The Influence of the Depression Zone of Forest Shelterbelts on the Productivity and Profitability of Winter Wheat

Abstract

Background: The article presents the results of a study which is characterizing the impact of a forest shelterbelt on the productivity and profitability of winter wheat of the dry steppe zone of Volgograd region (Russia). The relevance of the problem was due to the fact that most of the agriculture is used to be concentrated in the steppe and forest-steppe natural zones. It is known that these territories were used to be forest reclamation facilities in the form of a network of protective forest belts. Also it touched the research aimed n need to evaluate the efficiency of winter wheat production within depression zones. The hypothesis means that the soil and climatic conditions of dry steppe regions, were utilizing these depression zone for arable land which significantly reduced the productivity and profitability of winter wheat cultivation. Methods: The work presents the biological productivity which was taken into account by using the method of meter-long plots in triplicationand a soil moisture was determined by the thermostat-weight method and grain quality was determined by using an infrared analyzer “InfraLUM FT-12”. The territory was visualized by using an unmanned aerial vehicle and chemical analyzes of soil samples were performed in the soil analysis laboratory of the FSC of Agroecology RAS by using generally accepted methods in soil science. Result: The research determined that depression zones arise in the steppe and dry steppe zones on the territory of agroforest landscapes near protective forest plantations. The areas of these zones occupy 4-8% of the total arable land area. Observations have shown that soil moisture in the depression zone in the meter-long layer is lower than in the inter-strip space. At the same time, the lack of mineral nutrition elements leads to a significant decrease in biometric indicators and the quality of winter wheat grown.