Assessing Ecological Conditions of Microtopography for Vegetation Restoration on the Chinese Loess Plateau
2020
Huan Ma, Qingke Zhu, Xining Zhao and Yuan Liu
Microtopographies affect large portions of the Chinese Loess Plateau after years of water erosion. Vegetation restoration has proven to be an effective way to conserve water and soil, however, studies of the influence of microtopography on naturally recovered vegetation on the Chinese Loess Plateau have long been absent. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of microtopography on the vegetation structure and plant diversity of naturally restored vegetation and compare the soil physicochemical properties of different microtopographies with those of undisturbed slopes on the Loess Plateau. We identified five types of microtopographies that are mainly shaped by runoff in the study area and examined vegetation structures, plant diversity, soil nutrients, and soil water storage compared with undisturbed slopes. The results show that vegetation communities on loess slopes are still in an early successional stage after 14 years of natural recovery. Vegetation diversity was significantly different among microtopographies. Four types of microtopography have better soil conditions for vegetation restoration; scarps are the exception. Our results suggest that microtopographies can create some better condition plots for precision designed artificial restoration of vegetation, which is necessary to accelerate the succession process on the Loess Plateau.
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