick" in Germany are used to describe the type of vegetation or landscape of hedgerows.…”

A review of ecological mechanisms for management practices of protective forests

“…Regeneration and transformation are also principal measures based on ecological restoration to address protective forest decline induced by land-use changes (Zhu 2013;Mayrinck et al 2019).…”

“…These forestry eco-engineering projects were initiated by the national authorities and set a precedent for establishing protective forests globally (Zhu 2013). Currently, the eco-engineering of protective forests has received increasing attention because of their protective benefits and environmental services, including sequestering CO 2 , considered to be a mitigation strategy for global climate change (Nair et al 2010;Mayrinck et al 2019;Amichev et al 2020).…”

Сезонне Та Добове Формування Зони Затінення В Приузлісній Частині Щільних Полезахисних Лісових Смуг

“…З північного боку смуги виникає конкуренція між деревами та рослинами поля не лише за ґрунтову вологу та поживні елементи (N, P, K), але й за світло. Ділянки поля (приузлісні, або присмугові частини полезахисного насадження) отримали назву «зона пригнічення сільськогосподарських культур» (Kowalchuk & Jong 1995, Jørgensen 2009, Abdalla & Fangama 2015, Mayrinck et al 2019, Sydorenko 2019. Аграрії України називають такі ділянки «депресивною зоною», на дослідження якої спрямовані значні зусилля (Margaylik & Kosumbekov 1976, Nadein 2005, Qadamov & Ikromov 2015, Manaenkov & Abakumova 2015.…”

“…Напрацювання певною мірою стосувалися архітектоніки кореневих систем (Yascheritsina & Bondarenko 1988, Abakumova & Trubakova 2017 і фітосанітарного стану прилеглих полів (Nadein 2005). Закордонні дослідники, зі свого боку, називали ці ділянки «competition zone»зоною конкуренції (Onyewotu et al 1994, Mize et al 2008, Mayrinck et al 2019.…”