Meteorological characteristic and evaluation of hedgerow windbreak effect in agricultural lands in Djibouti based on wind dynamics simulation

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify the meteorological characteristics of a farm at Dikhil in Djibouti and to evaluate the windbreak effect of hedgerows to plan and design a pilot farm in Ali Faren based on wind dynamics simulated using observed meteorological parameters. The analysis of meteorological observations at Dikhil farm showed that the east-northeast winds from October to April were twice as strong as the southerly winds from May to September. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of the inflow from the east-northeast at a height of 3 m above the ground level confirmed that the windbreak effect of the hedgerows on the leeward side was effective in protecting the vegetable fields. The observations from the Ali Faren pilot farm indicated that the south-southeast prevailing winds blow throughout the year. The CFD analysis of the inflow from the south-southeast at a height of 3 m above the ground confirmed that the windbreak effect of several scenarios of hedgerow planning at the Ali Faren pilot farm was effective.