Aggregated Distribution of Herbaceous Plants in Restored Vegetation Community in a Semi-arid Area: Evidence from the Loess Plateau of China

The Loess Plateau of China (CLP) is located in the transition zone from a semi-humid climate zone to semi-arid and arid climate zones. It is influenced by the westerly circulation, plateau monsoon, and East Asian monsoon circulation, and the drought disasters across the CLP have obvious regional characteristics. In this study, climate regionalization was performed by a spatial hierarchical cluster approach based on the gridded datasets of monthly precipitation across the CLP from 1961 to 2017. Then, the standardized precipitation index (SPI) was used to explore the temporal evolution of regional meteorological droughts. Finally, wavelet methods were used to investigate the drought cycles in each homogeneous subregion and the linkages between SPI and the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). The results show that: (1) Spatially, the CLP can be divided into four homogeneous regions, namely, Ordos Plateau semi-arid area (Region I), Northern Shanxi hilly semi-humid area (Region II), Longzhong plateau cold-arid area (Region III), and Fenwei Plain and Shaanxi-Shanxi hilly semi-humid area (Region IV). (2) There are apparent differences in the temporal evolution of meteorological droughts in different subregions, but two wet periods from the 1960s to 1980s and 2010s, and a drought period in the 1990s, can be found in each subregion. (3) There is a significant drought cycle of 3–8 years in the four subregions, and the first main cycles of drought variation are not completely consistent. (4) The linkages between SPI and SOI are time- and space-dependent and the phase differences are dominated by in-phase. The strongest correlations between the two time series occur in the 1980s in the four subregions. The results of this research have important implications for the establishment of drought monitoring programs in homogeneous climate regions, and informed decision making in water resource management.

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Spatial–Temporal Evolution of Vegetation NDVI in Association with Climatic, Environmental and Anthropogenic Factors in the Loess Plateau, China during 2000–2015: Quantitative Analysis Based on Geographical Detector Model

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13214380 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (21) ◽

pp. 4380

Author(s):

Yi Dong ◽

Dongqin Yin ◽

Xiang Li ◽

Jianxi Huang ◽

Wei Su ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Loess Plateau ◽

Temporal Evolution ◽

Driving Forces ◽

Arid Area ◽

Anthropogenic Factors ◽

The Loess Plateau ◽

Geographical Detector ◽

Humid Area ◽

Detector Model ◽

Semi Arid

In the Loess Plateau (LP) of China, the vegetation degradation and soil erosion problems have been shown to be curbed after the implementation of the Grain for Green program. In this study, the LP is divided into the northwestern semi-arid area and the southeastern semi-humid area using the 400 mm isohyet. The spatial–temporal evolution of the vegetation NDVI during 2000–2015 are analyzed, and the driving forces (including factors of climate, environment, and human activities) of the evolution are quantitatively identified using the geographical detector model (GDM). The results showed that the annual mean NDVI in the entire LP was 0.529, and it decreased from the semi-humid area (0.619) to the semi-arid area (0.346). The mean value of the coefficient of variation of the NDVI was 0.1406, and it increased from the semi-humid area (0.1165) to the semi-arid area (0.1926). The annual NDVI growth rate in the entire LP was 0.0079, with the NDVI growing faster in the semi-humid area (0.0093) than in the semi-arid area (0.0049). The largest increments of the NDVI were from grassland, farmland, and woodland. The GDM results revealed that changes in the spatial distribution of the NDVI could be primarily explained by the climatic and environmental factors in the semi-arid area, such as precipitation, soil type, and vegetation type, while the changes were mainly explained by the anthropogenic factors in the semi-humid area, such as the GDP density, land-use type, and population density. The interactive analysis showed that interactions between factors strengthened the impacts on the vegetation change compared with an individual factor. Furthermore, the ranges/types of factors suitable for vegetation growth were determined. The conclusions of this study have important implications for the formulation and implementation of ecological conservation and restoration strategies in different regions of the LP.

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Vegetation Response to Goats Grazing Intensity in Semiarid Hilly Grassland of the Loess Plateau, Lanzhou, China

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13063569 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 3569

Author(s):

Hua Cheng ◽

Baocheng Jin ◽

Kai Luo ◽

Jiuying Pei ◽

Xueli Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Growth Rate ◽

Community Structure ◽

Plant Growth ◽

Loess Plateau ◽

Grazing Intensity ◽

Gps Tracking ◽

Growth Stages ◽

The Loess Plateau ◽

Vegetation Community ◽

Natural Grasslands

Quantitatively estimating the grazing intensity (GI) effects on vegetation in semiarid hilly grassland of the Loess Plateau can help to develop safe utilization levels for natural grasslands, which is a necessity of maintaining livestock production and sustainable development of grasslands. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), field vegetation data, and 181 days (one goat per day) of GPS tracking were combined to quantify the spatial pattern of GI, and its effects on the vegetation community structure. The spatial distribution of GI was uneven, with a mean value of 0.50 goats/ha, and 95% of the study area had less than 1.30 goats/ha. The areas with utilization rates of rangeland (July) lower than 45% and 20% made up about 95% and 60% of the study area, respectively. Grazing significantly reduced monthly aboveground biomass, but the grazing effects on plant growth rate were complex across the different plant growth stages. Grazing impaired plant growth in general, but the intermediate GI appeared to facilitate plant growth rate at the end of the growing seasons. Grazing had minimal relationship with vegetation community structure characteristics, though Importance Value of forbs increased with increasing GI. Flexibility in the number of goats and conservatively defining utilization rate, according to the inter-annual variation of utilization biomass, would be beneficial to achieve ecologically healthy and economically sustainable GI.

