Denitrifier abundance and interactions drive soil denitrification in vegetation restoration

Multi-pathway vegetation restoration drives differential carbon sequestration regulated by hydrogeological conditions in Lijiang River Basin

Vegetation preference and the puzzle of abandonment: high-quality spawning habitat remains unused by Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii).

Exploring the combined effects of climate change and vegetation restoration on terrestrial water storage in China

Spatial suitability assessment of restored vegetation and sustainable restoration strategies in China

Effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi community structure on soil organic carbon in the vegetation restoration chronosequence of Robinia pseudoacacia plantation

Area enclosures as a nature-based solution for vegetation restoration: Evidence from soil seed bank dynamics in Southern Ethiopia

Vegetation restoration enhances baseflow stability during hydrological droughts on the Loess Plateau, China

Soil infiltration responses to vegetation restoration along a precipitation gradient on the loess plateau

Effects of vegetation structure and spatial arrangement on soil Erosion in loess plateau

Improvement in vegetation ecological quality and its driving factors in China over 2001-2024.

While increasing vegetation productivity in dryland basins may mask declining functional resilience, we quantified drought impacts and post-drought recovery across the Yellow River Basin from 2001 to 2023. By integrating MODIS gross primary productivity, the 3-month Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, and hydro-climatic covariates, this study characterized the spatiotemporal dynamics of ecosystem resilience under a drought background without clear basin-wide alleviation. Although significant greening was detected across 72.2% of natural-vegetation sampling locations and basin-wide mean monthly GPP showed a positive long-term trend, there was no comparable basin-wide alleviation in the 3-month Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index drought conditions. Instantaneous drought impacts were also spatially heterogeneous: the Upstream showed both the most negative mean drought-month GPPZ anomaly and the most negative sampling-location-level minimum GPPZ during drought months. By contrast, the Midstream was more prominent in post-drought recovery constraints. Post-drought recovery trajectories showed pronounced spatial heterogeneity, with a basin-wide mean recovery time (RT) of 6.79 ± 2.21 months. We identified a distinct resilience bottleneck in the Midstream Loess Plateau, where the mean RT reached 7.44 ± 1.95 months, longer than the 5.27 ± 2.45 months observed in the Upstream source region. The positive correlation between RT and climatic water deficit (r = 0.423) supports a "Green Trap" interpretation, suggesting that structural greening may be associated with increased water stress and extended recovery periods. These empirical patterns indicate that productivity gains do not necessarily translate into enhanced stability, emphasizing the importance of aligning vegetation structure and restoration intensity with regional hydro-climatic limits to ensure long-term ecosystem resilience.

Plant life form, biomass allocation, and belowground structure shape depth-dependent soil organic carbon accumulation as blue carbon sources in vegetated tidal flats.

Study on key ecological indicators of vegetation restoration in a simulated small watershed of the Loess Plateau

Identifying microbial candidates for assisted phytoremediation through long-term microbial succession and functional gene shifts across a 50-year chronosequence of vanadium-titanium magnetite tailings.

Riparian areas are the unique areas adjacent water body. These transitional zones play a vital role in maintaining water quality and regulating hydrological processes. The current study focuses on the downstream agro-ecosystem landscapes of the Bhadra River, aiming to develop a comprehensive checklist of riparian flora. It examines the tree species diversity, composition and richness of Riparian area from January to May 2025. The study also emphasis to assesses anthropogenic disturbances affecting riparian vegetation in the study area. Random plots were laid on both the sides of Agroecosystem riparian areas of downstream Bhadra River. A total of 48 tree species belonging to 24 families were recorded from the riparian agroecosystem zones of the Bhadra River dominated by the Family Fabaceae. IVI analysis reveals that Albizia saman, Pongemia pinnata, Leucaena leucocephala and Eucalyptus as dominant contributors to the vegetation structure with IVI values of 66.1,35.8 ,30.1 and 18.3 respectively. In contrast native riparian species such as Terminalia arjuna and Syzygium cumini were observed with very low IVI values. The dominance of Non riparian species in the riparian buffers of Bhadra indicates the possible Anthropogenic pressures which requires an immediate attention for the restoration of native riparian vegetation for the conservation of river morphology and associated aquatic habitats also for the maintenance of essential ecosystem services.

