Soil water, nitrogen, and organic matter contents are among the main limiting factors for successful vegetation restoration on degraded slopes in arid and semi-arid areas. Combining slope engineering measures for revegetation is considered an effective eco-rehabilitation practice used to restore degraded slopes. However, a single slope measure is insufficient to efficiently utilize runoff and sediments to improve soil water, nitrogen, and organic matter for revegetation. In this study, four treatments were implemented on a hilly slope in a temperate continental semiarid area slope engineered with fish-scale pits (semicircle-shaped pit, 1.0 m in diameter, 0.5 m in radius, and 0.2 m deep), namely: with gravel mulching (GM), straw mulching (SM), infiltration hole (IH), and without other measures (CK). The effects of the combined measures on soil water, nitrogen, and organic matter contents were analyzed over 4 years. The results showed that the soil water storage (0–100 cm) showed no significant differences among all treatments; however, the soil (100–260 cm) of GM/SM/IH treatment increased by 11.65%/8.62%/7.10% compared with CK (p < 0.05). The soil organic matter and nitrogen (0–100 cm) under IH were 73.34%/81.29%/98.32% and 77.37%/80.27%/85.31% higher than CK/SM/GM, respectively (p < 0.05). Overall, IH is the most effective measure for increasing nitrogen and organic matter, and it is equally effective with GM and SM to increase the water replenishment of deep soils in semiarid areas. Our findings provide the combined measures to combat soil water, nitrogen, and organic matter deficits for slope revegetation in arid and semiarid areas.

中文翻译：

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在鱼鳞坑中使用渗透孔和覆盖物对土壤水、氮和有机质含量的影响：来自 4 年田间试验的证据

土壤水分、氮和有机质含量是干旱和半干旱地区退化斜坡植被恢复成功的主要限制因素。结合斜坡工程措施进行植被恢复被认为是一种有效的生态修复实践，用于恢复退化的斜坡。然而，单一的坡度措施不足以有效利用径流和沉积物来改善土壤水、氮和有机质以进行重新植被。本研究在温带大陆半干旱区斜坡丘陵坡上进行了四种处理，采用鱼鳞坑（半圆形，直径 1.0 m，半径 0.5 m，深 0.2 m），即：砾石覆盖 (GM)、秸秆覆盖 (SM)、渗透孔 (IH) 和无其他措施 (CK)。分析了联合措施对土壤水、氮和有机质含量的影响超过 4 年。结果表明，土壤蓄水量（0-100 cm）在所有处理间均无显着差异；然而，与CK相比，GM/SM/IH处理的土壤（100-260 cm）增加了11.65%/8.62%/7.10%（p  < 0.05)。IH下土壤有机质和氮（0-100 cm）分别比CK/SM/GM高73.34%/81.29%/98.32%和77.37%/80.27%/85.31%（p  < 0.05）。总体而言，IH 是增加氮和有机质最有效的措施，与 GM 和 SM 对增加半干旱地区深层土壤的水分补充同样有效。我们的研究结果为干旱和半干旱地区的斜坡植被恢复提供了对抗土壤水、氮和有机质不足的综合措施。