The Montérégie’s organic soils, vital for vegetable production in Quebec, are highly vulnerable to wind erosion. Their wind erosion, driven by their low particle density, high organic matter content, and poor structural stability, contributes to their high subsidence of 1–4 cm annually. This rapid erosion threatens the long-term use of these soils, as their depth is about 1.2 m, leading to their possible disappearance within the coming 20–50 years. Windbreaks are effective to reduce wind erosion in mineral soils, their performance in cultivated organic soils poorly documented. This study addresses this gap by focusing on windbreaks effectiveness as a soil conservation strategy. Windbreaks impact in mitigating wind erosion was assessed through field measurements, including soil depth samplings at varying distances from the windbreaks, and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) to detect soil erosion spatial patterns. Analysis suggested, despite variability, windbreak hedges may reduce soil erosion by up to 60% annually (to 0.8–0.9 cm year −1 ), with the most soil loss reduction closest to the windbreaks. Forest also mitigated erosion but with varying effectiveness. Both types of windbreaks were effective seasonally, with the greatest impact observed annually. Statistical analyses confirmed soil depletion decreases near windbreaks. The study showed similar trends between field and LiDAR, indicating that remote sensing could facilitate regular assessment of soil losses. LiDAR detailed subtle soil depth changes, showing erosion and deposition patterns relative to manual sampling. These findings highlight the value of windbreaks as sustainable means of conserving Quebec’s organic soils and ensuring their long-term agricultural use.
Daeichin et al. (Thu,) studied this question.