The aim of this research was to study the influence of land‐use changes on degradation and ecological restoration of rangeland soils by quantifying 15 soil attributes and the subsequent development of a soil quality index (SQI). Soil properties were determined to establish a minimum data set (MDS) for the development of an overall weighted additive SQI. The soil attributes were measured on samples (0 to 15 and 15 to 30‐cm depths) collected in undisturbed rangelands, cultivated rangelands, and restored rangelands following cultivation abandonment for 12 or 45 years in a semi‐arid ecosystem, Central Iran. The selected MDS indicators consisted of the mean weight diameter (MWD), total nitrogen (TN), microbial respiration (MR), and alkaline phosphomonoesterase activity (ALP). Overall, soil aggregation, N content, microbial activity, and ALP activity were found to be the key indicators contributing considerably to the SQI of rangeland ecosystems. Soil MWD had the highest contribution (31%) to the estimated SQI values, followed by TN (27%), MR (22%), and ALP (21%). Results indicated a clear difference in soil quality among the common land uses with a significant decline of SQI after conversion of native rangelands (0.80) to croplands (0.53). Restored rangeland soils were characterized by a higher value of SQI (0.63–0.73) as compared with cultivated rangelands (0.53). This suggests a good recovery of soil capacity and functions after the abandonment of cropping activity in previously cultivated rangelands. Vegetation restoration and plant productivity appeared to be the major driver of improved soil quality of the abandoned croplands in these rangelands. Our SQI tool could be useful to determine the success of agricultural abandonment and ecological restoration of rangeland soils in the studied semi‐arid environment.

中文翻译：

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制定土壤质量指数以表征半干旱生态系统中土地利用变化对牧场土壤退化和生态恢复的影响

这项研究的目的是通过量化15种土壤属性以及随后开发的土壤质量指数（SQI），研究土地利用变化对牧场土壤退化和生态恢复的影响。确定土壤性质以建立用于开发总加权添加剂SQI的最小数据集（MDS）。土壤属性是在伊朗中部半干旱生态系统中放弃耕种12或45年后，在未受干扰的牧场，耕种的牧场和恢复的牧场上采集的样品（深度为0至15和15至30 cm）上测量的。所选的MDS指标包括平均体重直径（MWD），总氮（TN），微生物呼吸（MR）和碱性磷酸单酯酶活性（ALP）。总体而言，土壤聚集，氮含量，微生物活性，发现ALP活性是对草地生态系统SQI有重要贡献的关键指标。土壤MWD对SQI估计值的贡献最大（31％），其次是TN（27％），MR（22％）和ALP（21％）。结果表明，在普通土地利用之间，土壤质量存在明显差异，在将原始牧场（0.80）转换为耕地（0.53）后，SQI显着下降。恢复的牧场土壤的特征在于，与耕地的耕地（0.53）相比，SQI值更高（0.63-0.73）。这表明在放弃以前耕种的牧场的耕作活动后，土壤容量和功能得到了很好的恢复。植被恢复和植物生产力似乎是这些牧场中废弃农田改善土壤质量的主要驱动力。