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Advances in Soil and Water Conservation in Mountainous Area
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Advances in Soil and Water Conservation in Mountainous Area

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Social Ecology and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2023) | Viewed by 4620

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Guodong Jia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of State Forestry Administration on Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: soil and water conservation; forest hydrology
Dr. Jianbo Jia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Forestry, Central South University of Forestry & Technology, Changsha 410004, China
Interests: soil and water conservation; eco-hydrology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soil and water conservation is a key point for the protection, restoration, and reconstruction of ecosystems and catchments in mountainous areas, with a focus on remedying soil and water loss. Previous researchers have studied traditional soil and water conservation methods, focusing on technologies, designs, and measures. However, ongoing global changes, such as climate and land use changes, are making soil and water conservation in mountainous areas more challenging than ever. Theories surrounding hydrological processes, plant–water relations, and carbon neutrality are needed for developing our understanding and evaluation of the impacts of soil and water conservation, and to improve the quality and stability of ecosystems and catchments in mountainous areas.

For this Special Issue, we invite experts in the field to share their innovative ideas and results on the following issues:

  • Hydrological processes and model applications under climate change in mountainous areas;
  • Vegetation restoration and water adaptation mechanisms in mountainous areas;
  • Coupling of ecological and hydrological processes and modelling;
  • Remote sensing applications for soil and water conservation;
  • Employing the water–energy–vegetation–land nexus as a framework for achieving carbon neutrality.

Dr. Guodong Jia
Dr. Jianbo Jia
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • soil erosion
  • forest ecohydrology
  • ecological restoration
  • ecohydrological models
  • hydrological process
  • plant–water relations
  • carbon neutrality

