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Applied Sciences
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Recent Research Progress of Vegetation Restoration and Environmental Impacts
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Recent Research Progress of Vegetation Restoration and Environmental Impacts

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2025 | Viewed by 4161

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Wei Zhao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Interests: soil environmental chemistry; soil ecology; soil microbiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Vegetation restoration plays a vital role in improving soil structure and fertility and increasing carbon sequestration, which is one of the effective strategies to control soil erosion and alleviate climate change. During vegetation restoration, vegetation type, the chemical composition of the litter, geography and climate, soil type, and microbial community affect the litter decomposition. The trade-off between soil organic carbon input by litter decomposition and mineralization by microbes leads to carbon accumulation or emission following the vegetation restoration. Moreover, the SOC input can improve soil structure by increasing aggregate stability. The composition of SOC will affect the persistence of soil aggregate stability. Meanwhile, soil aggregate stability influences carbon sequestration potential. In addition, there is evidence that soil carbon accumulation in the late vegetation restoration stage was limited by N and P nutrients, supported by the theory of plant homeostasis and soil enzyme stoichiometry. The objectives of this Special Issue are to bring together contributions from different parts of the world on “Recent Research on Vegetation Restoration and Environmental Impacts” to understand better the mechanisms of vegetation restoration on ecological restoration and climate change.

Dr. Wei Zhao
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • vegetation restoration
  • soil erosion
  • climate change
  • soil organic carbon
  • soil aggregates
  • soil microbe
  • soil enzyme

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 203 KiB  
Editorial
Progress and Prospects in Assessing the Multidimensional Environmental Impacts of Global Vegetation Restoration
by Wei Zhao
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(20), 11426; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132011426 - 18 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1043
Abstract
The restoration of degraded vegetation and ecosystems is a critical tool for mitigating biodiversity losses, stabilizing soils, improving water quality, sequestering carbon, and providing other ecosystem services [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research Progress of Vegetation Restoration and Environmental Impacts)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

21 pages, 9565 KiB  
Article
Impact Mechanisms of Different Ecological Forest Restoration Modes on Soil Microbial Diversity and Community Structure in Loess Hilly Areas
by Gang Chen, Jinjun Cai, Weiqian Li, Yitong Liu, Yan Wu and Tongtong Wang
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(23), 11162; https://doi.org/10.3390/app142311162 - 29 Nov 2024
Viewed by 691
Abstract
The Loess Plateau, with a fragile ecological environment, is one of the most serious water- and soil-eroded regions in the world, which has been improved by large-scale projects involving returning farmland to forest and grassland. This work is mainly aimed at exploring a [...] Read more.
The Loess Plateau, with a fragile ecological environment, is one of the most serious water- and soil-eroded regions in the world, which has been improved by large-scale projects involving returning farmland to forest and grassland. This work is mainly aimed at exploring a more reasonable and efficient ecological forest restoration mode and revealing synergistic restoration mechanisms. This study sampled typical Loess Plateau areas and designed the restoration modes for pure forests of Armeniaca sibirica L. (AR), Amygdalus davidiana (Carrière) de Vos ex Henry. (AM), Medicago sativa L. (MS), and mixed forests of apricot–peach–alfalfa (AR&AM&MS), using abandoned land (AL) as a control treatment. The effects of these modes on the physical and chemical properties and enzyme activities of various soils were investigated in detail. Moreover, the soil microbial diversity and community structure, functional gene diversity, and differences in the restoration modes were deeply analyzed by meta-genomic sequencing technology, and the inherent driving correlation and mechanisms among these indicators were discussed. The results showed that the soil water content and porosity of the AR, AM, and AR&AM&MS treatments increased significantly, while the bulk density decreased significantly, compared with AL. Moreover, the total carbon, total nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, total phosphorus, available phosphorus, total potassium, and available potassium contents of the AR&AM&MS restoration mode increased significantly. Compared to CK, there was no significant change in the catalase content of pure forest and mixed forest; however, the contents of urease, phosphatase, sucrase, B-glycanase, and N-acetylglucosaminidase in the restoration mode of the mixed forest all increased significantly. The species diversity index of the restoration modes is similar, and the dominant bacteria in soil microorganisms include Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Gemmatimonadetes. The mixed forest restoration mode had the highest microbial abundance. The functional gene diversity of the different restoration modes was also similar, including kegg genes, eggNOG genes, and carbohydrate enzymes. The functional genes of the mixed forest restoration mode were the most abundant, and their restoration mechanism was related to the coupling effect of soil–forest grass. After evaluation, the restoration mode of mixed forest was superior to that of pure forest or pure grass. This is attributed to the fact that the mode can improve soil structure, retain soil moisture, enhance soil enzyme activity, optimize soil microbial community structure, and improve microbial diversity and functional gene activity. This provides key data for the restoration of fragile ecological areas, and the promotion of sustainable management of forests and grass in hilly areas of the Loess Plateau. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research Progress of Vegetation Restoration and Environmental Impacts)
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12 pages, 5032 KiB  
Article
Effects of Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.) on the Methane Emission in Littoral Zones of a Subtropical Lake, China
by Wenchang Zhou, Xiangjuan Yuan, Liangkang He, Yuhu Shi, Xiuhuan Xu, Wenhui Ou, Shanshan Xiang, Jiawei Yang and Tian Fu
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(20), 11330; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132011330 - 16 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1763
Abstract
Freshwater lakes represent a potential source of methane (CH4) emission into the atmosphere. However, the CH4 emission contribution to the total emission in the littoral zones of lakes, especially emergent macrophytes (e.g., lotus), is poorly known. Lotus has been cultivated [...] Read more.
Freshwater lakes represent a potential source of methane (CH4) emission into the atmosphere. However, the CH4 emission contribution to the total emission in the littoral zones of lakes, especially emergent macrophytes (e.g., lotus), is poorly known. Lotus has been cultivated in almost all provinces in China; it is not only an aquatic plant, but also a kind of vegetable. In this study, two sampling zones (lotus plant and open water) were established in the lake of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. The CH4 emission was measured using a floating opaque chamber and gas chromatography between April and December in the years 2021 and 2022. The results indicated that the flux of CH4 emissions ranged from 0.10 to 59.75 mg m−2 h−1, with an average value of 5.61 mg m−2 h−1, in the open water, while ranging from 0.19 to 57.32 mg m−2 h−1, with an average value of 17.14 mg m−2 h−1, in the lotus plant zone. The maximal CH4 emissions occurred in July and August for the open water, which was highly related to the air and water temperature, whereas it happened in September for the lotus plant zone, possibly due to the high vegetation biomass, indirectly enhancing the high soil organic carbon content, plant-mediated CH4 emission, as well as the lower dissolved oxygen concentration, thus strengthening the production and emissions of CH4. Considering the carbon emissions (both CH4 and CO2) and plant productivity, although greater CH4 emission occurred in the lotus plant zone, it could still represent a potential carbon sink (213 g m−2 yr−1) compared to the open water. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research Progress of Vegetation Restoration and Environmental Impacts)
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