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Project properties |
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| Title | The functions of windbreak system in desert-oasis area and its planning |
| Group | Soil Physics and Land Management group |
| Project type | thesis |
| Credits | 24-39 |
| Supervisor(s) | Michel Riksen and Huijie Xiao |
| Examiner(s) | Coen Ritsema |
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| Begin date | 2020/02/09 |
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| Description | Problem context
Windbreaks form an important ecological protection of oasis in desert areas. It includes the dominant shrubby vegetation in the ecotone between desert and oasis, the windbreak shelterbelt around oasis, the farmland shelterbelt in oasis. Nowadays, due to mono-species and over-mature stage, serious diseases and insect pests occurs in the windbreak system. To re-establish the windbreak system, it is essential to evaluate the protection functions of windbreaks coping with harmful wind and its effect on mitigating secondary salinization of soil. On the basis of the study, the planning techniques could be improved as well. Research Objective/Question The objectives are to study the morphological structure of single plants and shelterbelts and their aerodynamic features; to study the air flow and sediment transport around the single plant canopy; to evaluate the effect of shelterbelt with different structures on the leeward aeolian features and microclimate; to evaluate the effects of shelterbelt on the temporal and spatial variation of the soil water and salinity; evaluate feasibility of applying the Agroforestry Decision Support System(ADSS) in China based on GIS database. What is expected from the student (type of research): It is expected that the student work actively on: - A literature review on the topic - Fieldwork including soil, shelterbelt structure and vegetation surveys - Lab analyses including soil bulk density and other physicochemical soil properties will be calculated in the laboratory (soil texture, EC, Water content, …) - Statistical analyses |
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