IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i2p1682-d1036924.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Coupling Effects of Terracing and Vegetation on Soil Ecosystem Multifunctionality in the Loess Plateau, China

Author

Listed:
  • Dan Wu

    (College of Life Sciences, Shanxi Normal University, Taiyuan 030031, China)

  • Wei Wei

    (State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China)

  • Zongshan Li

    (State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China)

  • Qindi Zhang

    (College of Life Sciences, Shanxi Normal University, Taiyuan 030031, China)

Abstract

In semi-arid and arid terrestrial ecosystems, terracing and vegetation may improve soil conditions and enhance habitats. Considerable recent works have focused on evaluating how terracing and vegetation affect individual ecosystem function, but none of these evaluations included soil ecosystem multifunctionality (SEMF), which has a positive significance for optimizing soil ecosystem management. Based on the survey data of six different combinations of terracing and vegetation in the Chinese Loess Plateau, 15 functional indicators related to soil fertility, nutrient transformation/cycling, and water conservation were selected. The maximum conversion of the mean value method was employed to quantify SEMF. Concerning individual ecosystem services, the capacities of half-moon terraces- Pinus tabulaeformis (Ht- P. tabulaeformis ) and level benches- Caragana korshinskii (Lb- C. korshinskii ) to maintain soil fertility were 43.25% and 42.01% higher than those of counter-slope terraces- Platycladus orientalis (Ct- P. orientalis ). On the contrary, Ct- P. orientalis showed better nutrient transformation and cycling services, which was 9.23% higher than those of Ht- P. tabulaeformis , therefore, we observed the highest SEMF in the Ht- P. tabulaeformis . Terracing, with a 29.2% explained variation, had a greater influence than that of vegetation (12.6%), while the coupling effect of terracing and vegetation (37.9%) was the most important factor that determined the SEMF. Thus, Ht- P. tabulaeformis and Lb- C. korshinskii should be promoted in the Loess Plateau area. The results of this study have significance in terms of understanding the interactions between terracing, vegetation, and soil ecosystems.

