Runoff and Infiltration responses of revegetated slopes to clipping management on the northern Loess Plateau

Large-scale vegetation restoration can reduce local watershed water yield, limit vegetation establishment and subsequent growth, and influence regional ecosystem functions. Clipping management by reducing aboveground parts of grassland was gradually recommended and adopted in Grain-for-Green project management to offset these additional issues. Thus, scientific evaluation of the effectiveness of clipping management on infiltration and runoff processes is necessary for maintaining the stability of the surface water system and the sustainability of vegetation restoration in semi-arid regions. A field simulated rainfall experiment was conducted with four managed clipping grasslands (mainly bunge needlegrass and Stipa grandis), including no clipping, light clipping, heavy clipping, and complete clipping under three slope gradients (10, 20, and 30°) and three rainfall intensities (60, 90, and 120 mm/h) to explore the mechanism of runoff and infiltration responses to clipping using structural equation modeling and variation partitioning based on an SCS-CN model. The results showed the runoff coefficient of the light clipping, heavy clipping, and complete clipping plots were 1.33, 2.22, and 4.22 times that of the no clipping plot. The light clipping, heavy clipping, and complete clipping plots decreased the infiltration coefficients by 0%, 5%, and 26% relative to the no clipping plot. Rainfall intensity dominated runoff and infiltration amounts, and clipping intensity's total effect was stronger than slope gradient. Clipping intensity and slope gradient were more influential on runoff with increasing rainfall intensity. The mutual inhibition effect was between clipping intensity and slope gradient on runoff. In order to maintain the sustainability of restoration, a 25–50% vegetation coverage after clipping maximizes the benefits of increasing runoff and maintaining enough soil water supply that prevents possible soil drought. We propose that future vegetation restoration policies should evaluate the appropriate clipping intensity; meanwhile, local physiographic and climate conditions should be considered. These findings may offer guidance for the development of measures for runoff regulation and ecosystem functions of the watershed during vegetation restoration on the northern Loess Plateau.