Artificial Grassland Revegetation Improves Soil Water Retention and Storage Capacity of the Degraded Hillside Alpine Meadow

Bibliographic Data

ID21647947
AuthorsYulei Ma (0009-0008-8532-3605, State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation Northwest A & F University Yangling China), Lingchao Meng (0000-0002-7173-0743, State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation Northwest A & F University Yangling China), Yifan Liu (0000-0002-5466-4457, State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation Northwest A & F University Yangling China), Yi‐Fan Liu (0000-0001-5048-198X, Nanjing Forestry University), Juan Pinos (0000-0002-8021-9197, School of Life Sciences University of Nevada Las Vegas Las Vegas Nevada USA), Zhihua Shi (0000-0002-6961-1518, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resource Yangling Shaanxi China), Zhi-Hua Shi (Chinese Academy of Sciences), Gao‐Lin Wu (0000-0002-5449-7134, State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation Northwest A & F University Yangling China, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume36
Issue1
Pages133-143
Publication date2025-01-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLand Degradation and Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1085-3278 • E-ISSN: 1099-145X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ldr.5349
OpenAlexW4403594895
LanguageEN
References cited41

The crucial role of soil water retention and storage in soil hydrology and the water cycle is well established. However, in sensitive and degraded ecosystems like alpine meadows, the effectiveness of revegetation in enhancing these critical functions remains understudied. This study investigates the effects of revegetating severely degraded hillside meadows with artificial grasslands on soil water retention and storage capacity in the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau. Soil analyses at a depth of 0–20 cm revealed significant improvements in soil properties after revegetation, with increases in soil organic matter content (86.8%), total porosity (11.9%), capillary porosity (31.6%), and clay content (13.5%). Both the saturated hydraulic conductivity ( Ks ) and field capacity (FC) increased markedly, by 9.7% and 63.7% in the upper layer (0–10 cm) and 21.7% and 69.6% in the lower layer (10–20 cm), respectively. Structural equation modeling identified bulk density, root mass density, FC, capillary porosity, and clay content as the dominant direct factors influencing Ks with path coefficients of −0.56, 0.30, −0.53, 0.57, and −0.12, respectively, while vegetation cover and aboveground biomass were found to have indirect influences. These findings demonstrate that revegetation with artificial grasslands effectively improves soil water retention and storage capacity in degraded hillside alpine meadows by regulating key soil hydraulic and physical properties. This enhanced water‐holding capacity has significant implications for understanding the dynamics of revegetation by artificial grassland establishment in improving ecosystem health and eco‐hydrological functions in these vulnerable environments. Furthermore, the study provides valuable insights and a theoretical basis for developing ecological restoration solutions for degraded hillside meadows in other alpine regions

Agroforestry · Agronomy · Ecological succession · Geotechnical engineering · Grassland · Revegetation · Soil water · Water retention · Environmental Science · Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology · Rangeland and Wildlife Management · Soil erosion and sediment transport · Ecology · Geology · Soil Science

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