Cleaning the planet's air is as simple as planting a tree

Taking a drive down a long, winding country road might offer some surprises on a Sunday afternoon. You might see a deer, fox, or a rabbit or two. But what about those long, perfect rows of trees planted on farmers' fields? Have you ever wondered what those are for?

They're shelterbelts - rows of trees and shrubs that serve a surprising variety of functions.Shelterbelts protect crops, herds and homes from bitter winter winds.

The benefits of these plantings are numerous. Protection from winter winds means less stress for herds. Cattle require less energy, and therefore less feed, to keep warm. Also, a five-row shelterbelt around a farmhouse will reduce the energy needed to heat that house by up to 18-25 per cent.

Shelterbelts are great for the environment too. They reduce soil erosion, improve soil moisture retention, and boost crop yields. If that isn't enough, shelterbelts also sequester, or trap, carbon dioxide, acting as a filter to clean our air. If planted along streams and river beds, tree roots filter agricultural fertilizers and other contaminants from spring runoff, keeping our water clean.

These benefits are so important that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has a centre devoted specifically to the distribution of plant materials for shelterbelts. Operated by AAFCs Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA), the Shelterbelt Centre in Indian Head, Saskatchewan provides trees, shrubs and technical advice to eligible landowners in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the Peace River region of British Columbia.

The Centre has begun a new program that will provide even more services to its clients. With the help of funding provided under the federal government's Action Plan 2000, the Centre has begun the Shelterbelt Enhancement Program (SEP), providing applicants with plastic mulch and mulch applicator equipment for loan in addition to trees and technical advice.

Action Plan 2000 is a $500-million initiative that funds practical, concrete measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. The SEP will receive $4 million from this initiative over its five-year duration.

"We have been actively promoting the role of shelterbelts as a response to climate change for the last six years," said the Centre's Bob Turnock, program manager of the SEP. "When Action Plan 2000 was created, they saw shelterbelts as a positive thing, a national response to the climate change issue."

Turnock explained the advantages of plastic mulch are that it controls weeds and traps moisture and warmth, thus enhancing tree growth. Weeds die beneath the plastic, while the warmth and moisture help young tree seedlings survive. In fact, trees grow 40 per cent faster when weeds are controlled with plastic mulch.

The additional funds are welcomed by Turnock, who knew a large part of the reason why clients weren't planting more shelterbelts was because of the weed problem.

"We did a survey about shelterbelts in spring, 2000," Turnock explained. "The number one reason people gave for not planting more shelterbelts was because of weeds. Action Plan 2000 gave us a way to address that issue."

The SEP will encourage even more people to plant shelterbelts, an important step in furthering the Shelterbelt Centre's work. The Centre plants an average of 6,000 km of trees each year. With the incentive of plastic mulch and equipment, the Centre predicts it will be able to attract more clients and plant an extra 8,000 km of shelterbelts, or eight million trees, over the five year period of SEP.

"Trees planted each year under the existing Shelterbelt Program will sequester a total of 1.7 megatonnes of carbon dioxide between 2008-2012," said Turnock. "But the real bang comes down the road, when they're 50 years old or so. Even by 40 years of age, those same trees will have sequestered 9.1 megatonnes of carbon dioxide."

Turnock has faith in the new program. "I think in subsequent years, the target sum of 8,000 km will be easily reached, and an extra 300,000 tonnes of carbon will be sequestered by those trees."

For more information about shelterbelts or to find out if you're eligible for assistance, contact Bob Turnock at (306) 695-2284.