Soil water depletion patterns of artificial forest species and ages on the Loess Plateau (China)

Liu, Yü; Miao, H.; Huang, Ze; Cui, Zeng; He, Honghua; Zheng, Jiyong; Han, Fengpeng; Chang, Xiaofeng; Wu, Gao‐Lin

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2018.03.005

Cited by 85 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Therefore, the retaining capacity of soil water in deep layers could be considered as identical among vegetation types. In the present study, shrubland with lower soil bulk density and moderate soil texture compositions had higher SWC (Table and Figure ), which is consistent with the results of Duan et al () and Liu et al (). These features also had positive impacts on the response of shrubland soil moisture to precipitation, as reflected by a steeper slope between ΔSWS t to precipitation (Figure ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…In the present study, the shrubland showed higher soil water content, whereas dry soil layers might have developed in the land planted with black locust in its deep soil layers. Vegetation reconstruction or restoration should be adapted to local conditions, which means that proper vegetation types are supposed to be selected according to precipitation and soil water conditions (Liu et al, ; Wang et al, ). For example, it was reported that black locust and understory species exerted favourable ecological effects in the regions with annual precipitation of more than 500 mm (Jin et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Soil moisture variations in response to precipitation in different vegetation types: A multi‐year study in the loess hilly region in China

et al. 2020

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Vegetation restoration has been widely implemented as an effective approach to the control of soil erosion. However, severe soil desiccation is likely to occur if vegetation types and local precipitation conditions are not accounted for. In this study, an abandoned farmland and three typical vegetation types, including a natural shrubland, a plantation of black locust, and a natural oak secondary forest, were investigated to determine the characteristics of soil moisture in different hydrological years. The responses of soil moisture to precipitation were analysed at different timescales. Higher soil water contents were observed either in wet years or for natural vegetation types. The temporal response of soil moisture to precipitation was largely dependent on the timescale. At monthly scale, shallow soil moisture (0–100 cm) varied consistently with precipitation, whereas on interannual scale, precipitation is positively related to soil moisture along the whole profiles. Black locust and oak lands consumed more soil moisture than the shrubland, and severe soil desiccation developed in deep soil layers in the black locust plantation. The shrubland showed steeper regression slopes than other types for both the changes in soil water storage over time (ΔSWSt) versus the growing season precipitation and the difference in soil water storage with the abandoned farmland (ΔSWSv) versus the growing season precipitation, suggesting its higher adaptability to precipitation changes in this region. The results indicate that the shrubland develops optimal water use strategies through coevolution with local conditions and should be given precedence in vegetation restoration initiatives in this region.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil moisture variations in response to precipitation in different vegetation types: A multi‐year study in the loess hilly region in China

et al. 2020

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“…Strikingly, more water evaporated under comparable LAI and climate conditions for younger than older stands. This is because the impact of forests on water resources depends on age, as research on discharge and soil water reduction through afforestation has demonstrated (Liu et al, 2018;Nan, Wang, Jiao, Zhu, & Sun, 2019;Scott & Prinsloo, 2009;Wang et al, 2012).…”

Section: Reliability Of Measured Water Cycle Componentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How afforestation affects the water cycle in drylands: A process‐based comparative analysis

Schwärzel

Zhang

Montanarella

et al. 2019

Global Change Biology

146

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The world's largest afforestation programs implemented by China made a great contribution to the global “greening up.” These programs have received worldwide attention due to its contribution toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. However, emerging studies have suggested that these campaigns, when not properly implemented, resulted in unintended ecological and water security concerns at the regional scale. While mounting evidence shows that afforestation causes substantial reduction in water yield at the watershed scale, process‐based studies on how forest plantations alter the partitioning of rainwater and affect water balance components in natural vegetation are still lacking at the plot scale. This lack of science‐based data prevents a comprehensive understanding of forest‐related ecosystem services such as soil conservation and water supply under climate change. The present study represents the first “Paired Plot” study of the water balance of afforestation on the Loess Plateau. We investigate the effects of forest structure and environmental factors on the full water cycle in a typical multilayer plantation forest composed of black locust, one of the most popular tree species for plantations worldwide. We measure the ecohydrological components of a black locust versus natural grassland on adjacent sites. The startling finding of this study is that, contrary to the general belief, the understory—instead of the overstory—was the main water consumer in this plantation. Moreover, there is a strict physiological regulation of forest transpiration. In contrast to grassland, annual seepage under the forest was minor in years with an average rainfall. We conclude that global long‐term greening efforts in drylands require careful ecohydrologic evaluation so that green and blue water trade‐offs are properly addressed. This is especially important for reforestation‐based watershed land management, that aims at carbon sequestration in mitigating climate change while maintaining regional water security, to be effective on a large scale.

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“…Maximizing precipitation infiltration and reducing run-off are critical factors for vegetation restoration and soil and water conservation in semiarid areas. Vegetation type and community composition also impact soil water dynamics (Fischer et al, 2018;Liu et al, 2018), soil properties (Don et al, 2015;Sibylle et al, 2008), and soil hydraulic characteristics (Huang, Tian, Wu, Liu, & Dang, 2017;Wu, Liu, Yang, et al, 2017). PSD also influences soil hydraulic properties.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Higher species diversity improves soil water infiltration capacity by increasing soil organic matter content in semiarid grasslands

et al. 2019

Self Cite

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Understanding the mechanisms mediating biodiversity effects on ecosystem functions and services is considered a core issue in ecological and environmental sciences. We studied the direct and indirect effects of plant diversity on soil organic carbon storage and soil infiltration capacity in semiarid grasslands. Plant species diversity enhances soil organic carbon and soil infiltration capacity via multiple plant–soil feedback mechanisms in long‐term natural restoration grasslands. Plant species diversity increases community productivity, resulting in increasing soil carbon storage, which improves soil infiltration capacity by influencing soil aggregate stability and porosity. The present study indicates that plant species diversity is conducive to increasing atmospheric CO2 sequestration and reducing the risk of soil erosion. Our study provides a framework for interpreting the relationships among plant species diversity, soil organic carbon, and soil infiltration capacity to understand plant–soil feedback mechanisms in semiarid grasslands.

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Soil water depletion patterns of artificial forest species and ages on the Loess Plateau (China)

Cited by 85 publications

References 32 publications

Soil moisture variations in response to precipitation in different vegetation types: A multi‐year study in the loess hilly region in China

Soil moisture variations in response to precipitation in different vegetation types: A multi‐year study in the loess hilly region in China

How afforestation affects the water cycle in drylands: A process‐based comparative analysis

Higher species diversity improves soil water infiltration capacity by increasing soil organic matter content in semiarid grasslands

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