The Joint Effects of Precipitation Gradient and Afforestation on Soil Moisture across the Loess Plateau of China

Zhang, Qindi; Wei, Wei; Chen, Liding; Yang, Lei

doi:10.3390/f10030285

Cited by 21 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(82 reference statements)

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“…Water is one of the main resources that affect the survival of afforested trees in waterlimited areas [17]. Despite multiple sources of available water for plants, such as rainfall, soil water, underground water, river water, and spring water [5,[18][19][20][21], soil water is well known as the most direct source of available water for plants [22,23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intensified Interspecific Competition for Water after Afforestation with Robinia pseudoacacia into a Native Shrubland in the Taihang Mountains, Northern China

Zhu

Shi

et al. 2021

Sustainability

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Understanding how soil water source is used spatiotemporally by tree species and if native species can successfully coexist with introduced species is crucial for selecting species for afforestation. In the rocky mountainous areas of the Taihang Mountains, alien Robinia pseudoacacia L. has been widely afforested into the native shrublands dominated by Ziziphus jujuba Mill var. spinosa and Vitex negundo L. var. heterophylla to improve forest coverage and soil nutrients. However, little is known about the water relation among species, especially seasonal water use sources in different microsites. We selected the soil and plant xylem samples of two opposite microtopographic sites (ridge and valley) monthly in the growth season to analyze isotope composition. The proportions of water sources were quantified by the MixSIAR model and compared pairwise between species, microsites and seasons. We found that deep subsoil water at a depth of 40–50 cm contributed up to 50% of the total water uptake for R. pseudoacacia and Z. jujuba in the growing season, indicating that they stably used deeper soil water and had intense water competition. However, V. negundo had a more flexible water use strategy, which derived more than 50% of the total water uptake from the soil layer of 0–10 cm in the rainy season, but majorly captured soil water at a depth of 30–50 cm in the dry season. Therefore, high niche overlaps were shown in V. negundo with the other two species in the dry season, but niche segregation was seen in the rainy season. The microtopographic sites did not shift the seasonal dynamic of the water source use patterns of the three studied species, but the water use niche overlap was higher in the valley than in the ridge. Taken together, the introduced species R. pseudoacacia intensified water competition with the native semi-arbor species Z. jujuba, but it could commonly coexist with the native shrub species V. negundo. Therefore, our study on seasonal water use sources in different microsites provides insight into species interaction and site selection for R. pseudoacacia afforestation in the native shrub community in rocky mountainous areas. It is better to plant R. pseudoacacia in the shrubland in the valley so as to avoid intense water competition and control soil erosion.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intensified Interspecific Competition for Water after Afforestation with Robinia pseudoacacia into a Native Shrubland in the Taihang Mountains, Northern China

Zhu

Shi

et al. 2021

Sustainability

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“…Considering that precipitation varies greatly over a large scale and from year to year, inconsistent conclusions from many studies restrict extrapolations to other areas. However, to avoid time consumption and labour intensiveness, most studies assessed the effects of restoration on soil moisture under different vegetation types or precipitation regions over a single growing season that did not include different hydrological years (Zhang, Wei, Chen, & Yang, ). Little attention has been paid to the responses of soil moisture variations to precipitation through observations of time series in the Loess Plateau.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

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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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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“…In the complex of measures to stabilize and improve the environmental situation, protective afforestation is the most long-term action [9,10]. Protective forest plantations are the main structural element of soil protection systems of agriculture, which have an impact on natural factors and erosion-hydrological processes, thereby preventing or sharply reducing land degradation rate [11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the Ecological Condition of Landscapes of the Volgograd Trans-Volga Region

Кошелев¹,

Tkachenko²

2020

Proceedings of the IV International Scientific and Practical Conference 'Anthropogenic Transformation of Geospace: Nature, Econ

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the article analyses the main reasons for decrease in productivity and ecological stability of agricultural landscapes in the Volgograd Trans-Volga region: plowing of virgin lands, haphazard mode of pasture lands use, unsustainable agricultural land use, lack of forest reclamation measures. Authors define adaptive landscape approach to nature management. They showed the role of protective afforestation in stabilization and improvement of ecological situation in the territory. The paper presents the method of complex assessment of combined impact of natural and anthropogenic factors on landscapes condition of the Volgograd Trans-Volga region. The main criteria were as follows: soil suitability for forest growth (dominance of the group of soil suitability for forest growth in the landscape), protective forest cover of arable land, plough-disturbance, indices of agricultural land degradation (erosion, deflation and salinization). The method of zoning of ecological conditions by B. V. Vinogradov was considered as the basis for characteristics of landscapes environmental distress according to the following categories: norm, risk, crisis and disaster. The article revealed that the most part of landscapes of the Trans-Volga region (that makes 66.7%) is at a crisis stage, disaster-28%. Category of norm accounts for 1.2%, at risk-4.1% of the area of agricultural land in landscapes. On the basis of GIS technologies and previously developed original thematic maps (landscape, soil, forest reclamation, etc.) for the study region, the final map of ecological condition of landscapes of the Trans-Volga region was constructed. When optimizing the structure of farmland, first of all, it is necessary to focus on forest reclamation measures that will ensure the agroecological stability of landscapes, reducing the damage from anthropogenic impact on the territory. Authors suggest recommendations for planting protective forest plantations depending on the forest conditions of the territory and the ecological condition of the landscapes.

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The Joint Effects of Precipitation Gradient and Afforestation on Soil Moisture across the Loess Plateau of China

Cited by 21 publications

References 53 publications

Intensified Interspecific Competition for Water after Afforestation with Robinia pseudoacacia into a Native Shrubland in the Taihang Mountains, Northern China

Intensified Interspecific Competition for Water after Afforestation with Robinia pseudoacacia into a Native Shrubland in the Taihang Mountains, Northern China

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

Assessment of the Ecological Condition of Landscapes of the Volgograd Trans-Volga Region

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