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Effects of degradation level and vegetation recovery age on soil erodibility of alpine grasslands on the Qinghai−Tibetan Plateau

  • Soils, Sec 5 • Soil and Landscape Ecology • Research Article
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Abstract

Purpose

The study of soil erodibility is an important step in understanding the mechanism of soil erosion, and is crucial to the sustainable development of grassland ecosystems. However, few studies have investigated the potential effects of different degradation levels and restoration ages on soil erodibility on the Qinghai−Tibetan Plateau where many alpine grasslands suffering from severe degradation have been restored for different years.

Materials and methods

In order to quantify the impact of alpine grassland degradation and restoration on soil erodibility, we selected different degradation levels (non-degraded, lightly degraded, moderately degraded, and heavily degraded) and restored ages (3, 8, 13, and 19 years) on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Soil sampling was carried out at different depths, and the microaggregate fractal dimension (Dv), multifractal theory (Dm) and erodibility factor (K) were measured and calculated to quantify the soil changes in erodibility.

Results and discussion

With the degree of degradation increased, the K value in the surface soil changed little, but the Dv value increased significantly. On the grassland recovery sequence, the K value showed a trend of increasing first and then decreasing, and the K factor and Dm of 19-y restored grasslands was reverted to the same level as that of the non-degraded site. Furthermore, the K value and Dv value increased with the increase in soil depth. Our result also shows that root biomass, microorganisms, and soil physicochemical properties including SOC, TN, TP, PSD, and MSD were all significantly correlated with K value.

Conclusions

Our research proves that restoration of alpine grassland on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau helps reduce soil erodibility, and reveals that plant roots, soil physical and chemical properties, and microorganisms play an important role in reducing soil erodibility, further deepening the influence on soil erodibility. This understanding can provide a certain theoretical basis for the sustainable development of grassland ecosystems.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank the reviewers and journal editors for their valuable comments, suggestions, and revisions of this manuscript. We also thank Xueying Huo, Zhang Yue, Chen Wenjing and Wu Yang, for their technical assistance and help in the laboratory work and Editage (www.editage.cn) for English language editing.

Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Joint Fund Project, Grant/Award Numbers: U21A20186; Natural Science Foundation of Qinghai Province Innovation Team Project, Grant/Award Number: 2021-ZJ-902; Second Qinghai[1]Tibet Plateau Comprehensive Scientific Research Project, Grant/Award Number: 2019QZKK0302-02; the Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of Shaanxi Province, China (2021JC-50); the Shaanxi Creative Talents Promotion Plan-Technological Innovation Team (2023-CX-TD-37).

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Author notes

  1. Yuanze Li, Bingbing Lu and Huakun Zhou contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A & F University, Xinong Rd. 26, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, People’s Republic of China

    Yuanze Li, Bingbing Lu, Yue Zhang, Ziwen Zhao, Wenjing Chen, Yang Wu, Ziqi Guo, Jun Jiang & Sha Xue

  2. Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Restoration Ecology in Cold Regions, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, 810000, People’s Republic of China

    Huakun Zhou

  3. State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining, 810000, People’s Republic of China

    Huakun Zhou

  4. Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, People’s Republic of China

    Sha Xue

  5. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Sha Xue

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  1. Yuanze Li
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  2. Bingbing Lu
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Correspondence to Jun Jiang or Sha Xue.

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Li, Y., Lu, B., Zhou, H. et al. Effects of degradation level and vegetation recovery age on soil erodibility of alpine grasslands on the Qinghai−Tibetan Plateau. J Soils Sediments 24, 294–306 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03593-w

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