Effects of Pruning on Vegetation Growth and Soil Properties in Poplar Plantations
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
I have thoroughly reviewed the manuscript entitled "Effects of pruning on vegetation growth and soil properties in poplar plantations" which describes that pruning could promote the growth of understory vegetation and accelerate the transformation of soil nutrients. the results demonstrated that the 1/2 pruning treatment significantly inhibited the growth of poplar in terms of DBH and V, while the 1/3 pruning treatment promoted the growth of poplar in the short term.
The manuscript is well written by requires some modifications before making the final decision. Specific comments are given below
1- Give clear objective and concluding statements in the abstract at start and end respectively
2- At the end of the introduction section, provide some research gaps/novelty statement and a clear objective statement
3- Most of the figures are well described in the caption, but figure 8-9 is simple and not readily understood. give a clear and self-explanatory caption for both figures
Overall, the manuscript is well written
Author Response
1- Give clear objective and concluding statements in the abstract at start and end respectively
We make some change in the abstract according to your suggestion,
[objective statement]This study focused on the growth of poplar, understory vegetation diversity and soil properties in response to different pruning intensities in poplar plantations.
[conculding statement] Overall, we think that the 1/3 pruning intensity is more suitable for pruning practice.
2- At the end of the introduction section, provide some research gaps/novelty statement and a clear objective statement .
We added a word in the end of the introduction section 'The findings could improve the comprehensive understanding of the effect of pruning intensities on the vegetation growth and soil properties, and could also provide a scientific basis for the successful management of poplar plantations'.
3- Most of the figures are well described in the caption, but figure 8-9 is simple and not readily understood. give a clear and self-explanatory caption for both figures
We have added a clear and self-explanatory caption for figure 8 and 9.
Figure 8. RDA between the poplar growth characteristics(blue arrows) and soil properties(red arrows)under different pruning treatments during four periods. Note: the results of RDA is used to identify the relationships between the poplar growth and soil properties; n (36)= three pruning treatments × four periods × three replications. The percentages on the x-axis and y-axis reflect the response rate of the soil properties to the changes in poplar growth characteristics in different dimensions. NH4/NO3 represents the ratio of soil ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N) to nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N); the same applies below.
Figure 9. RDA between the understory vegetation characteristics (blue arrows) and soil properties (red arrows) under different pruning treatments. Note:the results of RDA is used to identify the relationships between the understory vegetation characteristics and soil properties; n (27)= three pruning treatments × nine replications. The percentages on the x-axis and y-axis reflect the response rate of the soil properties to the changes in understory vegetation characteristics in different dimensions.
Reviewer 2 Report
Dear Edior
The manuscript is very valuable and well written. Some minor comments are cited in text. after minor revisions is acceptable
Best Regards
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
1. We made some changes in the introduction section.
2. The sentence that 'Therefore, we focused on the growth of poplar, understory vegetation diversity and soil properties in response to different pruning intensities in poplar plantations.' is the aim of our study. Beside, we added a clear objective statements in the end of the introduction section. For example, 'The findings could improve the comprehensive understanding of the effect of pruning intensities on the vegetation growth and soil properties, and could also provide a scientific basis for the successful management of poplar plantations.'
3.We changed the title of 2.1 Site descriptions to 2.1 study area, and added soil and other ecological features in the study area.
4. The last paragraph in the end of Discussion section is not main executive achievements, but it is the shortcomings of this study and the research prospected.
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Accepted
