Abstract
Purpose
Soil properties are one of the most important factors affecting the distribution and growth of plants in arid and semi-arid regions, especially in the dry-hot valley of southwest China, where desertification is a serious environmental problem deteriorating the dryland ecosystems. However, the spatial variation of soil physical properties and its relationship with plant productivity in degraded slopes is not yet fully understood.
Materials and methods
In this study, three parallel downslope transects were built on a typical degraded slope in the dry-hot valley of Jinsha River, and soil physical properties (including soil particle size, bulk density (BD), total porosity (TP), capillary porosity (CP), noncapillary porosity (NP), saturated water capacity (SWC), capillary water capacity (CWC), field water capacity (FWC), and hydraulic conductivity (Ks)) at two soil depths (0–10 cm and 10–20 cm) and plant biomass (reflected by aboveground biomass) were measured.
Results and discussion
The results indicated that the sand content, TP, NP, SWC, CWC, and Ks increased firstly and then decreased, while the silt content and BD decreased firstly and then increased from upper slope to lower slope. Plant biomass was only observed in middle and lower slopes, and that in the lower slope was decreased significantly to slope foot. Slope position and soil depth had significant effects (P < 0.05) on soil physical properties, indicating that topography and soil depth play a key role in driving the spatial variation in soil physical properties. Simple linear regression analysis showed that Ks, sand, and silt content are the key soil indicators affecting plant growth, and the soil layer differences in BD, CWC, and FWC are also the important factors affecting plant productivity.
Conclusions
Our findings highlight the spatial variation of soil physical properties, and plant biomass is attributed to the interactions of topography-soil-plant, which is critical for the healthy function of degraded slopes. Such findings provide an important basis for ecological restoration and management in degraded regions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bestelmeyer BT, Okin GS, Duniway MC, Archer SR, Sayre NF, Williamson JC, Herrick JE (2015) Desertification, land use, and the transformation of global drylands. Front Ecol Environ 13:28–36. https://doi.org/10.1890/140162
Bienes R, Marques MJ, Sastre B, García-Díaz A, Ruiz-Colmenero M (2016) Eleven years after shrub revegetation in semiarid eroded soils. Influence in soil properties. Geoderma 273:106–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2016.03.023
Bordeu I, Clerc MG, Couteron P, Lefever R, Tlidi M (2016) Self-replication of localized vegetation patches in scarce environments. Sci Rep-UK 6:33703. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep33703
Butterfield BJ, Briggs JM (2009) Patch dynamics of soil biotic feedbacks in the Sonoran Desert. J Arid Environ 73:96–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2008.09.012
Chen A, Zhang D, Yan B, Lei B, Liu G (2015) Main types of soil mass failure and characteristics of their impact factors in the Yuanmou Valley, China. Catena 125:82–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2014.10.011
Chen H et al (2018) Effects of vegetation and rainfall types on surface runoff and soil erosion on steep slopes on the Loess Plateau, China. Catena 170:141–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2018.06.006
Chen J, Xiao H, Li Z, Liu C, Wang D, Wang L, Tang C (2019) Threshold effects of vegetation coverage on soil erosion control in small watersheds of the red soil hilly region in China. Ecol Eng 132:109–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2019.04.010
Cui Y, Fang L, Guo X, Han F, Ju W, Ye L, Wang X, Tan W, Zhang X (2019) Natural grassland as the optimal pattern of vegetation restoration in arid and semi-arid regions: evidence from nutrient limitation of soil microbes. Sci Total Environ 648:388–397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.173
Daryanto S, Eldridge DJ, Koen TB (2012) Soil nutrients under shrub hummocks and debris mounds two decades after ploughing. Plant Soil 351:405–419. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-0978-5
Dong Y, Xiong D, Za S, Yang D, Zheng X, Shi L, Poesen J (2018) Effects of vegetation buffer strips on concentrated flow hydraulics and gully bed erosion based on in situ scouring experiments. Land Degrad Dev 29:1672–1682. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2943
Dong Y, Xiong D, Su Z, Duan X, Lu X, Zhang S, Yuan Y (2019) The influences of mass failure on the erosion and hydraulic processes of gully headcuts based on an in situ scouring experiment in dry-hot valley of China. Catena 176:14–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2019.01.004
Ehrenfeld JG, Ravit B, Elgersma KJ (2005) Feedback in the plant-soil system. Annu Rev Environ Resour 30:75–115. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.energy.30.050504.144212
Ferrante D, Oliva GE, Fernández RJ (2014) Soil water dynamics, root systems, and plant responses in a semiarid grassland of southern Patagonia. J Arid Environ 104:52–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2014.01.009
Fu B-J, Wang S, Liu Y, Liu J, Liang W, Miao C (2017) Hydrogeomorphic ecosystem responses to natural and anthropogenic changes in the Loess Plateau of China. Annu Rev Earth Planet Sci 45:223–243. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-063016-020552
