Effects of vegetation restoration types on soil quality in Yuanmou dry-hot valley, China

Abstract

Soil erosion has resulted in serious land degradation in Yuanmou dry-hot valley, Yunnan province, China. Vegetation restoration had been widely developed in this hot and arid area. In this work we investigate the quality of rhizosphere soils under four restoration species in the towns of Zuolin (gully bed) and Yuanma (slope area). [pH, soil organic matter, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) contents], and microbial (microbial biomass and microbe quantity) properties and soil enzyme (catalase, protease and urease) activities were determined. Compared to the soils collected from other vegetation types, the soil under Leucaena leucocephala had the highest content of soil organic matter, total N, available N, total P, available P, available K, microbial biomass carbon (C), and the highest microbe quantity and enzyme activities. Five parameters (organic matter, pH, microbial biomass N, total K and protease activity), which had the greatest weight in the principal components analysis, were selected to calculate the soil quality index (SQI). The final SQI values implied that restoring Leucaena leucocephala greatly improved the soil quality, while restoration with Eucalyptus camaldulensis decreased the soil quality of the slope area. Plant recovery with Dodonaea viscosa and Heteropogon contortus on the gully bed affected the population of soil microbial communities but didn't improve the SQI values. It can therefore be seen that types of plants used for recovery in gully-developed regions in dry-hot valleys must be chosen cautiously: Leucaena leucocephala is a good choice for soil revegetation of the slope area, but the revegetation patterns on the gully bed still need further study.

Stratification ratio of soil organic carbon as an indicator of carbon sequestration and soil quality in ecological restoration

“…Based on the space‐for‐time substitution we explored the dynamics of SOC storage following revegetation. Similar as the existing studies in other regions (Arai et al ; Peng et al ), we found SOC content and soil quality could be significantly improved in long‐term ecological restorations in the hilly Loess Plateau region. China's terrestrial biosphere in the twentieth century was found to be a net sink of 0.19–0.26 pg·yr −1 ·C during the 1980s and 1990s.…”

Rapid Sequestration of Ecosystem Carbon in 30-year Reforestation with Mixed Species in Dry Hot Valley of the Jinsha River

“…Surface SOC accumulation rate in this study ranged from 0.46 to 1.29 t C ha −1 yr −1 (Figure 2). It is also higher than other reports in the same region [16,22,23]. Tang and Li found that in the dry hot valley, surface SOC sequestration rate of 20-year-old L. leuc ocephala plantation was 0.47 t C ha −1 yr −1 [22].…”

“…This study was conducted in parts of Ningnan county of Sichuan province and Dongchuan municipality of Yunnan province, which is located in dry hot valley of the lower Jinsha River in southwestern China. The climate, soil type, and vegetation have been reported in the former studies in this area [16,17]. Seven mixed plantations of different ages (9–30 years) established with Leucaena leucocephala and other species, were selected, six in Ningnan and one in Dongchuan (Table 1).…”

A soil quality index for seven productive landscapes in the Andean-Amazonian foothills of Ecuador

“…Soil quality has suffered a remarkable degradation worldwide as a consequence of anthropogenic and natural disturbances (Peng et al, 2013;Pla, 2010;Zhang et al, 2019). The Ecuadorian Amazon Region is particularly susceptible to severe soil degradation due to its special geological conditions and fragile ecosystems (Bravo, Marín, et al, 2017;Custode & Sourdat, 1986;Espinosa et al, 2018;Nieto & Caicedo, 2012).…”

“…Physical and chemical properties have been commonly used to characterise soil quality in areas that are subject to changes in land use (Cantú et al, 2007;Masto et al, 2008;Ngo-Mbogba et al, 2015;Vallejo-Quintero, 2013) and experience various states of restoration (Peng et al, 2013;Viana et al, 2014;Zhang et al, 2019). In the Argentinian Pampas, it was found that the soil quality index obtained by a minimum set of indicators was strongly influenced by soil organic carbon (SOC), which was the property most affected by land use change (Cantú et al, 2007).…”