The Influence of Historical Land Use and Water Availability on Grassland Restoration

The ecological role of historical land use has rarely been explored in the context of grassland restoration. We conducted a 4-year field experiment in a steppe and an old field in Inner Mongolia in northern China to examine the influence of historical land use and water availability on ecosystem restoration. Species richness, evenness, and plant cover were higher in the steppe than in the old field. The steppe was more temporally stable compared with the old field in terms of species richness, evenness, plant density, and cover. Water addition increased peak aboveground biomass, belowground net primary productivity, species richness, plant density, and cover in both the steppe and the old field. Water addition also enhanced the stability of ecosystems and the restoration of grassland. Our findings suggested that historical land use determines community structure and influences the process of grassland restoration. Converting grasslands to farmland in semiarid areas can cause the long-term loss of biodiversity and instability of ecosystem with consequent impacts on ecosystem services. The amendment of limited resources is an effective practice to increase the success of ecosystem restoration.