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1.
封育对退化草原植被恢复及土壤理化性质影响的研究进展 总被引：5，自引：0，他引：5
封育是退化草原生态系统恢复的有效措施之一。在梳理现有封育研究成果的基础上,归纳封育对植物多样性、生物量、植被演替、土壤物理与化学性状的影响效应,发现:受地理区域、气候条件及封育前退化程度等本底条件的影响,封育条件下植被多样性呈现出显著增加、基本稳定和明显下降3种结果,生物量则表现为围封初期增加,围封时间过长不利于维持较高生物量的变化趋势;封育使得种群拓殖能力与群落资源冗余,土壤种子库结构改善、密度增长,退化草原呈正向演替,并可能出现3种演替模式。封育消除了土壤紧实层,改善了土壤结构与性状,但对土壤养分的影响效应不一致。基于研究现状,提出今后应深入研究的6个内容与方向,对丰富封育条件下退化草原恢复效应具有指导意义。 相似文献
2.
天然草地退化引起草地植被和表层土壤遭到严重破坏,将使草地植被天然恢复过程受到强烈抑制。为此,试验采用长期(40年)封禁恢复技术,探究了封禁后黄土区退化草地植被变化特征,揭示了退化天然草地封禁恢复后的生态环境效应。结果表明：随着封禁恢复时间的变化,退化草地恢复演替已经历了5个时间段;草地生物量的变化过程已呈现出由先增加到后降低的趋势,尤其是在封禁恢复的第20年生物量达到最高值为520.5 g/m2;直到封禁恢复的第25年出现以本氏针茅为建群种的草原群落,第25年之后优势种大针茅种群密度急剧增加,在封禁的第30～34年以大针茅为群落的优势种生长繁殖较快,从群落恢复进程看大针茅有替代本氏针茅的趋势,但大针茅为有性繁殖,受草地凋落物的影响在群落中持续时间较短;从自然修复的35年后,通过种间竞争—扩散—定居—稳定生长的几个作用机制,又形成了以本氏针茅为建群种的“亚顶级”群落。此外,封禁后的草地物种丰富度和多样性逐渐提高。综上,封禁有利于黄土区草地生态系统恢复,且随着封禁时间的推演,草地生态系统逐渐趋于良性循环。 相似文献
3.
《Land Degradation \u0026amp; Development》2017,28(4):1336-1344
Community composition strongly affected the soil C and N storages. However, the influences of community composition on native grassland remain poorly understood. The purpose of this study is to investigate the ability of plant communities including how legumes affect the soil C and N storages in the semi‐arid grassland. Experimental grassland communities were separated by whether or not containing legumes. We measured soil C and N storages and determined above‐ground and below‐ground biomass, litter biomass, plant species richness, and species diversity to understand the mechanisms underlying the changes of soil C and N storages and to determine the relationship of species diversity and productivity. The results showed that legumes increased above‐ground and below‐ground biomass and C and N storages. Soil C and N storages were significantly and positively related to above‐ground and below‐ground biomass, litter biomass, plant species richness, and diversity in the presence of legumes. The presence of legumes increased soil C and N simultaneously but not synchronously, which resulting in a higher C:N ratio. This study indicated that legumes increased soil C and N storages possibly through increasing biomass and soil C and N inputs. The increases are mediated by plant diversity and plant functional complementarity. We suggest that the combination of legumes‐grass species may greatly enhance ecosystem services such as soil C and N storages, productivity, and diversity in semi‐arid grassland. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 相似文献
4.
Hossain M. Anawar N. Canha I. Santa-Regina M. C. Freitas 《Journal of Soils and Sediments》2013,13(4):730-741
Purpose
The impacts of mining contaminations and physico-chemical properties and geochemistry of mine tailings on the density, richness, biodiversity, evolution and succession of plant species and vegetation recovery in the mining area is very poorly reported in the literature. Therefore, the present study conducted an investigation on vegetation development and succession of plant communities at the abandoned São Domingos pyrite mining area.Materials and methods
We conducted the field survey to estimate the vegetation development and succession of plant communities, collect vegetation (plant species, lichen and moss) and tailing (and soil) samples, and finally analyzed the physico-chemical and geochemical properties and metal levels in mine tailings, soil and vegetation samples.Results and discussion
The results showed that the communities of low height and biomass like grass, legume, shrub, moss and lichen were dominating on the mine tailings and waste dumps at the inner sites and center of the mine, and the vegetation coverage was explicitly very poor. The reddish brown colluvia had poor soil quality, but high acidity and metal concentrations. However, at the outer edge of the mine the loamy soil and relatively lower acidity and metal contamination favored the higher vegetation cover and a gradual increase in the number of species and plant succession, where the taller, higher biomass and broad leaf trees were abundantly grown forming a dense forest and canopy. The succession of several plant communities dominating in the mining area, vegetation coverage and species richness were strongly related to the different levels of contamination, soil properties and adverse factors of mine tailings.Conclusions
Although the high concentrations of toxic trace elements and low pH soil are important factors for limiting the plant growth, however, proper soil development with enriched nutrients and properties on mining wastes, by either natural or external soil aided process, can help to promote the high vegetation growth, mine rehabilitation and ecological restoration of the mining degraded lands. 相似文献5.
