In the introductionary blogpost about agroforestry, a few options have been mentioned as possibilities for mixing trees, crops and animals. One of those options was planting trees as a wind barrier. This blogpost is looking into that. How can trees and hedges provide good protection against wind? And what are the gains from a wind barrier? The advantages of wind barriers Wind barriers can have a lot of advantages. The FAO has compiled quite a few of the advantages of a wind barrier: - They protect the (vulnerable) crops and trees behind the barrier - They reduce evaporation of plants - They reduce open water evaporation, so that more water is available for other uses - They protect plants against very high or very cold temperatures of the wind - They make it possible to stabilise dunes (just like dune grasses) - They can protect the crops behind the barrier against salt spray from the sea - They improve pollination by insects (less easily blown away). Also, the wind barrier