A windbreak or shelterbelt is a plantation usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted around the edges of fields on farms. If designed properly, windbreaks around a home can reduce the cost of heating and cooling and save energy. Windbreaks are also planted to help keep snow from drifting onto roadways and even yards. Other benefits include providing habitat for wildlife and in some regions the trees are harvested for wood products.
A further use for a shelterbelt is to screen a farm from a main road or motorway. This improves the farm landscape by reducing the visual incursion of the motorway, mitigating noise from the traffic and providing a safe barrier between farm animals and the road.
A further use for 'windbreaks' is for a retail item used on the beach and camping to prevent wind from disturbing social enjoyment. Americans tend to use the term windbreaker whereas Europeans favour the term 'windbreak'. Normally made from cotton, nylon, canvas and recycled sails, windbreaks tend to have three or more panels, held in place with poles that slide into pockets sewn into the panel. The poles are then hammered into the ground and a windbreak is formed.
Forest strips planted on a limited scale started no earlier than the 19th century. Some of the early forest strips, such as the late-19th century Genko's Forest Belt in Russia's Ulyanovsk Oblast, have been declared nature reserves now.
Afforestation projects involving large-scale planting of shelterbelts have been more than once proposed by governments as a way to reduce soil erosion and improve microclimate in otherwise treeless agricultural areas.