Windbreaks are used throughtout the U.S. to accomplish a multitude of objectives. Among these are the reduction of

water stress to improve crop yield and quality, reduction of soil erosion, snow management, livestock protection

and odor control, provision of wildlife habitat, and energy conservation around farmsteads.

If society is looking for places to store carbon, windbreaks are an obvious choice. Since a large number of landowners

already appreciate the value of a windbreak for the many benefits listed above, many would be interested in discussing ways

to get financial assistance for planting and maintaining a windbreak that was also designed to optimize carbon storage. The

fact that many landowners have been motivated to establish windbreaks for their own purposes, suggests that these plantings

would remain in place on the ground for a long time. While windbreaks are used for various purposes throughout the U.S.,

the following scenarios describe the potential for carbon storage in windbreaks in the North Central reigon. Due to the extensive agricultural land base in the North Central region, large amounts of carbon can be stored by integrating more windbreak

plantings into the agricultural landscape. 

The following scenarios describe the potential for carbon storage in tree stems and branches over a 20-year period. Roots

are not included, but would likely add from 15 to 25 percent to the totals. In addition, windbreaks typically function effectively for 50 to 70 years and would continue to accumulate carbon over the life of the planting.

Field Windbreaks

Field windbreaks reduce evaporation and plant transpiration

rates such that per field crop

yields are typically improved,

even though a portion of the

field has been converted to

windbreaks. Research has estimated the optimal tree planting

levels at between three and six

percent of the cropped field

area. There are 210 million

acres of cropland unprotected by

windbreaks in the North Central

U.S. and of this 30 million acres

are subjected to wind erosion in

excess of the soil loss tolerance

rate. Each million acres of planted windbreak would represent

200 million trees storing 21.2

million metric tons of carbon

dioxide (CO2) at age 20. 

In addition to carbon stored

in windbreak trees, the protection provided by the windbreak

orking Trees for Carbon: 

Windbreaks in the U.S.

W

Within 20 years field windbreak 

storage could exceed

215 million metric tons of CO2
results in energy savings from reduced fuel use. In the case of field windbreaks, land removed from agricultural production

results in less fuel use. Based on an average of five gallons of diesel fuel per acre for most crops, planting 60,000 acres to

windbreaks would reduce fuel consumption by 300,000 gallons annually.

Protecting the 210 million acres of exposed cropland in the North Central U.S. 

by planting five percent of the field area to windbreaks would sequester over 

215 million metric tons of CO2 in the first 20 years.

Farmstead Windbreaks

Of the more than 800,000 farms in the region, over 300,000 have no

wind protection. For farmsteads located in cold climates, windbreaks

have been shown to reduce home heating requirements by 10 to 20 percent. Assuming an average home uses 2350 gallons of propane per

heating season, a 15 percent savings would reduce annual demand by

10.6 million gallons. While this benefit would not begin until the windbreak reached an effective height (about 10 years) it would continue

throughout the remaining life of the windbreak, typically 40 to 50

years. Over this period fuel savings in excess of 290 million gallons

could be expected.

Planting windbreaks around these 300,000 unprotected farms would result in 120 million trees

(approximately 400 trees per home) storing 13 million metric tons of CO2 within 20 years.

Living Snowfences

In North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Iowa there are

over 460,000 miles of roadway. Many of these would benefit from

protection with a living snowfence. Properly designed living

snowfences can dramatically reduce the need to plow and re-plow

roadways. Assuming a one third reduction in snow removal costs,

fuel usage for every 1,000 miles of protected roads could be reduced

by 320,000 gallons annually. In addition, several states have documented reductions in both the frequency and severity of winter accidents due to living snowfences.

For each 1,000 miles of roads protected by windbreaks two million

conifers could be planted to store

175,000 metric tons of CO2 within 20 years.

References

Adapted from “Opportunities to Increase Tree Planting in Shelterbelts and the Potential Impacts on Carbon Storage and

Conservation,” Brandle, James; Wardle, Tom; and Bratton, Gerald. Chapter 9, Forests and Global Change, Vol. 1. Edited

by Sampson, R. Neil; and Hair, Dwight; American Forests, 1992.

The USDA National Agroforestry Center (NAC) is a partnership of the Forest Service (Research and

Development and State and Private Forestry) and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. It is

administered by the Forest Service, Southern Research Station; and its program manager and headquarters are located in Huntsville, AL, on the campus of Alabama A&M University, while its research, clearinghouse, and technology transfer staff are concentrated in Lincoln, NE, at the University of Nebraska. NAC’s

purpose is to accelerate the development and application of agroforestry technologies to attain more economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable land use systems. To accomplish its mission, NAC

interacts with a national network of partners and cooperators to conduct research, develop technologies

and tools, establish demonstrations, and provide useful information to natural resource professionals.

A partnership of