Effects of vegetation patterns on soil nitrogen and phosphorus losses on the slope-gully system of the Loess Plateau

The slope-gully system, the erosion unit on the Loess Plateau, suffers from severe soil erosion and loss of soil nutrients. Restoring vegetation can effectively reduce soil erosion, thereby reducing the loss of nitrogen and phosphorus. In the Loess Plateau, owing to the shortage of water resources and the adverse effects of over-revegetation, the restoration of vegetation in large areas is limited. To efficiently prevent the loss of soil nutrients and reduce non-point source pollution, vegetation patterns need to be reasonably restored. However, it is currently not clear as to how this can be achieved. Different slope-gully systems were established in this study, including pattern A (no vegetation), pattern B (up-slope vegetation), pattern C (middle-slope vegetation), and pattern D (down-slope vegetation). Then, the effects of vegetation patterns on soil total nitrogen (TN) and soil total phosphorus (TP) losses associated with runoff and sediment processes was quantitatively evaluated through the simulated rainfall. The results showed that (1) vegetation pattern markedly affected the yields of runoff, sediment, soil nitrogen, and soil phosphorus, resulting in the following order: pattern A > pattern B > pattern C > pattern D. (2) The correlation between TN and runoff was higher than that between TN and sediment; conversely, TP was more strongly correlated with sediment than with runoff. (3) Nitrogen loss with runoff was the main source of TN (58.76–90.74%), while phosphorus loss with sediment was the main source of TP (48.51–89.30%). Compared with other vegetation patterns, the down-slope can more effectively reduce the yields of runoff and sediment, thereby reducing the loss of TN and TP. Therefore, it was suggested that the lower part of the slope should be considered when revegetating.