Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment

Influence of slope features on the vegetation restoration in the semi-humid area of the Loess Plateau, China 

Author(s):

Yitao Li ¹, Xinxiao Yu ¹*,  Xinping Li ²

Recieved Date: 2012-10-22, Accepted Date: 2013-01-28

Abstract:

As one of the most environmentally vulnerable regions in China, the Loess Plateau faces new challenges. The new sources of soil erosion and water loss, artificial slopes, have been created numerously in large engineering projects. Plant establishment is critical to environmental protection on these slopes, but the mechanisms regulating establishment can be obscured by the influences of slope features. This study aimed to characterize the relative effects of the slope features on vegetation distribution and to find the slope threshold for vegetation restoration. A detailed investigation combining floristic composition, soil characteristics and climatic data were carried out at 200 slopes, which mainly located in semi-humid areas of the Shanxi Province, China. We used constrained ordination to identify variation in species distribution along geographical and environmental gradients. Besides, in order to define the slope threshold for vegetation distribution, the curve fitting method was employed to establish an empirical model. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) revealed that slope aspect was the primary factor for the vegetation distribution, followed by the slope angle, and the first CCA axis was effectively a topographical gradient. Regressions indicated the relationship between the plant cover and slope angle was not linear, but a quadratic curve; the slope threshold for vegetation distribution was approximately 75°. The plant cover decreased rapidly when the slope angle is larger than 45°. This study suggests that plant establishment is an effective method when the slopes are gentler than 45°, and the engineering measures (i.e. Rock-bolt and Shotcrete) might be a better choice for the slopes steeper than 75°. These results provide a reliable theoretical basis for vegetation restoration and developing effective management practices on those artificial slopes. 

Keywords:

Artificial slope, plant cover, slope features, vegetation restoration, slope threshold, canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), the Loess Plateau

---

Journal: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Year: 2013
Volume: 11
Issue: 1
Category: Environment
Pages: 919-923

---

Full text for Subscribers

---

Information:

Note to users

The requested document is freely available only to subscribers/registered users with an online subscription to the Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment. If you have set up a personal subscription to this title please enter your user name and password. All abstracts are available for free.

Article purchasing

If you like to purchase this specific document such as article, review or this journal issue, contact us. Specify the title of the article or review, issue, number, volume and date of the publication. Software and compilation, Science & Technology, all rights reserved. Your use of this website details or service is governed by terms of use. Authors are invited to check from time to time news or information.

---

Purchase this Article:   20 Purchase PDF Order Reprints for 15

---

Share this article :