Efficacies of vegetation litter and roots in strengthening rainfall infiltration for different stand ages on the Loess Plateau

•The contribution of litter to infiltration was 1.56 times greater than that of roots.•The contribution of litter generally had an increasing trend with stand age.•Litter played a key role in strengthening uniform infiltration.•Roots played a key role in strengthening preferential infiltration. Vege...

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