Rehabilitation time has greater influences on soil mechanical composition and erodibility than does rehabilitation land type in the hilly-gully region of the Loess Plateau, China
Background The major landscape in the hilly-gully region of the Loess Plateau is greatly affected by vegetation rehabilitation on abandoned cropland. Although many studies have shown that the rehabilitation have greatly improved soil conditions and protected them from erosion, these effectiveness we...
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PeerJ Inc.
2019-11-01
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| author | Leilei Qiao Wenjing Chen Yang Wu Hongfei Liu Jiaoyang Zhang Guobin Liu Sha Xue |
| author_facet | Leilei Qiao Wenjing Chen Yang Wu Hongfei Liu Jiaoyang Zhang Guobin Liu Sha Xue |
| author_sort | Leilei Qiao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background The major landscape in the hilly-gully region of the Loess Plateau is greatly affected by vegetation rehabilitation on abandoned cropland. Although many studies have shown that the rehabilitation have greatly improved soil conditions and protected them from erosion, these effectiveness were not always in consensus possibly due to the land type of vegetation or to the rehabilitation time. To close this gap, we conducted a long term experiment as follows. Methods In this study, we analysed four land types of vegetation rehabilitation (shrub land, woodland, naturally revegetated grassland, and orchard land) with different rehabilitation times and investigated the mechanical composition and erodibility of the soil. Areas of slope croplandand natural forest were selected as controls. Results The results showed that soil depth, rehabilitation time and rehabilitation land type had strong impacts on soil mechanical composition, micro-aggregation and erodibility. Following rehabilitation, naturally revegetated grassland and shrub land had lower fractal dimensions of particle size distribution (fractal dimensions of PSD), fractal dimensions of micro-aggregation, and erodibility (K factor) than did cropland. Compared to the positive effects of rehabilitation mainly happened in the topsoil layer at other rehabilitation land type, that of woodland happened in the deeper soil layer. Besides, the indispensable rehabilitation time for the significant improvement of soil condition was shorter at naturally revegetated grassland than that at shrub land and woodland. Discussion Although rehabilitation time was more influential than was rehabilitation land type or soil depth, the differences among the rehabilitation land types showed that naturally revegetated grassland with native plants is the most time-saving rehabilitation vegetation for the Loess Plateau in the conversion from slope cropland. The success of rehabilitation in this forestry practice was mainly contributed by the suited species of rehabilitation land type to the local climate and soil. Based on the differences of rehabilitation effectiveness resulting from land type, we should be cautious to choose land types for the rehabilitation of soil conditions in the Loess Plateau. |
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| language | English |
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| spelling | doaj.art-84e419b78f71436795514ae99e07dc5a2023-12-03T09:19:20ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592019-11-017e809010.7717/peerj.8090Rehabilitation time has greater influences on soil mechanical composition and erodibility than does rehabilitation land type in the hilly-gully region of the Loess Plateau, ChinaLeilei Qiao0Wenjing Chen1Yang Wu2Hongfei Liu3Jiaoyang Zhang4Guobin Liu5Sha Xue6State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, ChinaCollage of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, ChinaCollage of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, ChinaInstitute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, ChinaShaanxi Key Laboratory of Land Consolidation, Chang’an University, Xi’an, ChinaBackground The major landscape in the hilly-gully region of the Loess Plateau is greatly affected by vegetation rehabilitation on abandoned cropland. Although many studies have shown that the rehabilitation have greatly improved soil conditions and protected them from erosion, these effectiveness were not always in consensus possibly due to the land type of vegetation or to the rehabilitation time. To close this gap, we conducted a long term experiment as follows. Methods In this study, we analysed four land types of vegetation rehabilitation (shrub land, woodland, naturally revegetated grassland, and orchard land) with different rehabilitation times and investigated the mechanical composition and erodibility of the soil. Areas of slope croplandand natural forest were selected as controls. Results The results showed that soil depth, rehabilitation time and rehabilitation land type had strong impacts on soil mechanical composition, micro-aggregation and erodibility. Following rehabilitation, naturally revegetated grassland and shrub land had lower fractal dimensions of particle size distribution (fractal dimensions of PSD), fractal dimensions of micro-aggregation, and erodibility (K factor) than did cropland. Compared to the positive effects of rehabilitation mainly happened in the topsoil layer at other rehabilitation land type, that of woodland happened in the deeper soil layer. Besides, the indispensable rehabilitation time for the significant improvement of soil condition was shorter at naturally revegetated grassland than that at shrub land and woodland. Discussion Although rehabilitation time was more influential than was rehabilitation land type or soil depth, the differences among the rehabilitation land types showed that naturally revegetated grassland with native plants is the most time-saving rehabilitation vegetation for the Loess Plateau in the conversion from slope cropland. The success of rehabilitation in this forestry practice was mainly contributed by the suited species of rehabilitation land type to the local climate and soil. Based on the differences of rehabilitation effectiveness resulting from land type, we should be cautious to choose land types for the rehabilitation of soil conditions in the Loess Plateau.https://peerj.com/articles/8090.pdfErosionFractal dimensionLoess PlateauVegetation rehabilitation |
| spellingShingle | Leilei Qiao Wenjing Chen Yang Wu Hongfei Liu Jiaoyang Zhang Guobin Liu Sha Xue Rehabilitation time has greater influences on soil mechanical composition and erodibility than does rehabilitation land type in the hilly-gully region of the Loess Plateau, China PeerJ Erosion Fractal dimension Loess Plateau Vegetation rehabilitation |
| title | Rehabilitation time has greater influences on soil mechanical composition and erodibility than does rehabilitation land type in the hilly-gully region of the Loess Plateau, China |
| title_full | Rehabilitation time has greater influences on soil mechanical composition and erodibility than does rehabilitation land type in the hilly-gully region of the Loess Plateau, China |
| title_fullStr | Rehabilitation time has greater influences on soil mechanical composition and erodibility than does rehabilitation land type in the hilly-gully region of the Loess Plateau, China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rehabilitation time has greater influences on soil mechanical composition and erodibility than does rehabilitation land type in the hilly-gully region of the Loess Plateau, China |
| title_short | Rehabilitation time has greater influences on soil mechanical composition and erodibility than does rehabilitation land type in the hilly-gully region of the Loess Plateau, China |
| title_sort | rehabilitation time has greater influences on soil mechanical composition and erodibility than does rehabilitation land type in the hilly gully region of the loess plateau china |
| topic | Erosion Fractal dimension Loess Plateau Vegetation rehabilitation |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/8090.pdf |
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