Combining infiltration holes and level ditches to enhance the soil water and nutrient pools for semi-arid slope shrubland revegetation

Active vegetation restoration has been proposed as an effective approach for restoring degraded ecosystems. Soil water and nutrient deficits hinder slope revegetation in arid and semi-arid areas. However, few studies have discussed rainfall runoff utilization and soil nutrient conservation within the context of slope vegetation restoration. In this study, the effects of combining infiltration holes and level ditches on the soil water storage, organic matter, and total nitrogen were analyzed on the slopes of shrubland and bare land. The results showed that the combined measures significantly increased the average soil water content above the 100 cm soil layer and mitigated soil desiccation below 220 cm in the shrubland. Meanwhile, the combined measures obviously increased the soil organic matter and total nitrogen above the 60 and 40 cm soil layers in bare land and shrubland, respectively. Overall, combining infiltration holes and landscape engineering measures is an effective approach for enhancing the soil water and nutrient pools of slopes. Our findings provide an effective engineering measure to combat soil water and nutrient deficits for slope vegetation restoration in arid and semi-arid areas. [Display omitted] •Combining infiltration holes and level ditches can enhance slope revegetation in semi-arid areas.•A combination of measures can mitigate deep soil desiccation in slope shrubland.•The combined measures increased the soil nutrients above the 60 cm soil layer.