Influence of Vegetation Restoration on Soil Hydraulic Properties in South China

• Main Authors: Peiling Liu, Xiaodong Liu, Yuhang Dai, Yingjie Feng, Qianmei Zhang, Guowei Chu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-10-01
• Series: Forests
• Subjects: vegetation recovery; saturated hydraulic conductivity; soil water retention characteristics; soil organic matter; subtropical China
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/11/10/1111

Over the past several decades, vegetation restoration has been carried out extensively in South China. Theoretically, the process of vegetation restoration is usually accompanied by changes in soil properties. However, the effects of vegetation restoration on soil hydraulic properties are poorly documented in humid subtropical China. In this study, we compared soil hydraulic properties across three undisturbed subtropical forests, i.e., <em>Pinus massoniana</em> forest (PF), mixed <em>Pinus massoniana</em>/broad-leaved forest (MF), and monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest (BF), which represented a vegetation restoration sequence in South China. Our results showed that vegetation restoration decreased the bulk density while increasing the total porosity and the soil organic matter (SOM). The clay content and capillary porosity of soil in the middle- and late-recovery-stage forests were significantly higher than those in the early stage, which was consistent with the soil water-holding capacity. The saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_S) values of BF were always significantly higher than those of the other forests. In the whole soil profile, the water-holding capacity and K_S in the topsoil (above 30 cm depth) were significantly higher than those in the deep soil for all forests. Further analyses indicated that the SOM was the main factor that affected K_S, and the relationship of them could be fitted by a linear equation. Overall, our study revealed vegetation restoration ameliorates soil hydraulic properties in humid subtropical China. And the role of SOM in improving soil hydraulic properties should be emphasized in future forest ecosystem management.