Gaitán JJ et al (2018) Aridity and overgrazing have convergent effects on ecosystem structure and functioning in Patagonian rangelands. Land Degrad Dev 29:210–218. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2694
Gallardo A, Rodríguez-Saucedo JJ, Covelo F, Fernández-Alés R (2000) Soil nitrogen heterogeneity in a Dehesa ecosystem. Plant Soil 222:71–82. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004725927358
He Y-r, Huang C-m, Gong A-d, Zhang D, Yang W (2001) An approach to the mechanism of soil degradation in dry and hot valley region of Jinsha River, Yunnan Province--effeet of disparity in features of parent materials on soil degradation. Southwest China. J Agric Sci 9–13 (in Chinese)
Hou J, Fu B (2014) Research on the relationship between vegetation and soil resource patterns on lands abandoned at different times. Catena 115:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2013.11.009
Kong W et al (2019) Effects of vegetation and slope aspect on soil nitrogen mineralization during the growing season in sloping lands of the Loess Plateau. Catena 172:753–763. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2018.09.037
Lal R (2001) Soil degradation by erosion. Land Degrad Dev 12:519–539. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.472
Li P-X et al (2008) Fertile islands under Artemisia ordosica in inland dunes of northern China: effects of habitats and plant developmental stages. J Arid Environ 72:953–963. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2007.11.004
Liu F-y, Li K, Sun Y-y, Tang G-y, Zhang C-h (2010) Effects of climate on vegetation recovery in dry-hot valleys of Hengduan mountainous region in southwest China. Resour Environ Yangtze Basin 19:1386–1391 (in Chinese)
Liu J, Li X, Ji Z, Zhang J, Zhang L, Zhou Y (2011) Soil water holding capacities and infiltration characteristics of three vegetation restoration models in dry-hot valley of Yuanmou. Acta Ecol Sin 31:2331–2340 (in Chinese)
Liu Z, Huang X, Wang K (2014) Soil infiltration characteristics and its influencing factors of different land use in the dry-hot valley region of Jinsha River. J Soil Water Conserv 28:57–62 (in Chinese)
Liu S, Hou X, Yang M, Cheng F, Coxixo A, Wu X, Zhang Y (2018) Factors driving the relationships between vegetation and soil properties in the Yellow River Delta, China. Catena 165:279–285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2018.02.004
Liu Q, Liu G, Huang C, Li H (2019) Soil physicochemical properties associated with quasi-circular vegetation patches in the Yellow River Delta, China. Geoderma 337:202–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2018.09.021
Ludwig JA, Wilcox BP, Breshears DD, Tongway DJ, Imeson AC (2005) Vegetation patches and runoff-erosion as interacting ecohydrological processes in semiarid landscapes. Ecology 86:288–297. https://doi.org/10.1890/03-0569
Ma X-h, Jiao J-y(2004) Research progresses in interaction between vegetation restoration and soil environment in the Loess Plateau. Res Soil Water Conserv 157–161 (in Chinese)
Maestre F, Eldridge DJ, Soliveres S, Kéfi S, Delgado-Baquerizo M, Bowker MA, García-Palacios P, Gaitán J, Gallardo A, Lázaro R, Berdugo M (2016) Structure and functioning of dryland ecosystems in a changing world. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 47:215–237. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-121415-032311
Méndez-Toribio M, Ibarra-Manríquez G, Navarrete-Segueda A, Paz H (2017) Topographic position, but not slope aspect, drives the dominance of functional strategies of tropical dry forest trees. Environ Res Lett 12:085002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa717b
Mora JL, Lázaro R (2013) Evidence of a threshold in soil erodibility generating differences in vegetation development and resilience between two semiarid grasslands. J Arid Environ 89:57–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2012.10.005
Oliveira Filho JS, Vieira JN, Ribeiro da Silva EM, Beserra de Oliveira JG, Pereira MG, Brasileiro FG (2019) Assessing the effects of 17 years of grazing exclusion in degraded semi-arid soils: evaluation of soil fertility, nutrients pools and stoichiometry. J Arid Environ 166:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2019.03.006
Prăvălie R (2016) Drylands extent and environmental issues. A global approach. Earth Sci Rev 161:259–278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.08.003
Qu W-j, Chen L, Wang L, Wang X, N-p S, Yang X-g (2019) Local soil hydrological effects of nebkha creation in a degraded artificial Caragana shrubland. Ecol Eng 131:27–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2019.02.017
Reynolds JF, Smith DM, Lambin EF, Turner BL 2nd, Mortimore M, Batterbury SP, Downing TE, Dowlatabadi H, Fernández RJ, Herrick JE, Huber-Sannwald E, Jiang H, Leemans R, Lynam T, Maestre FT, Ayarza M, Walker B (2007) Global desertification: building a science for dryland development. Science 316:847–851. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1131634
Saco PM, Moreno-de las Heras M, Keesstra S, Baartman J, Yetemen O, Rodríguez JF (2018) Vegetation and soil degradation in drylands: non linear feedbacks and early warning signals. Curr Opin Environ Sci Health 5:67–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coesh.2018.06.001