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Factors affecting the recovery of abandoned semi-arid fields after legume introduction on the Loess Plateau

Ecological Engineering ◽

10.1016/j.ecoleng.2015.03.012 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 79 ◽

pp. 86-93 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Zi-Qiang Yuan ◽

Howard Epstein ◽

Feng-Min Li

Keyword(s):

Loess Plateau ◽

The Loess Plateau ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Semi Arid

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Hydrologic feasibility of artificial forestation in the semi-arid Loess Plateau of China

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-15-2519-2011 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 15 (8) ◽

pp. 2519-2530 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

T. T. Jin ◽

B. J. Fu ◽

G. H. Liu ◽

Z. Wang

Keyword(s):

Loess Plateau ◽

Large Scale ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Northern Region ◽

Shaanxi Province ◽

Stand Age ◽

Mean Annual Precipitation ◽

The Loess Plateau ◽

Semi Arid

Abstract. Hydrologic viability, in terms of moisture availability, is fundamental to ecosystem sustainability in arid and semi-arid regions. In this study, we examine the spatial distribution and after-planting variations of soil moisture content (SMC) in black locust tree (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) plantings in the Loess Plateau of China at a regional scale. Thirty sites (5 to 45 yr old) were selected, spanning an area of 300 km by 190 km in the northern region of the Shaanxi Province. The SMC was measured to a depth of 100 cm at intervals of 10 cm. Geographical, topographic and vegetation information was recorded, and soil organic matter was evaluated. The results show that, at the regional scale, SMC spatial variability was most highly correlated with rainfall. The negative relationship between the SMC at a depth of 20–50 cm and the stand age was stronger than at other depths, although this relationship was not significant at a 5 % level. Watershed analysis shows that the after-planting SMC variation differed depending upon precipitation. The SMC of plantings in areas receiving sufficient precipitation (e.g., mean annual precipitation (MAP) of 617 mm) may increase with stand age due to improvements in soil water-holding capacity and water-retention abilities after planting. For areas experiencing water shortages (e.g., MAP = 509 mm), evapotranspiration may cause planting soils to dry within the first 20 yr of growth. It is expected that, as arid and semi-arid plantings age, evapotranspiration will decrease, and the soil profile may gradually recover. In extremely dry areas (e.g., MAP = 352 mm), the variation in after-planting SMC with stand age was found to be negligible. The MAP can be used as an index to divide the study area into different ecological regions. Afforestation may sequentially exert positive, negative and negligible effects on SMCs with a decrease in the MAP. Therefore, future restoration measures should correspond to the local climate conditions, and the MAP should be a major consideration for the Loess Plateau. Large-scale and long-term research on the effects of restoration projects on SMCs is needed to support more effective restoration policies. The interaction between afforestation and local environmental conditions, particularly water availability to plants, should be taken into account in afforestation campaigns in arid and semi-arid areas.

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Soil Carbon Storage Characteristics of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) Artificial Grasslands in the Semi-Arid Hilly Gully Region of the Loess Plateau, China

Russian Journal of Ecology ◽

10.1134/s1067413620050045 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 51 (5) ◽

pp. 466-476

Author(s):

Bo Ji ◽

Zhanjun Wang ◽

Zhanbing Pan ◽

Hao Xu ◽

Xin-sheng Han ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medicago Sativa ◽

Soil Carbon ◽

Carbon Storage ◽

Loess Plateau ◽

Soil Carbon Storage ◽

The Loess Plateau ◽

Storage Characteristics ◽

Semi Arid

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The Impact of Vegetation Successional Status on Slope Runoff Erosion in the Loess Plateau of China

Water ◽

10.3390/w11122614 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. 2614 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Enhao Chang ◽

Peng Li ◽

Zhanbin Li ◽

Yuanyi Su ◽

Yi Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Loess Plateau ◽

Soil Structure ◽

Community Succession ◽

The Loess Plateau ◽

Vegetation Community ◽

Plateau Region ◽

Vegetation Communities ◽

Runoff Volume ◽

Total Runoff ◽

Slope Runoff

Slope vegetation restoration is known to influence erosion in the Loess Plateau region in China. The ability of vegetation to mitigate soil erosion under extreme runoff, however, has not been studied in great detail in this region. Here, we examine five typical vegetation communities in the Loess Plateau region that originated from restoration efforts enacted at different times (1, 11, 15, 25, and 40 years). Water scouring experiments were carried out to monitor vegetation community succession and its effects on erosion. These results indicate that the sum of plant importance values increased from 260.72 to 283.06, species density increased from 2.5 to 4.5 per m2, and the amount of litter and humus increased from 24.50 to 605.00 g/m2 during the 1 to 40 years of vegetation community succession. Root biomass and root diameter reached a maximum of approximately 10.80 mg·cm−3 and 0.65 mm at 40 years of recovery. Slope runoff velocity decreased by 47.89% while runoff resistance increased by 35.30 times. The runoff power decreased by 19.75%, the total runoff volume decreased by 2.52 times, and the total sediment yield decreased by 11.60 times in the vegetation community. Slope runoff velocity and power had the largest correlation with aboveground vegetation (0.76, 0.74), total runoff had the largest correlation with underground roots (0.74), and runoff resistance was most strongly correlated with soil structure (0.71). Studies have shown that the succession of vegetation communities can enhance the aboveground ecological functions of plants, thereby significantly reducing the runoff velocity and power. The development of plant root system significantly reduces the runoff volume; the improved soil structure significantly increased the runoff resistance coefficient.

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