Abstract
Soil moisture is one of the restricting factors in the humid karst areas, which feature strong spatial heterogeneity. However, current research about the effects of vegetation restoration on soil moisture content have mainly focused on plot scale and slope scale, while these effects still remain unclear at regional scale in this area. Taking Southwest China as a case study and based on the land parameter data record (LPDR) and enhanced vegetation index (EVI) data set during 2002–2018, this study analyzed the spatiotemporal variation characteristics of vegetation and soil moisture content, and evaluated the effects of vegetation restoration on regional soil moisture content dynamics in paired years with similar precipitation conditions. The results showed that the EVI generally increased at a rate of 0.035/10a during 2002–2018, while the soil moisture was dominated by a drying trend at a variation rate of −0.0006 (cm3/cm3)/10a. The increasing trend of EVI accounted for 90.90% across the study area, whereas the decreasing trend of soil moisture accounted for 51.66%, and the increasing trend of soil moisture accounted for 48.34%. In addition, the decreasing trend of soil moisture coupled with an increasing trend of EVI distributed in most of the study area, especially in the homogenous limestone area. Our results demonstrate that there were remarkable vegetation restoration efforts in a series of ecological restoration projects, which resulted in a drying trend of the regional soil moisture content in the humid karst areas. The results suggest that it is necessary to consider reasonable vegetation planting density and suitable revegetation types to balance the relationship between vegetation water consumption and soil moisture supplementation in vegetation restoration practice in the humid karst areas.
Highlights
Introduction published maps and institutional affilSoil water plays an important role in the terrestrial water cycle and the soil-plantatmosphere continuum (SPAC), it is a key parameter in the hydrological and climatic models [1,2]
We found that vegetation restoration has contributed to a drying trend of regional soil moisture content, which is in line with most previous studies undertaken in the karst areas [37,38,39]
The effects of vegetation restoration on soil moisture content have mainly focused on plot scale and slope scale, while these effects still remain unclear at regional scale in this area
Summary
Introduction published maps and institutional affilSoil water plays an important role in the terrestrial water cycle and the soil-plantatmosphere continuum (SPAC), it is a key parameter in the hydrological and climatic models [1,2]. Due to the wide distribution and high chemical dissolution of the bedrock such as the carbonate rocks, these are usually characterized by numerous fissures and rich underground channels in the humid karst areas. The soil layers are very thin and with low water-holding capacity: most precipitation and surface water immediately infiltrate into the underground. The soil moisture is usually deficient, which results in it being one of the restricting factors for vegetation restoration, crop growth and ecological construction in the humid karst areas [3,4,5]. Against the background of the karst’s fragile ecological environment, the soil erosion and rocky desertification were serious in the humid karst areas [6,7,8]. To protect the local ecological conditions, the state and local governments in China have iations
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