Clarification of the limits of the impact of forest shelterbelts on corn yield under climate change
¹Vinnytsia National Agrarian University, Educational and Scientific Institute of Agrotechnology and Environmental Sciences, Sonyachna street, 3, UA21008 Vinnytsia, Ukraine
²Institute of Agrobiology, UA03067 Kyiv, Ukraine
³West Ukrainian National University, Ternopil, UA46009, Ukraine
*Correspondence: apantsyreva@ukr.net
Abstract:
In modern climatic and economic conditions, the effectiveness of the agroforestry reclamation system, in particular shelterbelts, in Ukraine remains insufficient. The main confirmation of this is the instability and decrease in crop yields in years with adverse weather conditions. Given the trends of global warming, when almost every agricultural year is characterized by increased aridity, temperature anomalies and moisture deficiency, the importance of shelterbelts in regulating the microclimate of agrolandscapes is significantly increasing. At the same time, scientific research aimed at determining the spatial boundaries and intensity of the impact of forest belts on crop productivity in new climatic realities is limited. Field research was conducted during 2022–2024 within the right-bank part of the Forest-Steppe Zone of Ukraine on black soil. About 25 shelterbelts of various types and designs were selected for analysis. The object of the study was corn, for which both yield indicators and the main biometric characteristics of plants were evaluated. The influence of the main and auxiliary windbreaks was studied at distances of 1, 10, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 m in the direction perpendicular to the windbreaks. At each of the specified distances, the density of productive stems, the average height of plants, the mass of a thousand grains, the number, length and diameter of per plant, as well as the total yield of corn grain were determined. The results of the studies showed that the highest yield indicators were formed at a distance of about 300 m from the main windbreak, where they exceeded the level at a distance of 500 m by 21.0%. Stable high yield values were observed in the zone of 100–300 m. On average, corn productivity near (at a distance of 100-300 m) the main forest belts was 22.6% higher than in the zone of influence of auxiliary plantations. The maximum yield near the auxiliary blowing forest belt was noted at a distance of 100 m, after which its gradual decrease was recorded.
Key words:
agroforestry, climate aridization, field protection afforestation, productivity of agrocenoses, species, Zea mays L.