Soil degradation alters soil respiration regulation from temperature to moisture and biochemical constraints: Implications for vegetation restoration in Mollisols

Long-term vegetation restoration enhances soil carbon sequestration along a 170-year chronosequence.

In arid regions with extremely limited water resources, understanding water-use strategies of dominant shrubs is critical for ecohydrology and vegetation restoration. This study investigated the water sources of Nitraria tangutorum and Zygophyllum xanthoxylum in the eastern Tengger Desert, using soil water monitoring and hydrogen-oxygen stable isotopes(δ²H, δ¹8O). Levins' index and the Proportional Similarity (PS) index were used to quantify niche breadth and similarity in water-source use. Soil water content in N. tangutorum sites was generally higher than that in Z. xanthoxylum sites, particularly in the deep layers. The slopes of the local meteoric water line and soil water line were lower than the global meteoric water line, indicating evaporative enrichment in precipitation and soil water. N. tangutorum xylem water aligned more closely with shallow to middle layer soil water, whereas Z. xanthoxylum corresponded more closely to middle to deep soil water, demonstrating vertical differentiation in water uptake. MixSIAR results revealed that N. tangutorum primarily utilized water from the 40-200 cm soil layer in the early growing season, shifted to shallow soil water (0-40 cm) during the peak precipitation period, and subsequently shifted back to middle and deep water sources. In contrast, Z. xanthoxylum consistently relied on water from the 120-200 cm soil layer throughout the growing season, with a minor groundwater contribution. Both shrubs exhibited relatively broad ecohydrological niche breadths across the growing season. However, during the peak precipitation period in July and August, their niche breadths contracted, and the similarity index of soil water and groundwater utilization decreased. Overall, the two shrubs exhibited contrasting water-source use patterns: N. tangutorum showed greater seasonal flexibility, shifting toward shallow soil water during July-August, whereas Z. xanthoxylum maintained a relatively stable reliance on deeper soil water. Because sampling was conducted in species-specific stands rather than mixed-species plots, niche metrics are interpreted as comparative indicators of water-source use patterns under shared regional conditions. These findings provide a basis for species selection and water management for desertification control and vegetation restoration.

Understanding the succession of soil microbial carbon metabolism functions is crucial for elucidating carbon cycling mechanisms during ecosystem restoration in sandy lands. Soils were collected from Caragana korshinskii shrubland sites across a restoration chronosequence (0, 10, 30, 50, and 70 years) in the Mu Us Sandy Land. Biolog carbon source utilization analysis and metagenomic sequencing were employed to characterize the successional patterns of microbial carbon metabolism functions-a shift in carbon metabolism strategies from acquisition to conservation, and a transition in functional diversity from generalism to specialization. The results indicated that microbial communities exhibited two associated successional shifts in functional characteristics: carbon source utilization tended to transition from simple to complex substrates, while functional gene expression showed a progressive shift from broad multi-pathway patterns toward pathway-specific specialization. AWCD values increased continuously with restoration duration, and carbon source utilization patterns diverged significantly around 30 years. Early-stage sites (0-30 years) primarily utilized simple carbon sources, whereas late-stage sites (50-70 years) shifted toward more complex and diverse substrates. Principal component analysis revealed that 27 carbon sources contributed 91.3% of the variance to PC1. Microbial community structure succession revealed that Actinobacteria peaked at 10 years (43.63%), Proteobacteria peaked at 30 years (45.66%), and taxa such as Bacilli and Solirubrobacter dominated at 50-70 years. Carbon metabolism pathways exhibited stage-specific succession: glycolysis and the ED pathway were active in early stages, acetate metabolism dominated with the 3HB cycle peaking in intermediate stages, and the CBB cycle increased in later stages while methane metabolism shifted from high to low contribution. These two associated successional shifts occurred along the same restoration chronosequence, with the progressive transition in substrate utilization accompanying the development of specialist functional characteristics. These findings provide insights into the successional dynamics of microbial carbon metabolism during vegetation restoration, offering a microbiological basis for optimizing ecological restoration practices and enhancing soil carbon sequestration in sandy lands.