Soil and water loss in karst areas seriously restricts the sustainable development of karst ecosystems, the economy and society in southwest China, which has been a concern of, and studied by, many scholars in China and abroad. Soil and water loss has a great influence on the evolution of rocky desertification, groundwater quality, drought and flood disasters in karst regions. This paper aimed to provide a review of studies of slope hydrological processes in soil and water loss. In this paper, 322 related articles retrieved from the Web of Science database and CNKI database were systematically reviewed. Firstly, a quantitative study was conducted to analyze the annual number, countries and research progress of the published literature. Secondly, the main progress and achievements of slope hydrology and soil erosion control technology were classified and summarized according to theoretical research, mechanism research, technology research and technical demonstration. Finally, the key problems and future research prospects are put forward, starting with the existing technology, in order to find more suitable soil and water loss control measures in karst regions and achieve economic and ecological benefits.

An understanding of soil moisture variation patterns under different plant community structures is crucial for the restoration of vegetation in southern China karst regions. Therefore, four plant community structure types: arbor + herb (AH), shrub + herb (SH), arbor + shrub + herb (ASH), and herb (H), were selected as the research objects. A soil moisture sensor was used to monitor the soil moisture content in the 0–70 cm soil layer, to analyze the variation characteristics of soil moisture content and to explore the differences under different plant community structure types. The results indicate that: (1) A total of 31 plant species in 31 genera and 18 families were recorded, among which herbs were the most abundant. There were significant differences in diversity indexes for ASH and H. The differences between Shannon–Wiener index and Simpson index of AH and H were significant, and between AH and SH in Pielou index and Simpson index were statistically significant. The Pielou index between SH and H was significantly different. (2) There were significant differences in soil water content among the four plant community types, showing SH > AH > H > ASH. The variation of soil moisture was consistent with the trend of rainfall, with the surface soil moisture more sensitive to rainfall events, and the deeper soil moisture had a lag. The Shannon–Wiener index was significantly and positively correlated with the Simpson index and the Margalef index. There was a highly significant positive correlation between Margalef index and Simpson index. The 20–30 cm soil layer was highly negatively correlated with the Margalef index and significantly and negatively correlated with the Shannon–Wiener index and the Simpson index. (3) The response of soil moisture of plant community structure types to light rain event was not obvious. The growth rates of soil water content in the 30–50 and 50–70 cm layers of the SH were higher in moderate rain event than that in heavy rain event, and H, AH, and ASH had larger growth rates in heavy rain events. The results provide a reference for the effective utilization of soil and water resources and the restoration of vegetation, as well as for plant community structure configuration decisions in the southern China karst region.

Soil erosion is a global issue of great concern, especially in karst areas with special environments, where subsurface soil leakage is closely related to soil erosion, which has become a key factor limiting agricultural development. To explore how to improve soil erosion in karst areas to enhance soil quality and maintain the sustainable use of the land in the long term, a total of 176 studies on the interception characteristics of soil mulching and erosion management were reviewed using a systematic review approach, through the WoS and CNKI databases. Firstly, quantitative analysis was conducted in terms of the annual volume, content and countries of the published literature. Secondly, from four aspects (theoretical research, mechanism research, technology research and technical demonstration), the main progress and landmark achievements of soil mulching interception and erosion management were classified. It is shown that the interception characteristics of soil mulching can produce an effective blockage for soil leakage in karst areas. Based on the global classification, compared to synthetic materials, natural materials have received more attention. We propose five key scientific questions that still need to be addressed. This review explores the insightful role of soil mulching for karst soil leakage management and aims to provide theoretical support for future research on sustainable land development in karst areas.