Shelterbelts, Eco-buffers and Beneficial Insects:

Making the Most of your Field Margins

Luke Wonneck

l.wonneck@awes-ab.ca

587-891-1325
Field margins the forgotten,
neglected, and underutilized
Shelterbelts trees and shrubs planted
as a barrier to reduce windspeed
 Why reduce windspeed?
Soil conservation
Snow management
Shelter for farmyards and livestock (winter and
summer)
Mitigation of airborne contaminants and odours
 Indirect benefits of shelterbelts

Water quality enhancement

and groundwater recharge
Carbon sequestration
Food/fuel/timber products
Visual barrier
Wildlife/beneficial insect
habitat
Designing an effective shelterbelt

Wind
 Begin by asking
1. What do I want to shelter?
 Begin by asking
1. What do I want to shelter?
2. What can my site offer?
Orient perpendicular to winds
Make it long and continuous
 40-60% density
Less dense shelterbelt = less windspeed reduction
but over a longer distance
Modify density by changing number of
rows and species selection
 Make a ramp, not a wall

SHRUB DECIDUOUS DECIDUOUS EVERGREEN EVERGREEN

Chokecherry Green ash Green ash Colorado spruce Colorado spruce
Buffaloberry Poplar Poplar White spruce White spruce
Seabuckthorn Aspen Aspen Scots pine Scots pine
Birch Birch Lodgepole pine Lodgepole pine
Lilac
Maple Maple Jack pine Jack pine
Elderberry Larch Larch
Dogwood Willow Willow
Saskatoon
Etc
 Snow management
Major snow dumping occurs 2H on leeward side
 Ensuring longevity
Include both long-lived and short-lived species
that are adapted to your site conditions
Leave enough spacing between and within
rows
Diversify!

Planting a shelterbelt in 1935, Oklahoma

 Spacing Recommendations
1m 1m 1m 1m 1m
(3) (3) (3) (3) (3)

5m
(15)

2.5m (8) 2.5m (8) 2.5m (8)

6m
(20)

3.5m (12) 3.5m (12)

 Deciduous trees
Species Lifespan Moisture required Salt tolerance Shade tolerance
Green ash Long Med Med Low
Hybrid poplar Med High Low Low
Manitoba maple Long Med Med Med
Siberian larch Long High Low Low
Trembling aspen Med Med-High Low Low
White birch Med High Low Med
Willow tree (peachleaf,
acute, silverleaf) Med Med-High Low Low
 Evergreen trees
Species Lifespan Moisture required Salt tolerance Shade tolerance
Balsam fir Long High Low High
Colorado spruce Long Med Low-Med Med
Jack pine Long Med Low Low
Lodgepole pine Long Med Low Low
Scots pine Long Med Low Low
White spruce Long Med-High Low High
 Shrubs
Moisture Salt Shade
Species Lifespan required tolerance tolerance
Canada buffaloberry Med Med Med Med
Caragana Long Low Med Med
Chokecherry Med Med Low-Med Med
Currant Med Med-High Low Med
Green alder Med High Low Med
Hawthorn Med Low Med Low
Hedge rose Med Low-Med Low-Med Med
Highbush cranberry Med High Med High
Mugo pine Med Low Med-High Med
Pincherry Med Med Low Low
Red elderberry Med High Low Med
Red-osier dogwood Med Med-High Low-Med High
Saskatoon Med Med Low Med
Seabuckthorn Med Low High Low
Shrubby cinquefoil Med Low-Med Med Med
Silver buffaloberry Med Low High Low
Snowberry Med Low Med Med
Villosa lilac Long Med Med-High Low
Willow Med High Low Low
Wolf willow Med Low-Med High Low
 Implementing your design
Site preparation
Obtaining stock
Planting
Maintenance
 Site preparation is done to
Reduce competition for light, nutrients, water,
space
Alleviate soil compaction
 Standard site preparation plan
Fall prior to planting
1. Stake out shelterbelt rows
2. Deep rip repeatedly until black, no sod clumps.
Spring of planting
1. Till a few more times
2. Seed with a non-aggressive ground cover (e.g.
native grasses, sheep fescue, legumes)
3. Plant seedlings
4. Apply plastic mulch
Organic mulch alternatives

Pulp mats Straw

Wood chips Grass clippings

Planting stock
 Planting
Handle stock with care (store in cool, moist
conditions until planting)
Use a tractor planting attachment or a
planting shovel
Try to plant before a rain or water after
planting
 Maintenance
Weed control throughout shelterbelt
lifetime, but especially in first 3 years
Watering in drought
Fill in gaps left by dead/fallen trees
Meanwhile, in nature
 What if we planted
Diverse trees and shrubs with different
characteristics (e.g. suckering, nitrogen fixing,
fruiting/flowering, fast and slow growing,
deciduous/coniferous, shade/drought/salt
tolerance, thorns, rooting depth)
Native species
High density
Arranged to mimic natural patterns
Connected to existing natural areas, if possible
 5-row ecobuffer design
Key patterns:
1. 1m (3) by ~2m (6) spacing
2. Every 6th plant is a tall,
long-lived trees
3. Shorter shrubs favoured on
outside

Image credit: AAFC

 Layering of trees and shrubs

Image credit: AAFC

 3-row, 5m wide
Francis, SK
Est. 1994

6 years old

Photo credit: AAFC 16 years old

 5-row, 8m wide
Indian Head, SK
Est. 2004

Photo credit: AAFC 14 years old

Differences from traditional shelterbelt
High density
Native, diverse trees and shrubs within rows
Goal is to capture the entire site through suckering,
so plastic mulch doesnt work well
Light tilling recommended between rows for first 1-2 years
to stimulate suckering

