2020. Effects of ecological restoration on soil properties of the aeolian sandy land around Lhasa, southern Tibetan Plateau. Ecosphere 11(1):e03009.Abstract. The ecological restoration of aeolian sandy land has not only improved the function of ecosystem services, such as wind prevention and sand fixation, but has also indirectly reduced the regional economic losses caused by sandstorms. However, the interaction between vegetation and soil properties after natural and artificial restoration of the sandy land in southern Tibetan Plateau has not been sufficiently studied. In the present study, we selected four vegetation types, including artificial forest (A), revegetated shrub (B), natural shrub (C), and natural grassland (D), in the sandy land in the middle reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River basin, Tibet, China, and investigated the changes in soil particle size and nutrients at depths of 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm, finally examining the potential relationships between soil properties and leaf nutrients. Our results indicated that in the topsoil (0-20 cm), the natural shrub (C) and natural grassland (D) have greater silt content, recorded as 50.77% and 62.16%, respectively, compared to the artificial forest (A) and revegetated shrub (B). Natural grassland (D) had the highest silt content and the lowest soil bulk density (SBD) among the four vegetation types. There was no significant difference in the soil organic matter (SOM) in the topsoil of the different vegetation types. However, at the depth of 20-40 cm, the SOM content of the different vegetation types was in the following order: natural grassland (D) (23.37 g/ kg) > natural shrub (C) (17.42 g/kg) > revegetated shrub (B) (14.85 g/kg) > artificial forest (A) (8.43 g/kg). The ammonium nitrogen content in the revegetated shrub (B) was higher compared to the other vegetation types. The SOM content was significantly correlated with the total phosphorus (TP) and available phosphorus (AP) of the sandy land. The leaf total carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus exhibited a positive correlation with SBD, AP, and available potassium. These findings can provide useful information to optimize the patterns of natural and artificial restoration for controlling desertification in similar eco-regions.
The Tibetan Plateau, a vulnerable eco-region undergoing global change, is hard to revegetate where land has become desertified due to the harsh habitat conditions. Sophora moorcroftiana shrubs, which are widely distributed in the middle reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River basin of Tibet, China, have been naturally restored on desertified land during the last few decades. However, the influences of microtopography on the distribution and structure of the S. moorcroftiana population have been rarely reported. Here, we first describe the spatial variation of S. moorcroftiana population on a restored alluvial fan, and then explore the effects of microtopography on the restored S. moorcroftiana population, through a series of field surveys combined with the data collected by terrestrial laser scanning. The results indicate that the dominant age structure was adult shrubs (30-60 cm). Although the topographic effect had no significant impacts on soil organic matter and some other structural traits, which remained stable on the restored alluvial fan, it changed population density, plant growth, and distribution. The habitat conditions on the southwest aspect wapproximately 20-25 slope with altitudes ranging between 3,593-3,643 m, conditions that mostly favouring the distribution of the shrub population. The micro-topography played an important role in species distribution and growth of the S. moorcroftiana population. Our findings could help to understand the effect of micro-topography on plant population structure and distribution for ecological restoration of desertified land in the Southern Tibetan Plateau.
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