Niu Xitong, Tian Meirong, Feng Chaoyang, Wang Wenxuan
State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China.
College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, China.
Sci Rep. 2025 Mar 15;15(1):8949. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-93405-7.
Ecological restoration is crucial for combatting desertification and mitigating grassland degradation. The assessment of changes in soil quality under different restoration patterns is beneficial for optimizing the development and implementation of local ecological restoration strategies. In this study, five typical restoration patterns of sample plots-plant regenerative sand-barrier land (S2), shrub planted afforested land (S3), aerially seeded afforested land (S4), artificially restored grassland (S5), fenced shrubland (S6), and a control plot (S1)-were selected as research objects in the Horqin sandy area. Four depths of soil samples ranging from 0 to 30 cm were collected from six plots to determine their physicochemical properties, analyze soil primary particle size and nutrient levels in different plots, and propose a soil quality index (SQI) to evaluate the effectiveness of soil restoration under different restoration patterns. The results showed a decrease in sand content under the five restoration patterns, whereas clay and silt content, soil fractal dimension (D value), and SQI increased significantly (P < 0.05). The soil fractal dimension was positively correlated with the contents of clay, slit, and the SQI (P < 0.01). The composite soil quality index from highest to lowest was S6 (0.5877) > S5 (0.5384) > S4 (0.4357) > S3 (0.4068) > S2 (0.1305) > S1 (0.0648). The soil restoration effects were greatest for S5 in the 0-10 cm soil depth, and the soil restoration effects were most effective for S6 in the 10-30 cm soil depth, with SQIs increasing by 11.21 and 7.85 times, respectively, compared with that of the control sample plot. Based on the results at different soil depths, we believe that the restoration pattern of artificially planting shrub-grass combined with fencing may significantly enhance restoration effectiveness on sandy land.
生态恢复对于防治荒漠化和减轻草地退化至关重要。评估不同恢复模式下土壤质量的变化，有利于优化当地生态恢复策略的制定与实施。本研究选取科尔沁沙地的5种典型样地恢复模式——植物再生沙障地（S2）、灌木造林地（S3）、飞播造林地（S4）、人工恢复草地（S5）、围栏灌丛地（S6）以及1个对照样地（S1）作为研究对象。从6个样地采集0至30厘米深度范围内的4个土层的土壤样本，测定其理化性质，分析不同样地土壤的初级粒径和养分水平，并提出土壤质量指数（SQI）以评估不同恢复模式下土壤恢复的效果。结果表明，5种恢复模式下土壤砂粒含量降低，而黏粒和粉粒含量、土壤分形维数（D值）及土壤质量指数均显著增加（P<0.05）。土壤分形维数与黏粒、粉粒含量及土壤质量指数呈显著正相关（P<0.01）。综合土壤质量指数由高到低依次为：S6（0.5877）>S5（0.5384）>S4（0.4357）>S3（0.4068）>S2（0.1305）>S1（0.0648）。在0至10厘米土层深度，S5的土壤恢复效果最佳；在10至30厘米土层深度，S6的土壤恢复效果最为显著，其土壤质量指数分别比对照样地增加了11.21倍和7.85倍。基于不同土层深度的研究结果，我们认为人工种植灌草结合围栏的恢复模式可显著提高沙地的恢复效果。