Photo credit: AAFC

 Disadvantages of eco-buffers
More expensive to establish
5-row ecobuffer 500 trees per 100m
5-row shelterbelt 240 trees per 100m
3-row shelterbelt 170 trees per 100m
More complicated to design and plant

Photo credit: AAFC

 Advantages of eco-buffers
Less long-term weed control (2 years max)
5 years after planting

Photo credit: AAFC

 Advantages of eco-buffers
Less long-term weed control (1-2 years max)
No need to replace trees/shrubs
5-row eco-buffer
500 tree/shrubs planted, 5000 surviving 5 years later
5-row shelterbelt
350 tree/shrubs planted, 350 surviving 5 years later
 Advantages of eco-buffers
Less long-term weed control (1-2 years max)
No need to replace trees/shrubs
Density does not compromise tree/shrub
growth
 Advantages of eco-buffers
Less long-term weed control (1-2 years max)
No need to replace trees/shrubs
Density does not compromise tree/shrub
growth
Additional ecosystem services
 Potential additional/improved
ecobuffer services
Water quality enhancement and groundwater
recharge
Wildlife habitat
Nutrient cycling
Value-added products (timber/fuel/food)
Carbon sequestration
Beneficial insect habitat
 Potential additional/improved
ecobuffer services
Water quality enhancement and groundwater
recharge
Wildlife habitat
Nutrient cycling
Value-added products (timber/fuel/food)
Carbon sequestration
Beneficial insect habitat
By beneficial insects I mean
 Pollinators
Bees (300+ species native to Alberta!!)
Wasps, beetles, flies, ants, butterflies, moths
75% of flowering plants require animal
pollination
European honeybees often trucked in to do
the job
TACHNID FLY

BUMBLEBEE
 Pest suppressors
Predators and parasitoids
Majority are native
Natural pest suppression provided
$5 billion in services in Canada in
2010 (til, 2012)
BEE FLY

AMBUSH BUG PARASITOID WASP

Lasioglossum
61 species in Alberta

Photo credit: S. Javorek

Andrena 68 species in Alberta

Photo credit: S. Javorek

Bombus
(Bumble
Bees)
28 species
in Alberta
Halictus 5 species in Alberta

Photo credit: S. Javorek

Megachile 22 species in Alberta

Photo credit: S. Javorek

Osmia 27 species in Alberta
Ground beetles
Ladybird beetles
Lacewings
 Wasps
YELLOW JACKET EULOPHIDAE APHIDIIDAE

BRACONIDAE
SPHECIDAE
 Flies

SNIPE FLY
HOVERFLY

ROBBER FLY

BEE FLY

TACHNID FLY LARVAE

 Assassin bugs

Big eyed bugs

Minute pirate bugs

Ambush bugs
 Spiders
CRAB
JUMPING SPIDER SPIDER

WOLF SPIDER

HARVESTMAN
 Predatory mites

RED VELVET MITE

WHIRLIGIG MITE
Pollinating and pest suppressing
insects need
Food
Abundance of diverse flowers
Non-pest insects
Water
Shelter
Nesting and overwintering
sites
Protection from pesticides

All within ~150m!

 Diverse flowering species with different
shapes, sizes, colours, and bloom periods
64
Clumping flowering species together
makes things easy for the bees
Native flowering species are preferred

Most beneficial insects are native, and prefer

native plants
Native plants are more likely to provide habitat
for alternative sources of prey, not crop pests
Water
Nesting and overwintering sites
Bare soil south and east facing
Burrows
Rocks, boulders, brush piles
Bunch grass, shrub tussocks
Snags and deadfall
Diversity of plants to provide
resin, leaf material, hollow
stems, bark
Protection from pesticides and the elements
Wider habitats are more resilient to pesticides and
weed encroachment
Coniferous trees can reduce pesticide drift and
windspeed, and trap snow, but should be put on
north or west side to reduce shading
Putting it all together designing a shelterbelt or
eco-buffer that provides beneficial insect habitat
Putting it all together designing a shelterbelt or
eco-buffer that provides beneficial insect habitat
Notice and protect existing habitat
Connect existing habitat
Include food, shelter and
water (if necessary)
 Remember that median
foraging range is ~150m
Giving up 8% of productive land (rapeseed, wheat,
and field bean rotation) to habitat increased overall
yields over 6 years Pywell et al., 2015
 Concluding thoughts
Field margins are often neglected, but bursting
with the potential to do a lot of different things at
once
Continuing to realize this potential is central to
holistic management and organic agriculture
Shelterbelts and eco-buffers are tried and tested
design patterns to get you started
 Additional resources
AAFC website on shelterbelt design and
establishment:
http://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/science-and-
innovation/agricultural-
practices/agroforestry/shelterbelt-planning-
and-establishment/?id=1344636433852
Native Pollinators and Agriculture in Canada
AAFC Publication
http://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/461538/pu
blication.html
Field Crop and Forage Pests and their Natural
Enemies in Western Canada AAFC
Publication
http://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.629939/p
ublication.html
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate
Conservation http://www.xerces.org/
 Questions?

Luke Wonneck
l.wonneck@awes
-ab.ca
587-891-1325
 Parasitoid
abundance

Pest
abundance

Morandin et al, 2014

Giving up 8% of
productive land
(rapeseed, wheat, and
field bean rotation) to
habitat increased
overall yields over 6
years

Pywell et al., 2015