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Effects of vegetation restoration on soil physical properties of abandoned farmland on the Loess Plateau, China

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Abstract

To improve the ecological environment in China, the Chinese government implemented a country-wide ecological protection and reforestation project (namely the “Grain for Green Project”) in 1999 to return cultivated land with slopes of 25° or more to perennial vegetation. Vegetation restoration reduces soil erosion mainly by changing the soil physical properties. Different vegetation restoration methods might produce different impacts on soil physical properties. In this study, two vegetation restoration methods (i.e., natural restoration and artificial restoration) were compared on abandoned farmland in the typically hilly and gullied areas of the Loess Plateau of Northwest China. In the natural restoration method, the farmland was abandoned to natural vegetation succession without irrigation, fertilization or other artificial disturbances. In the artificial restoration method, the farmland was planted with black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) and watered and cultivated for the first two years. Three soil physical properties (i.e., soil moisture, bulk density and aggregation) were investigated under the two vegetation restoration methods. The results showed that the soil moisture and soil bulk density were higher under artificial restoration than under natural restoration within the first three years of vegetation restoration. By the fourth year, the soil moisture and soil bulk density were higher under natural restoration than under artificial restoration. For the stability of soil aggregates > 0.25 mm, the soil aggregates in the 0-20 cm soil layer were more stable under artificial restoration than under natural restoration, while the results were the opposite for the 40-60 cm soil layer. Overall, the soil physical properties were continuously improved during the restoration of vegetation on abandoned farmland. In choosing between vegetation restoration methods, natural restoration is preferable to artificial restoration, but artificial intervention is needed during the first three years.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China project titled “The quantified method of vegetation distribution in watershed and its effect on soil and water loss on Loess Plateau” (No. 51609196).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Eco-hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China

    Jing Li, Zhanbin Li, Mengjing Guo, Peng Li, Shengdong Cheng & Bo Yuan

Authors
  1. Jing Li
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  2. Zhanbin Li
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  3. Mengjing Guo
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  4. Peng Li
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  5. Shengdong Cheng
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  6. Bo Yuan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mengjing Guo.

Additional information

This article is a part of a Topical Collection in Environmental Earth Sciences on Water resources development and protection in loess areas of the world, edited by Drs. Peiyue Li and Hui Qian.

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Li, J., Li, Z., Guo, M. et al. Effects of vegetation restoration on soil physical properties of abandoned farmland on the Loess Plateau, China. Environ Earth Sci 77, 205 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7385-7

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