Why trees are important on your farm

Trees play a huge role on your farm, acting more than windbreakers. Trees can be intercropped with other crops. They are beneficial both to the farmer and the environment. The cost of planning, knowing how to manage the trees and understanding what to plant and where can put off most farmers.

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Here is some trees benefit that will help you have a different perspective of having trees on your farm.

Role of trees

Soil and water conservation

Trees manage soil and reduce erosion. Soil erosion reduces soil fertility by removing rich topsoil and organic matter. Soil erosion occurs in areas that experience floods and strong winds. Trees create barriers that will prevent soil erosion around the farm from strong winds and rains.

Trees also help reduce the loss of soil material, organic matter, and nutrients that might be helpful to the crops.

Soil fertility

Trees produce organic matter in the soil from the leaves that improves soil fertility. Organic matter from the trees maintains favourable soil physical properties essential for plant growth. Nitrogen-fixing trees and shrubs help increase nitrogen in the soil required by crops.

Tree decomposition and pruning can help maintain soil fertility and increase crop yield. This helps in the reduction of soil nutrients uptake that can then be used by the crops.

Tree decomposition adds more nutrients through organic matter that will help improve soil fertility.

Soil structure

Trees hold the soil together into the ground. This maintains the soil structure that can be destroyed by strong winds and rainfall.

Retain soil moisture

They can be used as shades for plants during extreme weather conditions that can affect crop growth and hence lowering yields. They reduce the wind that removes moisture from the air. Plants require water or moist soils to sustain its growth and hence trees protection plays a vital role to protect evaporation.

Act as windbreakers

Trees prevent strong winds from destroying crops. They also help in protecting crops during their flowering periods. Plant flowers can be blown away by strong winds and thus resulting in low yields. This shows us that trees are very important for a successful and profitable yield.

Increase crop yields

To increase crop yields, the soil is required to be fertile. Trees not only help in soil fertility but also helps in providing shelter for insects that are required during pollination. Acting as windbreakers will protect plants from strong winds. This will reduce crop loss.

By the trees retaining moisture they sustain crops throughout the season and improve the maintenance of healthy crops that result in more yields.

Finally, farmers are advised to check the types of trees that exhaust nutrients required by plants since they can affect the crops’ growth. They can also reduce insect pest and diseases like provide habitats for pollinators that help in pollination

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