Abstract:

The Karst regions of southwest China are greatly suffered from rocky desertification. The research on the variations of soil moisture is important to the repair of local ecosystem. Soil samples were collected from Libo and Puding in Guizhou province. The variations of soil moisture under typical rocky desertification stage were studied. The results were as follows: (1) As the rocky desertification progressed, the content of soil moisture decreased. (2) The content of soil moisture varied with time significantly. It reached the highest in summer and then kept decreasing until winter. As the rocky desertification progressed, the soil moisture decreased. (3) The storage and releasing capacity as well as the available soil moisture content of non-degraded soil is higher than that of degraded soil obviously. (4) Soil moisture content was related to soil properties such as bulk density, porosity and particle composition and soil organic matter. Forest conservation is an effective way to prevent rocky desertification and soil erosion by enhancing the content of soil organic matter and soil moisture.