Effects of vegetation restoration on soil organic carbon sequestration at multiple scales in semi-arid Loess Plateau,China

Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration by vegetation restoration is the theme of much current research. Since 1999, the program of “Grain for Green”has been implemented in the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China. Its scope represents the largest vegetation restoration activity in China. However, it is still unclear for the SOC sequestration effects of vegetation cover change or natural succession promoted by the revegetation efforts at different scales under the semi-arid conditions. In this study, the changes in SOC stocks due to the vegetation restoration in the middle of Loess Plateau were estimated at patch, hill slope transect and small watershed scale from 1998 to 2006. Soil samples were taken from field for the determination of cesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs) and SOC contents. Vegetation cover change from 1998 to 2006 at the small watershed scale was assessed using Geographic Information System. The results showed that cropland transforming to grassland or shrubland significantly increased SOC at patch scale. Immature woodland, however, has no significant effect. When vegetation cover has no transformation for mature woodland (25 years old), SOC has no significant increase implying that SOC has come to a stable level. At hill slope scale, three typical vegetation cover patterns showed different SOC sequestration effects of 8.6%, 24.6%, and 21.4% from 1998 to 2006, and these SOC increases mainly resulted from revegetation. At the small watershed scale, SOC stocks increased by 19% in the surface soil layer at 0–20 cm soil depth from 1998 to 2006, which was equivalent to an average SOC sequestration rate of 19.92 t C y^− 1 km^− 2. Meanwhile, SOC contents showed a significant positive correlation (P < 0.001) with the ¹³⁷Cs inventory at every soil depth interval. This implied significant negative impacts of soil erosion on SOC sequestration. The results have demonstrated general positive effects of vegetation restoration on SOC sequestration at multiple scales. However, soil erosion under rugged topography modified the spatial distribution of the SOC sequestration effects. Therefore, vegetation restoration was proved to be a significant carbon sink, whereas, erosion could be a carbon source in high erosion sensitive regions. This research can contribute to the performance assessment of ecological rehabilitation projects such as “Grain to Green” and the scientific understanding of the impacts of vegetation restoration and soil erosion on soil carbon dynamics in semi-arid environments.