Wind and Sandblast Damage to Growing Vegetation

Abstract

Wind erosion is a major problem on agricultural lands in much of North Africa, the Near East, parts of Asia, Australia, southern South America. and portions of North America. Particles moving in the wind stream damage plants by impact, burial, and exposure of plant roots. Reported effects of wind and sandblast damage are: reduced dry weight, leaf area, plant height, survival, photosynthesis, and quality and quantity of yield. Additional effects include increased respiration, delayed maturity, plant disease transmission, morphological, and anatomical changes. Future challenges to research on wind damage effects are: quantifying plant sandblast damage under field conditions, while including additional factors such as burial or removal of soil from around roots. Improved transducers are also needed for measuring the energy of windblown particle impacts.