Pedosphere 18(1): 24--33, 2008
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2008 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Factors affecting distribution of vegetation types on abandoned cropland in the hilly-gullied Loess Plateau region of China |
JIAO Ju-Ying 1,4, J. TZANOPOULOS2, P. XOFIS3 and J. MITCHLEY3 |
1 Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest Sci-Technology University of Agriculture and Forestry, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100 (China). E-mail: jiaojuying@yahoo.com.cn
2 Centre for Agro-Environmental Research, Department of Agriculture, The University of Reading, Earley Gate, PO Box 237, Reading, RG6 6A R (UK)
3 Imperial College London, Department of Agricultural Sciences, Wye Campus, Wye, Ashford, Kent, TN25 5AH (UK)
4 Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100 (China) |
| ABSTRACT |
| A study was conducted in the forest-steppe region of the Loess Plateau to provide insight into the factors affecting the process of vegetation establishment, and to provide recommendations for the selection of indigenous species in order to speed up the succession process and to allow the establishment of vegetation more resistant to soil erosion. Four distinctive vegetation types were identified, and their distribution was affected not only by the time since abandonment but also by other environmental factors, mainly soil water and total P in the upper soil layers. One of the vegetation types, dominated by Artemisia scoparia, formed the early successional stage after abandonment while the other three types formed later successional stages with their distribution determined by the soil water content and total P. It can be concluded that the selection of appropriate species for introduction to accelerate succession should be determined by the local conditions and especially the total P concentration and soil water content. |
| Key Words: abandoned cropland, Loess Plateau, soil erosion, vegetation variation |
| Citation: Jiao, J. Y., Tzanopoulos, J., Xofis, P. and Mitchley, J. 2008. Factors affecting distribution of vegetation types on abandoned cropland in the hilly-gullied Loess Plateau region of China. Pedosphere. 18(1): 24-33. |
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