Suggested Citation

  • Dan Wu & Wei Wei & Zongshan Li & Qindi Zhang, 2023. "Coupling Effects of Terracing and Vegetation on Soil Ecosystem Multifunctionality in the Loess Plateau, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-13, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:2:p:1682-:d:1036924
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/2/1682/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/2/1682/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lü, Haishen & Zhu, Yonghua & Skaggs, Todd H. & Yu, Zhongbo, 2009. "Comparison of measured and simulated water storage in dryland terraces of the Loess Plateau, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 299-306, February.
    2. Dianyuan Ding & Hao Feng & Ying Zhao & Wenzhao Liu & Haixin Chen & Jianqiang He, 2016. "Impact assessment of climate change and later-maturing cultivars on winter wheat growth and soil water deficit on the Loess Plateau of China," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 138(1), pages 157-171, September.
    3. Andy Hector & Robert Bagchi, 2007. "Biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality," Nature, Nature, vol. 448(7150), pages 188-190, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Funk, Matt, 2008. "On the Problem of Sustainable Economic Development: A Theoretical Solution to this Prisoner's Dilemma," MPRA Paper 19025, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 08 Jun 2008.
    2. Lei Wang & Xiaobo Huang & Jianrong Su, 2022. "Tree Species Diversity and Stand Attributes Differently Influence the Ecosystem Functions of Pinus yunnanensis Secondary Forests under the Climate Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-12, July.
    3. Ma, L. & Ahuja, L.R. & Islam, A. & Trout, T.J. & Saseendran, S.A. & Malone, R.W., 2017. "Modeling yield and biomass responses of maize cultivars to climate change under full and deficit irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 180(PA), pages 88-98.
    4. Rolf, Werner & Diehl, Katharina & Zasada, Ingo & Wiggering, Hubert, 2020. "Integrating farmland in urban green infrastructure planning. An evidence synthesis for informed policymaking," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    5. Zhao, Ying & Zhai, Xiafei & Wang, Zhaohui & Li, Huijie & Jiang, Rui & Lee Hill, Robert & Si, Bing & Hao, Feng, 2018. "Simulation of soil water and heat flow in ridge cultivation with plastic film mulching system on the Chinese Loess Plateau," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 99-112.
    6. Liu, Chang-An & Li, Feng-Rui & Zhou, Li-Min & Zhang, Rong-He & Yu-Jia, & Lin, Shi-Ling & Wang, Li-Jun & Siddique, Kadambot H.M. & Li, Feng-Min, 2013. "Effect of organic manure and fertilizer on soil water and crop yields in newly-built terraces with loess soils in a semi-arid environment," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 123-132.
    7. Pretzsch, Hans & Forrester, David I. & Rötzer, Thomas, 2015. "Representation of species mixing in forest growth models. A review and perspective," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 313(C), pages 276-292.
    8. Kangwei Jiang & Qingqing Zhang & Yafei Wang & Hong Li & Yongqiang Yang & Tursunnay Reyimu, 2023. "The Combination of Plant Diversity and Soil Microbial Diversity Directly and Actively Drives the Multifunctionality of Grassland Ecosystems in the Middle Part of the Northern Slopes of the Tian Shan u," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-19, March.
    9. Chen, Si & Shahi, Chander & Chen, Han Y.H. & Kumar, Praveen & Ma, Zilong & McLaren, Brian, 2018. "Trade-offs and Synergies Between Economic Gains and Plant Diversity Across a Range of Management Alternatives in Boreal Forests," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 162-172.
    10. Eszter Tanács & Ágnes Vári & Ákos Bede-Fazekas & András Báldi & Edina Csákvári & Anett Endrédi & Veronika Fabók & Lívia Kisné Fodor & Márton Kiss & Péter Koncz & Anikó Kovács-Hostyánszki & János Mészá, 2023. "Finding the Green Grass in the Haystack? Integrated National Assessment of Ecosystem Services and Condition in Hungary, in Support of Conservation and Planning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-28, May.
    11. Michael S. O’Donnell & Daniel J. Manier, 2022. "Spatial Estimates of Soil Moisture for Understanding Ecological Potential and Risk: A Case Study for Arid and Semi-Arid Ecosystems," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-37, October.
    12. Jaehee Hwang, 2022. "Who Becomes a Fisherman? A Two-Stage Sample Selection Analysis on Small-Scale Fishery Choice and Income in Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-21, February.
    13. Xuefan Hu & Guangshuang Duan & Huiru Zhang, 2021. "Modelling Individual Tree Diameter Growth of Quercus mongolica Secondary Forest in the Northeast of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-15, April.
    14. Juerges, Nataly & Arts, Bas & Masiero, Mauro & Başkent, Emin Z. & Borges, José G. & Brodrechtova, Yvonne & Brukas, Vilis & Canadas, Maria João & Carvalho, Pedro Ochôa & Corradini, Giulia & Corrigan, E, 2020. "Integrating ecosystem services in power analysis in forest governance: A comparison across nine European countries," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    15. Yeste, Antonio & Seely, Brad & Imbert, J. Bosco & Blanco, Juan A., 2024. "Sensitivity of long-term productivity estimations in mixed forests to uncertain parameters related to fine roots," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 490(C).
    16. Yanjun Guo & Tuo Zhang & Ruotong Li, 2022. "Priority to Self-Interest? Economic Development? Or Ecological Coordination? The Turnover of Local Officials and Environmental Governance in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-13, December.
    17. Strack, Timo & Stoll, Manfred, 2022. "Soil water dynamics and drought stress response of Vitis vinifera L. in steep slope vineyard systems," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    18. Izydorczyk, Katarzyna & Michalska-Hejduk, Dorota & Jarosiewicz, Paweł & Bydałek, Franciszek & Frątczak, Wojciech, 2018. "Extensive grasslands as an effective measure for nitrate and phosphate reduction from highly polluted subsurface flow – Case studies from Central Poland," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 240-250.
    19. Liu, Yuan & Cao, Lixuan & Wu, Bin, 2022. "General non-linear imitation leads to limit cycles in eco-evolutionary dynamics," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 165(P2).
    20. Xuan Fang & Zhujun Gu & Ying Zhu, 2023. "Quantification of Agricultural Terrace Degradation in the Loess Plateau Using UAV-Based Digital Elevation Model and Imagery," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-16, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:2:p:1682-:d:1036924. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.