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 June 2024 | Viewed by 2054

Special Issue 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

Published Papers (2 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://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app132011426 - 18 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 585
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

Research

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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://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app132011330 - 16 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1096
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
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