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Land
Special Issues
Soil Legacies, Land Use Change and Forest and Grassland Restoration
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Soil Legacies, Land Use Change and Forest and Grassland Restoration

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Systems and Global Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 4826

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ken Smith

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Guest Editor
The Department of Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Interests: soils; ecology; land use; forestry
Prof. Dr. Deborah A. McGrath

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Guest Editor
Department of Biology, University of the South, Sewanee, TN 37383, USA
Interests: carbon offsets; carbon storage in ecosystems; nutrient cycling; constructed wetlands
Prof. Dr. Kuok Ho Daniel Tang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Interests: climate change mitigation and adaptation; phytoremediation; emerging pollutants; plastic pollution
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Kevin Emmanuel Scriber, II

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Interests: chemical ecology; invertebrate biology; statictical analyses; stable isotpes; evolutionary biology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Across the globe, human alteration of natural communities has affected soil chemical and physical properties, as well as plant the community structure and composition in dramatic ways. This Special Issue is designed to highlight current research focused on forest and grassland restoration, soil legacies created by prior human activities, and the effects of land use change on soil properties. As human activities continue to apply stress to our natural systems, it is vital for the research community to understand how we have changed soil and plant communities over time and to put forth the best techniques for improving ecosystem health across the world. 

The goal of this Special Issue is to collect papers (original research articles and review papers) to present insights about the current research focused on forest and grassland restoration, soil legacies due to human activities, and soil and plant communities affected by land use changes.

This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts with the following themes:

  • Forest and grassland restoration;
  • Soil legacies and land use change.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Prof. Dr. Ken Smith
Prof. Dr. Deborah A. McGrath
Prof. Dr. Kuok Ho Daniel Tang
Prof. Dr. Kevin Emmanuel Scriber, II
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • forest restoration
  • grassland restoration
  • soil legacies
  • land use change
  • soil carbon

