Successional Trajectory Over 10Years of Vegetation Restoration of Abandoned Slope Croplands in the Hill-Gully Region of the Loess Plateau

Revegetation has been the primary management approach for solving the problems caused by severe soil erosion in the Loess Plateau. The objectives of this work were to explore the successional trajectory of the different types of restoration and discuss their potential effectiveness for the control of soil erosion. The presence and coverage of plants in 40 permanent plots were investigated during two periods (2003–2006 and 2013). The naturally and artificially revegetated communities studied in the two surveys were classified using two-way indicator species analysis, and their relationships were analyzed using detrended correspondence analysis. Under natural revegetation, the communities succeed in the following order: annual plants → perennial plants → short rhizome tufts and subshrubs. Under artificial revegetation, succession was interrupted by artificial planting, and a Gramineae herb layer persisted through the years with few changes in species composition. Additionally, species richness, diversity, and evenness increased, while ecological dominance decreased during succession in both revegetation types. Succession rate was rapid at the initial stage and then slowed down gradually. Succession followed different trajectories under natural and artificial revegetation, and based on the potential effects of the two approaches on soil erosion and soil desiccation, we suggest that natural revegetation is preferable over artificial revegetation.