Evaluating the soil hydraulic functions of vegetation restoration in a subtropical hilly catchment: Insights from continuous soil moisture monitoring

•Soil moisture dynamics were compared between artificial and natural recovery.•The soil moisture content in planted forest was the lowest at various locations.•Planted forest exhibited the slowest response speed of soil moisture to storm events.•The occurrence frequency of preferential flow in planted forest was the lowest. The global trend of vegetation “greening” in the context of ecological restoration necessitates an urgent assessment of ecosystem services. As essential components of ecosystem services, the hydraulic functions of soil in infiltrating and retaining water following vegetation restoration remain unclear, especially in subtropical mountainous and hilly areas with complex topographies. From 2018 to 2021, soil moisture data collected at five-minute intervals were monitored for three restoration strategies in a hilly catchment of China’s Three Gorges Reservoir area. The restoration strategies included planted forest (PF) and natural restoration (naturally regenerated forest, NF; deforested pasture, DP). The soil moisture response to rainfall under these strategies was evaluated using several metrics, including the time difference between peak rainfall intensity and peak soil moisture response (Tp2p), cumulative infiltration, and occurrence frequency of preferential flow (PRF). The results showed that the average soil moisture content (SMC) of PF was significantly (p