Schade JD, Hobbie SE (2005) Spatial and temporal variation in islands of fertility in the Sonoran Desert. Biogeochemistry 73:541–553. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-004-1718-1
Schlesinger W, Reynolds JF, Cunningham GL, Huenneke L, Jarrell WM, Virginia R, Whitford W (1990) Biological feedbacks in global desertification. Science 247:1043–1048. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.247.4946.1043
Su Z, Xiong D, Dong Y, Li J, Yang D, Zhang J, He G (2014) Simulated headward erosion of bank gullies in the dry-hot valley region of Southwest China. Geomorphology 204:532–541. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2013.08.033
Sui H, Xie J, Tang Y, Huang X (2004) Impacts of hedgerow intercropping on soil water parameters of degraded slopeland in dry valley of the Jinsha River. Res Soil Water Conserv 25–27+40 (in Chinese)
Wang B, Wang Y (2019) Relationships between the characteristics of soil and understory in a Pinus massoniana forest in southern China. Catena 176:352–361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2019.01.034
Wang X, Zhong X, Fan J, Li H (2005) Study on the morphological characteristics of the gully heads in Yuanmou Basin, dry-hot valley of Jinsha River, China. Sci Geogr Sin 63–67 (in Chinese)
Wang Y, Fu B, Lü Y, Chen L (2011) Effects of vegetation restoration on soil organic carbon sequestration at multiple scales in semi-arid Loess Plateau, China. Catena 85:58–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2010.12.003
Wang X, Wang B, Xu X, Liu T, Duan Y, Zhao Y (2018) Spatial and temporal variations in surface soil moisture and vegetation cover in the Loess Plateau from 2000 to 2015. Ecol Indic 95:320–330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.07.058
Wei W, Feng X, Yang L, Chen L, Feng T, Chen D (2019) The effects of terracing and vegetation on soil moisture retention in a dry hilly catchment in China. Sci Total Environ 647:1323–1332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.037
Wezel A, Rajot JL, Herbrig C (2000) Influence of shrubs on soil characteristics and their function in Sahelian agro-ecosystems in semi-arid Niger. J Arid Environ 44:383–398. https://doi.org/10.1006/jare.1999.0609
Wiesmeier M et al (2019) Soil organic carbon storage as a key function of soils - a review of drivers and indicators at various scales. Geoderma 333:149–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2018.07.026
Wu H, Xiong DH, Xiao L, Zhang S, Yuan Y, Su ZA, Zhang BJ, Yang D (2018) Effects of vegetation coverage and seasonal change on soil microbial biomass and community structure in the dry-hot valley region. J Mt Sci 15:1546–1558. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-017-4650-2
Yang R et al (2015) The response of plant functional traits’ group to gradients of altitude in dry-hot valley of Yuanmou. Ecol Environ Sci 24:49–56 (in Chinese)
Yu Y, Wei W, Chen L, Feng T, Daryanto S (2019) Quantifying the effects of precipitation, vegetation, and land preparation techniques on runoff and soil erosion in a Loess watershed of China. Sci Total Environ 652:755–764. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.255
Yuan Z-Q, Fang C, Zhang R, Li F-M, Javaid MM, Janssens IA (2019) Topographic influences on soil properties and aboveground biomass in lucerne-rich vegetation in a semi-arid environment. Geoderma 344:137–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2019.03.003
Zhang J, Tian G, Li Y, Lindstrom M (2002) Requirements for success of reforestation projects in a semiarid low-mountain region of the Jinsha River Basin, southwestern China. Land Degrad Dev 13:395–401. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.521
Zhang X, Yang Z, Zang J (2003) Lithologic types on hill slopes and revegetation zoning in the Yuanmou hot and dry valley. Sci Silvae Sin 39:16–22 (in Chinese)
Zhang X, Zhao W, Wang L, Liu Y, Liu Y, Feng Q (2019) Relationship between soil water content and soil particle size on typical slopes of the Loess Plateau during a drought year. Sci Total Environ 648:943–954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.211
Zhong X (2000) Degradation of ecosystem and ways of its rehabilitation and reconstruction in dry and hot valley. Resour Environ Yangtze Basin 376–383 (in Chinese)
Zhu Y-M, Lu XX, Zhou Y (2008) Sediment flux sensitivity to climate change: a case study in the Longchuanjiang catchment of the upper Yangtze River, China. Glob Planet Chang 60:429–442. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2007.05.001
Zhu X, Liu W, Jiang XJ, Wang P, Li W (2018) Effects of land-use changes on runoff and sediment yield: implications for soil conservation and forest management in Xishuangbanna, southwest China. Land Degrad Dev 29:2962–2974. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.3068
Funding
This research was funded by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant no. XDA20020401), the Applied Basic Research Program of Sichuan (grant no. 2018JY0545), and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant number 2017YFC0505102).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Responsible editor: Zhihong Xu
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yuan, Y., Xiong, D., Wu, H. et al. Spatial variation of soil physical properties and its relationship with plant biomass in degraded slopes in dry-hot valley region of Southwest China. J Soils Sediments 20, 2354–2366 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02617-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02617-z