The effect of forest shelterbelts on the water regime of leached chernozems

New data on the effect of a 50-year-old shelterbelt on the humus content, structure, field water capacity, hydraulic conductivity, evaporation processes, and moisture reserves of leached chernozems are obtained. In the spring, the water content in the 3-m-thick soil layer under the shelterbelt is 29-57 mm higher than that in the soil of the adjacent cropland. In dry years, in the first half of the growing season (May-July), evapotranspiration from the soil under the shelterbelt varies from 241 to 389 mm (in May-July); on the cropland, it is much lower (17-169 mm). The crops consume moisture mainly from the upper 80-cm-thick layer, while moisture uptake by the forest vegetation takes place from the 3-m-thick layer. A reliable increase in the soil water reserves is observed on the croplands adjacent to the shelterbelts.