Renovation & Innovation in Canadian Windbreaks John Kort Agroforestry Researcher AAFC Agroforestry Development Centre Indian Head, Saskatchewan Outline • Renovation concepts • Existing windbreaks and renovation challenges • Innovative windbreak design Concepts in shelterbelt renovation • Trim (prune) or cut back (coppice or pollard) • Control weeds, water, fertilize, control insects/diseases to relieve stress and increase lifespan • Design shelterbelts with multiple species. More complicated, but more resilient • Remove and/or re-plant within shelterbelt or add rows on the inside or the outside • Field shelterbelts can be renovated by adding or replacing rows. Keep in mind the reasons for the shelterbelts - could turn removal into renovation Farms with Shelterbelts / Windbreaks (Question included "natural or planted" and "buffer zones around water bodies" 60 50 40 t n e c 30 r e P 20 10 0 a C B K B N C B S I F E ad B A S M O Q N N P N n a C Statistics Canada, Census of Agriculture, 2006 Agriculture and Agriculture et Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada Prairie windbreaks - planted Roadside Farmyard Field Green ash/Scots pine - Saskatchewan Manitoba field windbreaks Natural aspen shelterbelt in Saskatchewan and its understory Natural windbreak in southern Ontario Planted eastern red cedar windbreak in southern Ontario