黄土丘陵区典型草地演替中植物群落特征与土壤储水量关系 总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1
[目的]阐明草地植被演替过程中植被生产力、植物多样性等生态学特征与土壤储水量的关系,为探明黄土高原地区植被恢复的生态环境效应提供一定的科学依据。[方法]采用时空互代的方法对宁夏回族自治区固原市云雾山保护区自然恢复3,8,13,46,66,89a的样地进行取样,分析0—100cm土层土壤储水量的分布及其与地上地下植物生物量、物种多样性的关系。[结果]随着草地演替的进行,植被群落盖度、生物量和物种多样性指数在恢复13a之前显著增加,之后渐趋稳定;土壤含水量逐渐增加,容重逐渐降低。植被群落演替对0—40cm土层土壤储水量没有显著影响,但演替后期对40cm以下土层水分有明显消耗。植被群落生物量及物种多样性指标与表层0—10cm水分呈显著正相关。[结论]草地演替过程中,植被群落生物量和物种多样性的增加与表层土壤储水能力的提升密切相关,但深层根系生物量的增加对下层土壤储水的消耗也逐渐增大。 相似文献
6.
In recent years, numerous studies have evaluated the effect of plant function diversity on ecosystem functions such as productivity and soil nutrient status. We performed a redundancy analysis (RDA) to examine the relationship between plant functional diversity, productivity and soil nitrogen in a chronosequence of abandoned fields in sub-alpine meadow in the eastern part of the Tibet Plateau, China. We found that along the secondary succession sequence, legume richness and aboveground biomass significantly increased and both were positively correlated with total species richness (S) and aboveground biomass (T-bio). This pattern suggests that legume richness increases community productivity. In addition, we found that total aboveground biomass, legume and grass richness were positively correlated with soil microbial nitrogen (MBN), the ratio of microbial nitrogen to soil total nitrogen (MBN/TN) and the ratio of soil organic carbon and soil total nitrogen (C/N), whereas they were negatively correlated with soil total nitrogen (TN), organic carbon (Corg), and microbial carbon (MBC). Contrary to our predictions grasses such as Stipa grandis, Scirpus tripueter, Koeleria cristata were more closely associated with MBN, MBN/TN than legumes such as Oxytropis ochrocephala, Thermopsis lanceolate and Astragalus polycladus. The late-successional grass Kobresio humilis had a stronger positive correlation with NH4-N as compared to the legumes and NO3-N was not associated with any legume species. This suggests that the grasses and legumes have a synergetic positive influence on the ecosystem properties, especially nitrogen. Therefore, in this N-limited, plant community diversity of both legumes and grasses has a strong influence on ecosystem changes during succession. 相似文献
7.
东北黑土区农牧交错带严重的水土流失破坏了草场资源,降低了土地承载能力,导致草场沙化退化严重。为了以最快的速度最大程度地实现沙化退化草场的植被恢复与重建,通过野外小区对比试验和室内分析,采用二因素完全随机设计,研究了在不同植被条件下施用不同剂量聚丙烯酰胺后草场植被的生物学性状及物种组成的变化,分析探讨了聚丙烯酰胺促进沙化退化草场植被恢复的效果。结果表明:聚丙烯酰胺对植被盖度、株高、生物量和植物多样性的提高均具有明显的促进作用,特别是剂量在120 kg/hm2时,聚丙烯酰胺促进草场植被恢复的效果最为突出。 相似文献
8.
