Effects of vegetation restoration on soil properties along an elevation gradient in the karst region of southwest China

Vegetation restoration effectively prevents soil degradation. However, the changes in soil properties that occur in fragile ecosystems in response to vegetation restoration are unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of vegetation restoration on soil physicochemical properties and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) at different elevations. Restoration strategies included natural shrubland (NR), managed plantation forest (PF), cropland (CR), and secondary forest (SF). Topsoil (0–15 cm) samples were collected from seven counties in the karst region of southwest China. The soil nutrients were significantly (p