Slope Position Effect on Vegetation Recovery and Soil Characteristics in an Alpine Meadow Hill Section
This study investigated the influence of slope position on the reconstruction outcomes of veg-etation structure and soil properties in an alpine meadow hill section along National Highway G248 in west-ern Sichuan,China.The research aimed to address the practical technical challenges of vegetation recon-struction on such slope.We examined vegetation indices(community characteristics,dominant species,functional group importance values,turf grass traits)and soil indices(particle composition,physical and chemical properties)across four slope positions(upper slope,middle slope,lower slope,and bottom slope)of three-year-old slope protection vegetation.The results showed that:1)The lower the slope positions were the higher community density and projected coverage of the slope protection vegetation exhibited(P<0.05).However,the lower slope position showed the greatest base coverage,diversity,richness,and even-ness.2)Notably,the proportion of dominant species and community and the first dominant species heights decreased with decreasing slope position,and the indices of the lower slope position were lower than other slope positions(P<0.05).3)Turfgrass survival density,natural height,tillers number,biomass,and importance value all increased with lower slope position(P<0.05),with importance value ranging from 0.04%to 16.52%.Interestingly,all slope positions displayed successional replacement by native plant-dominated communities.4)Slope position significantly affected the life-form functional group composition(P<0.05).Notably,the importance value of perennial forbs were highest across all positions,and the composition of the six life-form functional groups was most balanced in the lower slope position.5)Soil par-ticle composition and physical and chemical properties were significantly affected by slope position(P<0.05).Higher slope positions exhibited a more unbalanced particle composition,lower the organic matter content,and poorer water retention and fertilizer supply capacity.In conclusion,slope position affected the community characteristics,functional group structure,dominant species composition,soil particle composi-tion,and physical and chemical properties of the regenerated vegetation.Establishing a clear understanding of the"slope position-soil-vegetation"relationship was crucial for effective reconstruction of vegetation func-tion in alpine meadow hill sections.
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