DOI: 10.5061/dryad.msbcc2g0g
title: Ecosystem restoration and belowground multifunctionality: a network view

description: Ecological restoration is essential to reverse land degradation worldwide.
 Most studies have assessed the restoration of ecosystem functions
 individually, as opposed to a holistic view. Here we developed a
 network-based ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) framework to identify key
 functions in evaluating EMF restoration. Through synthesizing 293
 restoration studies (2900 observations) following cropland abandonment, we
 found that individual soil functions played different roles in determining
 the restoration of belowground EMF. Soil carbon, total nitrogen and
 phosphatase were key functions to predict the recovery of belowground EMF.
 On average, abandoned cropland recovered about 19% of EMF during 18 years.
 The restoration of EMF became larger with longer recovery time and higher
 humidity index, but lower with increasing soil depth and initial soil
 carbon. Overall, this study presents a network-based EMF framework,
 effectively helping to evaluate the success of ecosystem restoration and
 identify the key functions.
description: We searched literature on
 the topic of 'Grain for Green program' in China and belowground
 functions during 1900-2019, by means of <em>Web of
 Science</em>, <em>Google Scholar</em> and
 <em>China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database</em>. This
 program aims to reduce water and soil erosion, enhance soil fertility, and
 recover degraded ecosystems. Restoration techniques include active and
 natural ecosystem restoration. We restricted our analyses to changes in
 soil C, N and P cycling processes, when croplands were restored to
 semi-natural ecosystems (i.e., forest, shrubland and grassland). The
 papers collected were further screened on the basis of the following
 criteria. First, both agricultural and restored sites shared similar
 climate and soil conditions. Second, studies were performed with paired
 sites, using chronosequence or retrospective design. Third, soil depth and
 restoration time were clearly described. Finally, belowground functions
 were explicitly shown by their mean values and sample sizes. Based on
 these criteria, we identified 293 studies from 272 papers that were
 suitable for our analysis. Table-form data were directly gathered from
 original papers, and figure-form data were digitized and extracted by the
 <em>Engauge Digitizer</em> (Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
 Boston, MA). Overall, our dataset (2900 observations) spanned a mean
 annual precipitation range of 116 to 1980 mm and annual temperature range
 of -0.7 to 20.5 °C. Restored ecosystems included forests, shrublands and
 grasslands, with the restoration time from 1 to 100 years. Belowground
 processes represented multiple functions of storing nutrients (soil
 organic carbon-SOC, total N-TN, total P-TP), transforming nutrients
 (microbial biomass C-MBC, microbial biomass N-MBN, microbial biomass
 P-MBP, invertase, catalase, urease, phosphatase) and supplying nutrients
 (available N-AN, available P-AP).
description: (1) What else would someone need to know to use this
 dataset? No (2) Are there any
 missing values?  No