青藏高原三江源地区的高寒草甸面临着严峻的退化问题，人工建植是三江源地区退化草地的重要修复方式。为探究地下生物对草地人工恢复措施的响应，本研究比较了三江源地区高寒草甸不同恢复期人工草地(建植1、5和10 a)的土壤线虫群落变化。结果显示：与原生植被样地相比，所有恢复期样地的植物地下生物量降低，土壤容重、pH、全磷、全钾和硝态氮含量升高，表明人工草地系统的初级生产力和土壤特性尚未恢复到原生草地状态。不同恢复期样地中土壤线虫的均匀度和多样性指数均显著高于原生植被样地。此外，不同恢复期样地的线虫多度、代谢足迹以及成熟度指数均随恢复年限的增加而增加。相关性分析结果表明，土壤线虫多度与植物地下生物量、土壤有机质、全氮、全磷、矿质氮和速效氮含量显著正相关(P<0.05)，与土壤pH、全钾和容重显著负相关(P<0.05)。尽管三江源区退化草地的人工恢复措施尚未完全恢复牧草生产力至原生植被状态，但土壤生物结构及功能具有改善的趋势，显示该地区退化草地生态系统具有较强的恢复潜力。 相似文献
9.
《Land Degradation \u0026amp; Development》2017,28(8):2574-2584
Together with plants, soil microbial communities play an essential role in the development of stable ecosystems on degraded lands, such as postmining spoil heaps. Our study addressed concurrent development of the vegetation and soil fungal and bacterial communities in the course of primary succession in a brown coal mine spoil deposit area in the Czech Republic across a chronosequence spanning 54 years. During succession, the plant communities changed from sparse plants over grassland and shrubland into a forest, becoming substantially more diverse with time. Microbial biomass increased until the 21st year of ecosystem development and later decreased. Although there was a close association between fungi and vegetation, with fungi mirroring the differences in plant community assemblages, the development of the bacterial community was different. The early succession community in the barren nonvegetated soil largely differed from that in the older sites, especially in its high abundance of autotrophic and free‐living N2‐fixing bacteria. Later in succession, bacterial community changes were minor and reflected the chemical parameters of the soil, including pH, which also showed a minor change with time. Our results show that complex forest ecosystems developed over 54 years on the originally barren soil of the temperate zone and indicate an important role of bacteria in the initial stage of soil development. Although the arrival of vegetation affects substantially fungal as well as bacterial communities, it is mainly fungi that respond to the ongoing development of vegetation. 相似文献
10.
[目的]分析3种不同草地退化阶段(轻度退化,中度退化和重度退化)草地植被和土壤理化特性的变化规律,为类似区域退化草地植被恢复提供有效途径。[方法]野外植被调查、土壤取样和室内分析。[结果]草地退化不同阶段草地植物群落组成和物种多样性均有差异,退化对草地土壤理化特性有明显影响。重度退化草地土壤容重显著高于轻度退化草地(p0.05)。轻度和中度退化样地0—10cm土壤空隙度显著高于重度退化草地。重度退化草地的土壤有机质、全碳、全钾、全磷和有效钾均明显小于轻度退化草地(p0.05),但土壤pH值和有效氮含量没有显著变化。[结论]高山草地退化演替对该区土壤物理特性具有显著影响。 相似文献
11.
[目的]以内蒙古四子王旗境内退化荒漠草原为研究区域,研究不同植被恢复模式对植物群落组成、土壤含水量、土壤侵蚀的影响,为退化草原水土流失治理和草原生态建设提供理论依据。[方法]针对退化草原特点、水土流失特征,分析不同植被恢复模式下植物群落特征、土壤水分、地表径流和侵蚀量的变化,运用主成分分析对不同植被恢复模式的水土保持生态效益进行评价。[结果]退化荒漠草原的3种植被恢复模式试验样地的植物种类组成、群落总盖度、地上生物量均高于放牧天然草地,"围栏封育+灌木条带+施肥复壮"、"围栏封育+松土补播+草种包衣"2种植被恢复模式的地上生物量与放牧天然草地之间变化差异达到显著水平(p0.05);3种植被恢复模式的实施有效控制了土壤侵蚀,径流量和土壤侵蚀量均低于天然草地。[结论]"围栏封育+松土补播+草种包衣"植被恢复模式在保持水土资源,增加群落稳定性等方面的生态效益最好。 相似文献
12.
