Microclimate patterns on the leeside of singlerow

Authors: Bijay Tamang Michael G Andreu Donald L Rockwood

Publish Date: 2010/02/10

Volume: 79, Issue: 1, Pages: 111-122

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Abstract

Florida citrus and vegetable crops generate billions of dollars in revenue every year However wind freezing temperatures hurricanes and diseases negatively impact production Windbreaks located perpendicular to the prevailing wind can increase farm production simply by reducing wind and modifying microclimate Windbreaks can also help in managing pathogens such as citrus canker Xanthomonas campestris pv citri To study the modification of wind speed temperature and relative humidity on the leeside of singlerow tree windbreaks in southern Florida automated weather stations were installed in 2007/2008 at 2 m above the ground along transects perpendicular to a eastern redcedar Juniperus virginiana and three cadaghi Corymbia torelliana WB1–WB3 windbreaks All windbreaks reduced wind speed with minimum wind speed ~5 of the open wind speed at two times the distance of windbreak height 2H where H = windbreak height in m on the leeside of a E redcedar ~17 porosity and at 4H ~3–30 of the open wind speed and 6H 50 of the open wind speed on the leeside of cadaghi windbreaks WB1 ~22 porosity and WB2 ~36 porosity respectively when the wind direction was nearly perpendicular to the windbreaks Wind speed reduction was observed up to 31 times the windbreak height 31H Cadaghi windbreaks reduced wind speed on the leeside even during a tropical storm event Temperatures on the leeside of the windbreaks were warmer during the day and cooler near the windbreaks at night compared to temperature in the open fields This study demonstrates that singlerow tree windbreaks can reduce wind and modify the microclimate to enhance crop production for Florida growersThis research was financially supported by the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences IFAS/UF the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences CALS/IFAS and the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Southern Region Program The authors would like to thank SFRC/UF SWFREC/UF and CB Farms staff for their help during the study

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