Publication Details
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DOI 10.1111/1365-2664.13597
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Title (Primary) Trade‐off between vegetation type, soil erosion control and surface water in global semi‐arid regions: A meta‐analysis
Author Wu, G.-L.; Liu, Y.-F.; Cui, Z.; Liu, Y.; Shi, Z.-H.; Yin, R.; Kardol, P.
Journal Journal of Applied Ecology
Year 2020
Department BZF
Volume 57
Issue 5
Page From 875
Page To 885
Language englisch
Data and Software links https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.547d7wm4r
Supplements https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1111%2F1365-2664.13597&file=jpe13597-sup-0001-Supinfo.doc
Keywords Erosion control; meta‐analysis; restoration; soil texture; surface water resource; vegetation coverage; vegetation restoration; vegetation type
Abstract
  1. Soil erosion control and water resource protection can closely interact during restoration of terrestrial ecosystems. In semi‐arid ecosystems, an urgent issue is how vegetation restoration can achieve the goal of soil erosion mitigation and water conservation, which in turn, feeds back to ecosystem functioning.
  2. We reviewed 78 articles from 22 countries in semi‐arid areas to evaluate the effects of vegetation type (i.e., forest, grassland, and scrubland) on run‐off and sediment yields across different environmental conditions (i.e., vegetation coverage, rainfall intensity, slope gradient, and soil texture).
  3. Our meta‐analysis shows that run‐off and sediment reduction both increased as the vegetation coverage increased, and tended to be stable when vegetation coverage exceeded 60%. Vegetation provided a greater benefit for sediment reduction than for run‐off control under intense rainfall. Grasslands were generally more effective in reducing sediment than other vegetation types. Forests, grasslands, and scrublands were most efficient in soil erosion control on 20‐30°, 0‐25°, and 10‐25° slopes, respectively. Grasslands and scrublands generally performed better with respect to soil erosion control on moderately coarse soils, whereas forests were most effective on medium‐textured and moderately fine soils.
  4. Synthesis and applications. Effective restoration and soil erosion control in semi‐arid ecosystems strongly depends on the selection of vegetation type. Our study further indicates that, for land managers, it is critical to consider local slope, and soil texture, and maintain appropriate vegetation coverage to achieve ecosystem sustainability. Grasslands might be particularly suitable to optimize the trade‐off between soil erosion control and surface water resource in semi‐arid regions.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=22860
Wu, G.-L., Liu, Y.-F., Cui, Z., Liu, Y., Shi, Z.-H., Yin, R., Kardol, P. (2020):
Trade‐off between vegetation type, soil erosion control and surface water in global semi‐arid regions: A meta‐analysis
J. Appl. Ecol. 57 (5), 875 - 885