东祁连山不同退化草地植物群落特征与土壤养分特性 总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1
为探究东祁连山不同退化草地植物群落特征、土壤养分特性及其相关性,以轻度退化草地、中度退化草地和重度退化草地为研究对象,采用野外调查、室内测定和数据统计分析相结合的方法,分析了不同退化草地植被特征、土壤养分特性及其之间的相关性。结果表明:(1)从轻度退化草地-重度退化草地,植物群落特征(地上生物量、高度、密度、频度和总盖度)整体呈现降低趋势,且差异显著(P<0.05),中度退化草地Margalef指数、Shannon指数和Evenness指数最高,Dominance指数最低;(2)研究区植物共有19科38属41种,生态适应性较强的植物主要集中在豆科、禾本科、菊科和蔷薇科,不同退化草地植被型分别为矮生嵩草(K.humilis)+赖草(Leymus secalinus)、矮生嵩草+高山唐松草(Thalictrum alpinum)、矮生嵩草+赖草,其中矮生嵩草是各退化草地的优势种,不同退化草地的功能群以杂类草占优势,其次是禾草类,毒草类所占的比例最少;(3)随草地退化程度加重,土壤速效氮、有效磷、有机碳和含水量呈降低的趋势,而pH整体呈现升高的趋势;(4)不同退化草地土壤因子对植被生长贡献率最高分别为速效氮、有效磷和含水量。综上,随着草地退化程度加重,植物群落结构向单一趋势过渡,土壤养分含量减少,且土壤因子对植物贡献率也相应发生变化。 相似文献
13.
Gabriel Perez Thibaud Decaëns Gaylord Dujardin Marthe Akpa-Vinceslas Estelle Langlois Matthieu Chauvat 《Pedobiologia》2013,56(4-6):169-177
It has been acknowledged that soil organisms play a significant role in nutrient cycling and thus may affect productivity and competition within plant assemblages with potential effects on vegetation trajectories. However, few studies have considered a single conceptual framework referring to both above–belowground linkages and plant succession. Consequently, we lack knowledge on the effects of plant successional processes on the dynamics of soil biota. Given this dearth of information, our study aimed to describe the dynamics of a major group of soil fauna, namely collembola, during the secondary succession on chalky slopes edging the Seine River. We selected five different plant assemblages as representative of a chronosequence: short grassland, tall grassland, encroached grassland, shrubland and forest. Our results clearly highlighted a strong response of collembolan assemblages to vegetation gradient. The changes in collembolan diversity were due to a high turnover rate in early successional stages and to nestedness in late successional stages. In addition, each collembolan life form had a specific response to vegetal succession. Euedaphic assemblages increased progressively during the succession while epedaphic did not follow a clear pattern. Our results also indicated a link between the dynamics of collembolan assemblages and plant life forms (e.g. trees and graminoids) rather than plant diversity. A focus on life forms, for plants and soil biota, seems to provide a good framework to study linkages between above and belowground biota. 相似文献
14.
Klaus Birkhofer Tim Diekötter Markus Fischer Stephanie Socher 《Soil biology & biochemistry》2011,43(10):2200-2207
Edaphic fauna contributes to important ecosystem functions in grassland soils such as decomposition and nutrient mineralization. Since this functional role is likely to be altered by global change and associated shifts in plant communities, a thorough understanding of large scale drivers on below-ground processes independent of regional differences in soil type or climate is essential. We investigated the relationship between abiotic (soil properties, management practices) and biotic (plant functional group composition, vegetation characteristics, soil fauna abundance) predictors and feeding activity of soil fauna after accounting for sample year and study region. Our study was carried out over a period of two consecutive years in 92 agricultural grasslands in three regions of Germany, spanning a latitudinal gradient of more than 500 km. A structural equation model suggests that feeding activity of soil fauna as measured by the bait-lamina test was positively related to legume and grass species richness in both years. Most probably, a diverse vegetation promotes feeding activity of soil fauna via alterations of both microclimate and resource availability. Feeding activity of soil fauna also increased with earthworm biomass via a pathway over Collembola abundance. The effect of earthworms on the feeding activity in soil may be attributed to their important role as ecosystem engineers. As no additional effects of agricultural management such as fertilization, livestock density or number of cuts on bait consumption were observed, our results suggest that the positive effect of legume and grass species richness on the feeding activity in soil fauna is a general one that will not be overruled by regional differences in management or environmental conditions. We thus suggest that agri-environment schemes aiming at the protection of belowground activity and associated ecosystem functions in temperate grasslands may generally focus on maintaining plant diversity, especially with regard to the potential effects of climate change on future vegetation structure. 相似文献
15.
