Impact of vegetation restoration on soil moisture dynamics in temperate water-limited regions

Impact of vegetation restoration on soil moisture dynamics in temperate water-limited regions

Study region: Temperate water-limited regions in northern China. Study focus: While restoring vegetation in China’s temperate water-limited regions is crucial for combating desertification, its hydrological effects—whether causing soil moisture (SM) drying or wetting—remain a topic of debate. This s...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lihua Lan, Tingting Zhang, Fei He, Baolin Wang, Junwei Bao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-08-01
Series:Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies
Subjects:
Vegetation restoration
NDVI
Climate response
Interactive effect
Soil moisture
PLS-SEM
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825004306
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Summary:Study region: Temperate water-limited regions in northern China. Study focus: While restoring vegetation in China’s temperate water-limited regions is crucial for combating desertification, its hydrological effects—whether causing soil moisture (SM) drying or wetting—remain a topic of debate. This study quantified their time-dependent interactions to evaluate phase-dependent SM responses, clearly separating the contributions of vegetation-mediated effects, climatic influences, and vegetation-climate interactions. New hydrological insights for the region: The results revealed contrasting trends between vegetation and SM across two phases. In T1 (1981–1999), NDVI significantly increased (0.0025/yr, p = 0.05) over 73 % of the area, with SM also rising (0.001 m³/m³/yr, p = 0.5) in 61 %. In T2 (2000–2020), NDVI growth accelerated (0.006/yr, p = 0.03) in 75 % of the area, while SM declined (-0.0007 m³/m³/yr, p = 1.0) in 59 %. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) identified distinct spatiotemporal drivers of SM dynamics. During T1, meteorological-vegetation interactions dominated SM increases across 60.3 % of the study area. In contrast, during T2, NDVI became the primary driver (60.7 % coverage), correlating with widespread SM declines. This quantitative framework delineated competing controls on SM and supported adaptive vegetation management in water-limited ecosystems.
ISSN:2214-5818

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