Agroforestry in arid areas for reducing the impact of drought and soil degradation on agricultural production

Agricultural production in arid areas struggles to meet modern environmental management challenges. Unsustainable practices under drought conditions have led to soil fertility loss, structural damage, erosion, and deflation, negatively affecting crop yields. The solution lies in adopting resource-efficient, nature-based technologies. Agroforestry systems effectively combat drought and land degradation in arid regions, mitigating these issues and enhancing agricultural productivity. To identify the role of protective forest plantations in the economy of agricultural production, an assessment was carried out on the gross wheat harvest and net income from its sale with minor and active wind activity under various agroforestry strategies. A comparison of various options for afforestation of fields in the steppe zone of the Volgograd region (Russia) showed that the greater the protection of fields due to the convergence of distances between protective plantations, the higher the efficiency of agroforestry. The cost of mitigating the effects of drought and soil degradation in agroforestry systems with low intensity is USD 12-USD 25 per 1 ha of forested land use. With an increase in the intensity of degradation to the level of a dust storm, the cost of mitigating its consequences is USD 171-USD 280. This indicates the great relevance and economic feasibility of forest reclamation measures in the region.