The change of soil water storage in three land use types after 10Â years on the Loess Plateau

- SWS increased in grass and shrub lands but decreased in forestland within a decade.
- From grassland to forestland, soil depth with intense SWC variations increased.
- BD and TN may be the key to the variations in SWS in this research area.

Soil water content (SWC) is a critical variable in studies of hydrological processes and the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum, especially in arid and semi-arid regions such as the Loess Plateau. Knowledge of the effects of vegetation types on soil water dynamics would aid in understanding the mechanisms responsible for water shortages and addressing the problem of poor long-term vegetation recovery. To evaluate the response of soil water storage (SWS) to different land use types during long-term natural vegetation succession, we examined soil moisture under different land use types (grassland, shrubland and forestland) at different times (2005 and 2014) in the Ziwuling forest region, located in the central part of the Loess Plateau, China. Our results showed that vegetation type had a significant effect on SWS in the 0-500 cm soil layer. The SWS in grassland and shrubland was significantly higher in August 2014 than in August 2005, but the pattern was reversed for forestland. In the same year, the SWS was highest in grassland, intermediate in shrubland, and lowest in forestland. SWS and SWC showed a highly significant and positive relationship in the 0-60 cm soil layers (P < 0.01), and both soil bulk density (BD) and soil total nitrogen (TN) showed a significant relationship with SWS. In addition, the SWC and soil total porosity (TP) showed a significant positive relationship in the 0-20 cm soil layer (P < 0.05). These results are expected to provide insights into land water management and inform efforts to estimate the productivity and sustainability of semiarid ecosystems.