Declining fallow length in traditional upland rice-based cropping systems in West Africa results in a significant yield reduction due mainly to increased weed pressure and declining soil fertility. Promising cropping system alternatives include the use of weed-suppressing legumes as short duration fallows. N accumulation, N derived from the atmosphere (Ndfa), weed suppression, and the effects on rice yield were evaluated in 50 legumes, grown at four sites in Côte d'Ivoire with contrasting climate, soils, and rice production systems. The sites were located in the derived and the Guinea savanna and in the bimodal and the monomodal rainfall forest zones. Legume and weed biomass during the fallow were determined at bimonthly intervals. Percent Ndfa by biological N fixation was determined by 15N natural abundance. Fallow vegetation was cleared and rice seeded according to the practice of local farmers and the cropping calendar. Weed biomass and species composition were monitored at monthly intervals. Legume fallows appear to offer the potential to sustain rice yields under intensified cropping. Biomass was in most instances significantly greater in the legume fallow than in the "weedy" fallow control, and several legume species suppressed weed growth. N accumulation by legumes varied between 1–270?kg N ha–1 with 30–90%?Ndfa. Across sites, Mucuna spp., Canavalia spp., and Stylosanthes guianensis showed consistently high N accumulation. Grain yields of rice which had been preceded by a legume fallow were on average 0.2?Mg ha–1 or about 30% greater than that preceded by a natural weedy fallow control. At the savanna sites where fallow vegetation was incorporated, Mucuna spp. and Canavalia ensiformis significantly increased rice yield. In the bimodal forest zone, the highest rice yield and lowest weed biomass were obtained with Crotalaria anagyroides. In general, the effects of legume fallows on rice yield were most significant in environments with favourable soil and hydrological conditions. 相似文献
16.
浅耕翻是退化草地改良的一项技术措施,其效果往往与表层土壤的退化程度与类型相关。为进一步认识荒漠草原退化草地浅耕翻措施的适用性及其作用机理,在宁夏盐池县选取覆沙草地（片沙覆盖型）和侵蚀草地（侵蚀粗化型）当地两种较为典型的退化草地类型,分别进行深翻（20 cm）和浅耕（5 cm）两种浅翻耕处理,分析其植被更新和土壤水分变化情况。结果表明,浅耕翻可有效减少猪毛蒿当季发生数量,激活土壤种子库,提高两种退化类型草地植被均匀性和多样性水平,但是深翻处理下植被盖度下降幅度较大。其中覆沙草地物种丰富度保持稳定,一年生的狗尾草和画眉草占据更为优势的地位,深翻处理下土壤水分向下层蓄积;侵蚀草地物种数明显下降,但指示种胡枝子在群落中的优势地位进一步提高,土壤水分则沿垂直剖面均匀增加,0—100 cm土壤蓄水量显著提高。浅耕翻是推动退化草地恢复演替的有效手段,其中浅耕更具普适性;但是综合植被更新和水分蓄积情况,深翻措施更适宜覆沙草地,浅耕措施对侵蚀草地则较为适宜。 相似文献
17.
《CATENA》2005,59(2):173-186
The Bashang area, located in the semiarid agropastoral zone, represents a typical degraded ecosystem under intensified human activities. This region has undergone profound land use changes during the past century. Natural grasslands had been progressively cultivated, and subsequently, part of cultivated lands had been abandoned by farmers due to severe desertification. In this study, we collected soil samples (0–20 cm depth) from four farmlands on both flat and gentle slope lands where cultivation had occurred for 0, 8, 30, and 50 years to assess the effects of grassland cultivation on soil degradation. In addition, soil samples were taken and plant species were investigated from eight sites in age sequence of 0- to 50- year-old abandoned field to assess natural restoration process following field abandonment. The results showed that cultivation of grassland result in a significant soil degradation which is manifested by the coarsening in soil texture and the losses in organic C and nutrients. After 50 years of cultivation, soil organic C, total N, and total P concentrations had declined 73–79%, 60–70%, and 67–68% in the 0–20 cm plough layer, respectively. Over half of these losses occurred during the first 8 years of cultivation, and subsequent was slow. After fields were abandoned, vegetation got self-restoration, and plant species composition moved toward that of the natural grassland community with time. Soil organic C, total N, and total P levels gradually improved with increasing years of land abandonment, with a faster restoration rate in the early vegetation recovery stage and a slower rate in the late succession stage. The results suggested that soil degradation may occurred drastically by inappropriate land use and management with a short time, while soil restoration for a degraded ecosystem may take long period of time, especially in this fragile ecosystem. From the perspective of soil resource management and desertification control, conservational tillage and management for farmlands and proper grazing management for recovered grassland should be taken into account in this area. 相似文献
18.
