Effect of different vegetation restoration on soil properties in the semi-arid Loess Plateau of China

Vegetation restoration on the Loess Plateau has decreased soil erosion. However, the comprehensive effects of different vegetation restoration types on soil properties are not clear. Evaluating the soil properties of the main economic and ecological tree species on the Loess Plateau can provide crucial guidance for regional ecological environment restoration. Therefore, we compared soil water content (SWC), soil particle composition, root distribution, soil organic carbon (SOC) content, soil bulk density (BD), total porosity (TP), saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), soil water retention curves (SWRCs), and soil aggregate stability of peach (Prunus persica), walnut (Juglans regia L.), and apple (Malus pumila) orchards, black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), and grassland of similar age on the semi-arid Loess Plateau. Forestland, especially black locust, had significantly lower SWC than grassland. The different vegetation restoration types altered the soil texture; grassland had the highest clay content, while black locust had the lowest. Afforestation promoted deep root formation, reaching>10 m, with>50 % of the roots below 2 m. Compared with grassland, forestland did not increase SOC content in the soil profile. Soil BD increased with increasing soil depth from 0 to 80 cm for the five vegetation types but was relatively stable below 80 cm; grassland had the greatest BD, while black locust had the lowest. The walnut orchard had the lowest Ks in the 0–80 cm soil layer. The apple orchard had the highest residual soil water content and field capacity. The apple orchard had significantly lower mean weight diameter (MWD) than the others, indicating low surface soil stability due to tillage management, increasing the risk of soil erosion. Overall, these results suggested that black locust had greater negative effects on soil properties than economic trees. Therefore, black locust establishment or planting density should be reduced in future vegetation restoration processes.