**8.1 Live fences**

A living fence is made up of live poles in a row of trees or shrubs that delimit a property, or you can divide or parcel it out internally. Depending on the species used, it can produce firewood, wood, fodder, flowers for honey, fruits, and poles among others. They are very common in the countries of CA and one of their most important functions is the delimitation of farms, or paddocks (**Figure 10**). The most commonly used tree species as living poles are *Gliricidia sepium, Bursera simarouba, Erythrina berteroana, E. costaricensis, Spondias* spp., *Mangifera indica, Ficus isophlebia, Pochote quinata; Delonix regia*, *M. indica*, and *Simaruba glauca*, among others. The fences can be established with a single species (mono-specific), or with more than two species (multi-specific) [43–45].

*Agroforestry: An Approach for Sustainability and Climate Mitigation DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.105406*

#### **Figure 10.**

*Left: Mono-specific living fence with Erythrina berteroana poles in Sarapiquí, CR; Right: Multi-specific living fence in Bonanza, Nicaragua.*

#### **8.2 Windbreaker curtains**

A windbreaker is a linear tree plantation, which forms a barrier, to mitigate the negative effects of winds and regulate microclimate conditions, which consists of spinning multiple lines of trees, established perpendicular to the direction of the prevailing winds. They are included in the AFS when they are associated with an agricultural or livestock production system. The trees are planted in several parallel rows, and the protection depends on the height of the curtain and the compactness of the tree crown to stop the wind. It is generally accepted that a windbreaker curtain provides services and benefits to agricultural establishments. In addition, a well-managed curtain also produces timber and fuel wood. Several aspects must be considered for the design of a curtain, among them are (a) Orientation; (b) Distance between trees and between rows of trees; (c) Density; and (d) Height of trees. The height of the curtain trees is the most important factor to consider in your design, as it determines the area it protects. The maximum wind mitigation distance of a curtain varies between 15 and 20 times the height of the trees. That is, if a curtain is 10 m high, it will protect up to a distance of 150–200 m. For instance, in León, Nicaragua, curtains of three strata and five lines of *Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Leucaena leucocephala,* and

#### **Figure 11.**

*Left: Windbreaker curtain of Cupressus lusitanica (cypress) associated with horticultural crops in Ochomogo, CR. Right: Agroforestry landscape of windbreak curtains associated with horticultural crops and pastures, Cartago, CR.*

*Tecoma stans* were established to protect the soil in cotton (*Gossypium hirsutum*) fields during the dry season [46]. In CR, the cases of curtains of *Cupressus lusitánica*, from Mexico are known in high altitude areas of the Central Valley in the provinces of Heredia and Cartago (personal observations] (**Figure 11**).
