Impact of road corridors on soil properties and plant communities in high-elevation fragile ecosystems

IF 2.6 2区农林科学 Q1 FORESTRY

European Journal of Forest Research Pub Date : 2024-08-01 DOI:10.1007/s10342-024-01720-x

Wenjie Bao, Wenfu Zhang, Jinlong Dong, Xiaodong Yang, Shangwen Xia, Hui Chen

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Abstract

Road construction constitutes a significant disruption to natural ecosystems. Globally, high-elevation regions are among the most fragile and sensitive ecosystems, while systematic information regarding the impact of road construction on soil properties and plant communities in these regions remains scarce. To fill this gap, this study employed a paired plot design, establishing the natural and disturbed plots along the National Highway 214 (48 years) and 219 (12 years) from Yunnan Province to Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China, with elevation ranging from 2,400 m to 4,900 m. A total of 68 sampling plots (34 locations) were selected to compare the pattern of soil properties and plant communities between the two categories along elevation gradient. Results revealed the restoration of soil properties post-disturbance had been multifaceted and long-lasting. Specifically, disturbed plots exhibited a significant increase in soil pH, while soil moisture, TC, TN, TP, NH₄-N, and AK suffered substantial loss. Moreover, the strong recovery ability of shrub and herbaceous species was observed in our study, while tree communities were difficult to revert to their original state. Furthermore, the influence of elevation on vegetation restoration also varied depending on plant life forms. In light of these findings, appropriate strategies including restorative planting, soil amelioration, customized restoration plan for specific ecosystems, monitoring and adaptive management, were proposed to mitigate the negative impacts and promote the ecosystem recovery after road construction in these ecologically fragile regions.

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公路走廊对高海拔脆弱生态系统土壤特性和植物群落的影响

道路建设严重破坏了自然生态系统。在全球范围内，高海拔地区是生态系统最脆弱、最敏感的地区之一，而有关公路建设对这些地区土壤性质和植物群落影响的系统性信息却仍然很少。为填补这一空白，本研究采用配对小区设计，在中国西南地区云南省至西藏自治区的 214 国道（48 年）和 219 国道（12 年）沿线，海拔从 2,400 米到 4,900 米之间，分别建立了自然小区和干扰小区，共选择了 68 个采样小区（34 个地点），比较两类小区沿海拔梯度的土壤性质和植物群落模式。结果表明，扰动后土壤性质的恢复是多方面和持久的。具体而言，扰动地块的土壤 pH 值显著上升，而土壤水分、TC、TN、TP、NH4-N 和 AK 则大幅下降。此外，我们还观察到灌木和草本物种的恢复能力很强，而乔木群落则很难恢复到原来的状态。此外，海拔高度对植被恢复的影响也因植物的生命形式而异。鉴于这些发现，我们提出了适当的策略，包括恢复性种植、土壤改良、针对特定生态系统的定制恢复计划、监测和适应性管理，以减轻道路建设对这些生态脆弱地区的负面影响并促进生态系统的恢复。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

European Journal of Forest Research 农林科学-林学

CiteScore

5.10

自引率

3.60%

发文量

审稿时长

6-16 weeks

期刊介绍： The European Journal of Forest Research focuses on publishing innovative results of empirical or model-oriented studies which contribute to the development of broad principles underlying forest ecosystems, their functions and services. Papers which exclusively report methods, models, techniques or case studies are beyond the scope of the journal, while papers on studies at the molecular or cellular level will be considered where they address the relevance of their results to the understanding of ecosystem structure and function. Papers relating to forest operations and forest engineering will be considered if they are tailored within a forest ecosystem context.