X.‐L. Li G. L. W. Perry G. Brierley H.‐Q. Sun C.‐H. Li G.‐X. Lu 《Land Degradation \u0026amp; Development》2014,25(5):417-427
Improving our understanding of abiotic and biotic thresholds that are transgressed during ecosystem degradation is vital for effective landscape‐level restoration. Establishing logical and consistent typologies of degradation is an important first‐step in this process. Areas of degraded alpine meadow in western China are referred to as Heitutan (or ‘black soil beach’) and cover vast areas. Previously, four classes of grassland degradation have been differentiated in this large area: non‐degraded alpine meadow and moderate, severe and extreme Heitutan . We evaluated existing field‐based classifications of Heitutan in the Sanjiangyuan region, and examined the criteria on which these classifications are made, by using multivariate statistical approaches. First, we asked whether existing qualitative classifications, based on vegetation cover and the abundance of impalatable plant species, adequately describe the nature of degradation at different locations. We then used a suite of vegetation and soil measures collected across 175 sites spanning a range of degradation conditions to develop a new quantitative assessment of degradation across the alpine meadows of the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau. Hierarchical classification highlights two broad classes of degradation: non‐degraded alpine meadow and degraded Heitutan . The non‐degraded category effectively combines the non‐degraded grassland and moderate classes, whereas the degraded Heitutan combines the severe and extreme Heitutan classes. Ordination analyses suggest that the four previously recognized classes of degradation intergrade. Of the 14 biophysical variables used to classify subsites on the basis of their degradation, bare ground area and vegetation cover are the two most useful predictors of grassland condition and associated ecological threshold conditions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 相似文献
19.
L. L. Roa‐Fuentes C. Martínez‐Garza J. Etchevers J. Campo 《Land Degradation \u0026amp; Development》2015,26(3):201-210
Soil degradation by deforestation and introduction of exotic grasses is a grave consequence of land‐use change in tropical regions during the last decades. Soil restoration following natural succession (i.e., passive restoration) is slow because of low tree establishment. Introduction of tree plantings by human intervention (i.e., active restoration) results in a promising strategy to accelerate forest succession and soil recovery in tropical region. The present research was carried out to explore the restoration of soil properties after cattle exclusion and of grazing combined with native tree planting introduction (legumes and nonlegumes) in a tropical pasture in Veracruz, southeast Mexico. Results indicate that land‐use changes decreased soil C and N pools in both litter and mineral soil. In addition, soil heterogeneity increased by land‐use changes at both temporal and spatial scales. In the short term, passive succession (i.e., cattle exclusion) favors the recovery of C and N content in labile soil pools, indicated by the increase in litter C and N masses as well as C and N concentrations in soil microbial biomass. Soils under active restoration showed trends to recover the N cycling, such as a greater accumulation of N in litter, in soil total N concentrations, soil microbial biomass N concentrations, rates of net N transformations, and extractable water and microbial biomass C:N ratios mainly under legumes species. Active restoration including legume introduction is a key factor for rapid recovery of soil fertility. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 相似文献
20.
The Amazon Basin has suffered extensive deforestation in the past 30 years. Deforestation typically leads to changes in climate, biodiversity, hydrological cycle, and soil degradation. Vegetation succession plays an important role in soil restoration through accumulation of vegetation biomass and improved soil/plant interaction. However, relationships between succession and soil properties are not well known. For example, how does vegetation succession affect nutrient accumulation? Which soil factors are important in influencing vegetation growth? What is the best way to evaluate soil fertility in the Amazon basin? This paper focuses on the interrelationships between secondary succession and soil properties. Field soil sample data and vegetation inventory data were collected in two regions of Brazilian Amazonia (Altamira and Bragantina). Soil nutrients and texture were analyzed at successional forest sites. Multiple regression models were used to identify the important soil properties affecting vegetation growth, and a soil evaluation factor (SEF) was developed for evaluating soil fertility in Alfisols, Ultisols, and Oxisols, which differ in the ways they affect vegetation growth. For example, the upper 40 cm of soil is most important for vegetation growth in Alfisols, but in Ultisols and Oxisols deeper horizons significantly influence vegetation growth rates. Accumulation of vegetation biomass increased soil fertility and improved soil physical structure in Alfisols but did not completely compensate for the nutrient losses in Ultisols and Oxisols; however, it significantly reduced the rate of nutrient loss. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 相似文献