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 5247 KiB  
Article
Contribution of Glomalin-Related Soil Protein to Soil Organic Carbon Following Grassland Degradation and Restoration: A Case from Alpine Meadow of Qinghai–Tibet Plateau
by Zilong Cui, Jilin Xin, Xiaoxuan Yang, Yile Dang, Chengqing Lin, Zhanming Ma, Kaini Wang, Zhaoqi Wang and Yongkun Zhang
Land 2024, 13(12), 2223; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13122223 - 19 Dec 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 776
Abstract
Glomalin-related soil proteins (GRSP) are an important microbial carbon source for soil organic carbon (SOC) and can also protect SOC by promoting the formation of soil aggregates. However, there is a lack of systematic research on how the contribution of GRSP to SOC [...] Read more.
Glomalin-related soil proteins (GRSP) are an important microbial carbon source for soil organic carbon (SOC) and can also protect SOC by promoting the formation of soil aggregates. However, there is a lack of systematic research on how the contribution of GRSP to SOC changes during grassland degradation and restoration. This study analyzed the changes in SOC, total glomalin-related soil protein (GRSPt), easily extractable glomalin-related soil protein (GRSPe) contents, and the ratios of GRSPe/SOC and GRSPt/SOC at different aggregate fractions in the 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm soil layers during the process of grassland degradation and restoration (from natural Sogong grass patches→degraded bare soil patches→transitional weed patches→naturally restored Sogong grass patches/artificially restored grass patches), to explore the contribution of GRSP to SOC at the aggregate scale during grassland succession. (1) With grassland degradation, the mean weight diameter (MWD) and the contents of SOC and GRSP in all aggregate fractions significantly decreased (p < 0.05); the natural restoration method was more effective in improving MWD than the artificial restoration method; for the SOC content in large aggregates and the GRSPt and GRSPe contents in different aggregate fractions, the artificial restoration method was more effective than the natural restoration method. (2) The contents of GRSPe and GRSPt in all aggregate fractions were significantly and linearly positively correlated with SOC content (p < 0.01). Moreover, during grassland degradation and restoration, the correlation between GRSPt and SOC in large aggregates first increased and then decreased. Notably, the correlation between GRSP and SOC in all aggregate fractions was significantly higher under the natural restoration method compared to the artificial restoration method. (3) During grassland degradation and restoration, the contents of GRSPe and GRSPt in the aggregate fractions of the 0~10 cm soil layer showed a clear decrease and increase, respectively. The change patterns of GRSPe/SOC and GRSPt/SOC were opposite to each other. Redundancy analysis revealed that total nitrogen (TN) was the factor that explained the highest variance in GRSP content, SOC content, and the GRSPe/SOC ratio across the aggregate fractions, while total phosphorus (TP) was the factor with the strongest explanatory power for the GRSPt/SOC ratio. This study found that the process of grassland degradation and restoration significantly altered the MWD, GRSP content in different aggregate fractions, SOC content, and the contribution of GRSP to SOC, with the contribution of GRSP to SOC showing an opposite trend to the change in GRSP content. Moreover, TN and TP were the main factors influencing GRSP changes. This study provides a scientific basis for assessing the carbon sequestration potential and selecting restoration methods for degraded grasslands. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Legacies, Land Use Change and Forest and Grassland Restoration)
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19 pages, 3714 KiB  
Article
In Situ Conservation of Dry Meadows
by Jože Bavcon, Katja Malovrh, Maja Tomšič and Blanka Ravnjak
Land 2024, 13(3), 315; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13030315 - 1 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1298
Abstract
Grassland ecosystems are increasingly vulnerable as they are threatened by both intensive agriculture and abandonment of land use, which leads to overgrowth with scrub vegetation and forest. Given that meadows are habitat types of very high biodiversity, their loss significantly reduces local biodiversity. [...] Read more.
Grassland ecosystems are increasingly vulnerable as they are threatened by both intensive agriculture and abandonment of land use, which leads to overgrowth with scrub vegetation and forest. Given that meadows are habitat types of very high biodiversity, their loss significantly reduces local biodiversity. That is why the University Botanic Gardens Ljubljana has been renting a 2 ha dry meadow at the edge of Ljubljana capital city since 2001, for the purpose of in situ conservation in the urban area. We have been observing the meadow since 1997. In 2023, in addition to the complete inventory of species, we also carried out an inventory and analysis of the community in the meadow using the Braun–Blanquet method in 25 relevés. We recorded 163 plant species in the meadow during the entire growing season, and a total of 82 were recorded in the relevés. Eighteen of the species recorded are on the red list of protected plant species in Slovenia. In the relevés, 15 species types were constant (occurring in 60%) and as many as 21 were unique. The species Peucedanum oreoselinum (L.) Moench was recorded in all relevés (25), followed by the species Bromopsis erecta (Huds.) Fourr. (24), Galium verum L. (24), Briza media L. (23), Brachypodium pinnatum (L.) PB. (22) and Salvia pratensis L. (21). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Legacies, Land Use Change and Forest and Grassland Restoration)
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27 pages, 4164 KiB  
Article
Altering Natural Ecosystems Causes Negative Consequences on the Soil Physical Qualities: An Evidence-Based Study from Nilgiri Hill Region of Western Ghats, India
by M. Jagadesh, Duraisamy Selvi, Subramanium Thiyageshwari, Cherukumalli Srinivasarao, Pushpanathan Raja, Udayar Pillai Surendran, Nadhir Al-Ansari and Mohamed A. Mattar
Land 2023, 12(10), 1869; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12101869 - 3 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1732
Abstract
Land use change (LUC) has direct and indirect consequences on soil quality. To gain insight into how LUC influences the physical properties of soil, it can be advantageous to compare undisturbed ecosystems with those that have naturally evolved over time, as well as [...] Read more.
Land use change (LUC) has direct and indirect consequences on soil quality. To gain insight into how LUC influences the physical properties of soil, it can be advantageous to compare undisturbed ecosystems with those that have naturally evolved over time, as well as to use soil quality indices to pinpoint the sensitivity of each ecosystem and land use change (LUC). A soil survey was carried out in the six major ecosystems of the Nilgiri Hill Region: cropland (CL), deciduous forest (DF), evergreen forest (EF), forest plantation (FP), scrubland (SL), and tea plantation (TP), with those having an establishment for over 50 years being selected and analyzed for soil physical parameters. In addition, soil quality indices were also derived to pinpoint the vulnerability of each ecosystem to LUC. The results reveal that the changes in land use significantly altered the soil physical properties. The content of clay was higher in EF and DF and increased with the soil profile’s depth, whereas the sand content was higher in CL and TP and decreased with the depth increment. BD and PD were significantly lower in EF, DF, SL, and FP, whereas they were higher in CL and TP. PS and ASM followed a similar trend to BD and PD. Owing to undisturbed natural settings, an abundance of litter input, and higher carbon concentrations, the HC was higher in EF, DF, SL, and FP, whereas, in the case of anthropogenic-influenced ecosystems such as CL and TP, it was lower. We discovered that LUC has altered Ag S, WSA, and MWD. Due to tillage and other cultural practices, Ag S, WSA, and MWD were significantly lower in CL and TP. However, the results confirm that native ecosystems (EF and DF) with a higher carbon content prevent such degradation, thereby resulting in good Ag S, WSA, and MWD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Legacies, Land Use Change and Forest and Grassland Restoration)
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