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Volume 17
Issue 1
10.3390/f17010029
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Impact of Forest Restoration on Reducing Soil and Water Loss in a Bare Catchment of the Purple Soil Region, Southwestern China

by
Junxia Yan
1,†,
Zhenzhao Lan
2,†,
Jiangkun Zheng
3,*,
Xinyi Xiang
3,
Xin Chen
4,
Yuhe Chen
3 and
Zhaofu Ge
3
1
Department of Geography, Handan University, Handan 056005, China
2
Sichuan Forestry and Grassland Survey and Planning Institute, Sichuan Forestry and Grassland Ecological Environment Monitoring Center, Chengdu 610081, China
3
Forest Ecology and Conservation in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
4
Suining Soil and Water Conservation Experimental Station, Suining 629006, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Forests 2026, 17(1), 29; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17010029 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 12 October 2025 / Revised: 17 December 2025 / Accepted: 19 December 2025 / Published: 25 December 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil and Water Conservation in Forestry)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Soil erosion in the purple soil region presents severe challenges with complex driving mechanisms. At the same time, evaluation and prediction of runoff and sediment dynamics are lacking for natural vegetation restoration in bare areas. The Mann–Kendall and Pettitt tests were employed to identify abrupt shift points in runoff and sediment dynamics, utilizing monitoring data from the Suining Soil and Water Conservation Experimental Station over the period from 1984 to 2018. Therefore, the research periods were divided into a baseline period (1984–1992) and an evaluation period (1993–2018). Subsequently, encompassing rainfall, runoff, sediment, topography, soil properties, and vegetation parameters, a Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model was established to quantify the reduction benefits of runoff and sediment during the period of forest restoration. We found that the calibrated WEPP model demonstrated satisfactory performance based on Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficients (NSE > 0.5) and determination coefficients (R2 > 0.5) for runoff and sediment simulations. The WEPP model and double-mass curve analysis method revealed that forest restoration reduced runoff and sediment by more than 80%. It is recommended to implement artificial vegetation restoration before reaching the threshold for natural vegetation restoration to achieve soil and water conservation goals.
Keywords: Water Erosion Prediction Project; double mass curve; vegetation restoration; soil erosion simulation; purple soil region Water Erosion Prediction Project; double mass curve; vegetation restoration; soil erosion simulation; purple soil region

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Yan, J.; Lan, Z.; Zheng, J.; Xiang, X.; Chen, X.; Chen, Y.; Ge, Z. Impact of Forest Restoration on Reducing Soil and Water Loss in a Bare Catchment of the Purple Soil Region, Southwestern China. Forests 2026, 17, 29. https://doi.org/10.3390/f17010029

AMA Style

Yan J, Lan Z, Zheng J, Xiang X, Chen X, Chen Y, Ge Z. Impact of Forest Restoration on Reducing Soil and Water Loss in a Bare Catchment of the Purple Soil Region, Southwestern China. Forests. 2026; 17(1):29. https://doi.org/10.3390/f17010029

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yan, Junxia, Zhenzhao Lan, Jiangkun Zheng, Xinyi Xiang, Xin Chen, Yuhe Chen, and Zhaofu Ge. 2026. "Impact of Forest Restoration on Reducing Soil and Water Loss in a Bare Catchment of the Purple Soil Region, Southwestern China" Forests 17, no. 1: 29. https://doi.org/10.3390/f17010029

APA Style

Yan, J., Lan, Z., Zheng, J., Xiang, X., Chen, X., Chen, Y., & Ge, Z. (2026). Impact of Forest Restoration on Reducing Soil and Water Loss in a Bare Catchment of the Purple Soil Region, Southwestern China. Forests, 17(1), 29. https://doi.org/10.3390/f17010029

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