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1880 KiB  
Article
Differential Hydrological Properties of Forest Litter Layers in Artificial Afforestation of Eroded Areas of Latosol in China
by Zhihua Tu, Suyi Chen, Dongshuo Ruan, Zexian Chen, Yanping Huang and Jinhui Chen
Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 14869; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142214869 - 10 Nov 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1365
Abstract
Litter is one of the key components of the forest ecosystem and plays a role as the second active layer influencing hydrological processes, which has affected the global water cycle. Soil- and water-conservation forests were constructed by artificial afforestation as a part of [...] Read more.
Litter is one of the key components of the forest ecosystem and plays a role as the second active layer influencing hydrological processes, which has affected the global water cycle. Soil- and water-conservation forests were constructed by artificial afforestation as a part of vegetation restoration in the eroded area of Latosol, and little is known about the differences in the hydrological properties of vegetation restoration in the eroded area of Latosol in the tropical region. We investigated the litter thickness, mass, and hydrological properties in three soil- and water-conservation forests (Eucalyptus robusta, Hevea brasiliensis, and Acacia mangium) through in situ surveys and laboratory experiments. The results showed that (1) the total litter thickness varied from 2.16 to 5.53 cm and was highest in the A. mangium forest. The total litter mass for A. mangium, 14.66 ± 1.09 t·ha−1, was significantly higher than that for E. robusta (5.45 ± 0.59 t·ha−1) and H. brasiliensis (3.01 ± 0.14 t·ha−1). The mass of the semi-decomposed litter (SDL) layer was markedly higher than that of the un-decomposed litter (UDL) layer. (2) The maximum water-retention capacity (Wmax) and effective water-retention capacity (Weff) of the SDL layer were larger than the UDL layer for three forest plantations. The Wmax and Weff for the A. mangium stand were significantly higher than those for the E. robusta and H. brasiliensis stand. (3) The water-absorption rate of the SDL and UDL layer were highest at the onset of the immersion experiment, declined exponentially with time, and especially declined rapidly in the first 2 h. A higher water-holding capacity of A. mangium may be more effective in enhancing rainfall interception, minimizing splash erosion, and decreasing surface runoff. These results indicate that planting A. mangium in E. robusta and H. brasiliensis forests and then turning them into mixed forests should improve soil and water conservation and maximize their ecological benefits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Soil and Water Conservation in Mountainous Area)
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11 pages, 5907 KiB  
Article
Response of Soil Moisture to Long-Duration Rainstorms in Three Forest Stands in Mountainous Areas of North China
by Xuhui Tong, Xinlei Ren and Yu Chen
Sustainability 2022, 14(17), 11063; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141711063 - 5 Sep 2022
Viewed by 1309
Abstract
Rainfall is one of the core components of the water cycle in terrestrial ecosystems and is closely related to hydrothermal balance, plant and animal growth, and stability of the whole ecosystem. Long-duration rainstorms can alter the soil structure of forest ecosystems and affect [...] Read more.
Rainfall is one of the core components of the water cycle in terrestrial ecosystems and is closely related to hydrothermal balance, plant and animal growth, and stability of the whole ecosystem. Long-duration rainstorms can alter the soil structure of forest ecosystems and affect the spatial distribution of soil moisture, thus affecting the water supply from the soil to trees and being one of the factors that increase the vulnerability of forest ecosystems. In recent years, changes in rainfall patterns have normalized prolonged heavy rainfall in the mountainous areas of North China. However, there are few reports on the response of soil water at different depths to historically long rainstorms in forested areas. By quantifying the relationship between precipitation characteristics and soil water, the soil water transport patterns of Platycladus orientalis (PO), Quercus variabilis (QV) and Pinus tabuliformis (PT) during the long-duration rainstorms of 21–22 July 2012 were evaluated separately, and the roles of different plants in response to the historically long rainstorm were determined. The results showed that (1) the response of different forest stands to rainfall had a lag. Among them, the soil water of PO and PT were less affected by rainfall and could maintain a relatively stable state. (2) The soil moisture transport trend of PO was significantly greater than that of other vegetation zones and covered the whole process of rainfall. Under the three typical vegetation covers, there was a continuous zero-flux plane in the soil at each observed depth (the direction of soil moisture flow is more stable over the rainfall period), but there was no regular transport trend. (3) The root system was an important factor, influencing the differences in soil moisture response of the three vegetation types. QV had a higher average effective water recharge rate than lateral cypress and oleander and could better utilize the water recharge from storm water. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Soil and Water Conservation in Mountainous Area)
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20 pages, 3521 KiB  
Article
Dryland Ecological Restoration Research Dynamics: A Bibliometric Analysis Based on Web of Science Data
by Xiaoliang Shi, Xinyue Zhang, Shuaiyu Lu, Tielong Wang, Jiayi Zhang, Yuanpeng Liang and Jifeng Deng
Sustainability 2022, 14(16), 9843; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14169843 - 9 Aug 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1532
Abstract
Previous research on ecological restoration mainly includes three fields: water ecology, soil ecology, and atmospheric ecology, and the most abundant is in the field of soil ecology, among which the most abundant is in dryland ecological restoration. Research on dryland ecological restoration is [...] Read more.
Previous research on ecological restoration mainly includes three fields: water ecology, soil ecology, and atmospheric ecology, and the most abundant is in the field of soil ecology, among which the most abundant is in dryland ecological restoration. Research on dryland ecological restoration is very important in ensuring national food security, ecological security, and preventing a return to poverty. However, the previous research results do not clearly present the interconnection between the huge number of existing dryland ecological restoration studies and do not provide a three-dimensional understanding of the whole picture of dryland ecological restoration research from a broader perspective. Research on dryland ecological restoration has received wide attention from scholars at home and abroad, revealing the international research trends in the current field, which will provide a reference for the theory and practice of future dryland ecological restoration research. Using the SCI-E and SSCI databases of the “Web of Science Core Collection” as sample data sources and using CiteSpace optical measurement software, the 2254 literature in the field of international dryland ecological restoration research were systematically analyzed to track the situation and impact of research in this field by countries around the world, scientific research institutions and significant authors, and to analyze the interdisciplinary and research hotspots in this field, which is of great significance for the follow-up research of dryland ecological restoration. The research results show that: (1) The number of publications in international dryland ecological restoration has increased significantly with years and has strong development potential. (2) Journals representing the research frontier have an intense concentration with various journals. (3) The study of dryland ecological restoration belongs to a highly interdisciplinary discipline, while the two disciplines of ecology and environmental science are the pivot nodes of multidisciplinary disciplines. (4) China’s posts and total citations are among the best, but the average citation is low. (5) Dryland ecological restoration and protection is a hot research field at present, and special attention is paid to the dynamic changes and key driving factors of dryland ecological restoration and the full use of machine learning and extensive data mining to solve complex social-ecological problems. The study recommends that related disciplines must strengthen cooperation in the field of dryland ecological restoration, especially the two disciplines of ecology and environmental science, in order to promote the progress of dryland ecological restoration research theory and practice. China should continue to strengthen the investment of scientific research forces to improve the international influence of research in the field of dryland ecological restoration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Soil and Water Conservation in Mountainous Area)
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