WINDBREAKS AS A FACTOR OF IMPROVING AGRICULTURAL LANDS AND ENHANCE THEIR LOCAL BIODIVERSITY
The review article discusses the multifunctionality of forest protection strips and their important role in maintaining the stability of landscapes and in particular agricultural ecosystems. The importance of forest belts in soil reclamation is emphasized and their most significant ecological functions in the creation and improvement of microclimate in agricultural landscapes are indicated: reduction of wind speed and intensity of wind erosion in summer, which prevents blowing of the top most fertile soil layer; snow retention and reduction of surface runoff of both melt and rain water, which contributes to the preservation of moisture reserves in the soil and also prevents water erosion. Increasing soil fertility through the preservation of nutrient-rich and moisture-saturated upper substrate contributes to the productivity of crops grown in the fields. Artificial forest plantations create a favorable water and temperature regime, and this leads to an increase in the local biodiversity of ornitho-, entomo - and pedofauna. Forest belts diversify monotonous agricultural landscape, increasing its aesthetic appeal. The economic efficiency of forest belts can also have an additional benefit in the form of wood supply during thinning. Summarizes the types of forest and the most important methods in their proektirovaniy, placement and creation. In addition to the theoretical justification of the need for forest plantations, as mentioned in the state plan for the transformation of nature from 1948. This article uses experimental data of the author showing the effect of shelterbelts on the moisture content of the soil and the yields of some crops. Negative processes in reducing the number of areas under forest belts due to their aging and neglect of the protective role of forest belts are also indicated.