Ecological structure determines the performance of simplified approaches for assessing soil and vegetation quality in plantation systems

Abstract

Reliable assessment of ecosystem quality is essential for managing plantation systems, yet uncertainty persists about how indicator selection and scoring methods affect ecological interpretation. Here, we evaluated soil and vegetation quality across contrasting plantation types using total data sets (TDS) and reduced minimum data sets (MDS), combined with linear and non-linear scoring methods. Across seasons, soils under Ulmus pumila consistently exhibited higher nutrient availability and carbon stocks than those under Pinus tabuliformis, reflecting contrasting plant functional strategies. Despite substantial data reduction, MDS-based indices closely matched TDS-derived values (R² = 0.65–0.86), indicating that a limited set of indicators captured the dominant variation in ecosystem quality. Linear scoring methods further showed greater sensitivity in resolving species and seasonal differences, with stronger correlations than non-linear approaches, such as SQI: R = 0.81 vs 0.65 in Pinus; R = 0.93 vs 0.91 in Ulmus. In contrast, non-linear models tended to dampen intermediate variation and reduce discriminatory power. These findings suggest that simplified assessment frameworks can effectively characterize ecosystem quality when variation follows structured, trait-related ecological gradients. This study provides an analytical framework that can be applied and evaluated across broader forest systems to support ecosystem assessment and management.

Keywords

Soil quality index (SQI) / Vegetation quality index (VQI) / Plant functional traits / Minimum data set / Plantation ecosystems

References

[1] Adamczyk B, Sietiö OM, Straková P, Prommer J, Wild B, Hagner M, Pihlatie M, Fritze H, Richter A, Heinonsalo J. Plant roots increase both decomposition and stable organic matter formation in boreal forest soil. Nat Commun, 2019, 10: 3982

[2] Andrews SS, Karlen DL, Cambardella CA. The soil management assessment framework. Soil Sci Soc Am J, 2004, 68(6): 1945-1962

[3] Augusto L, Boča A. Tree functional traits, forest biomass, and tree species diversity interact with site properties to drive forest soil carbon. Nat Commun, 2022, 13: 1097

[4] Berg B, McClaugherty C. Plant litter: decomposition, humus formation, carbon sequestration, 2020, Berlin, Springer

[5] Chen X, Le X, Niklas KJ, Hu D, Zhong Q, Cheng D. Divergent leaf nutrient-use strategies of coexistent evergreen and deciduous trees in a subtropical forest. J Plant Ecol, 2023, 16(4): rtac093

[6] Cornwell WK, Cornelissen JHC, Amatangelo K, Dorrepaal E, Eviner VT, Godoy O, Hobbie SE, Hoorens B, Kurokawa H, Pérez-Harguindeguy N, Quested HM, Santiago LS, Wardle DA, Wright IJ, Aerts R, Allison SD, Van Bodegom P, Brovkin V, Chatain A, Callaghan TV, Díaz S, Garnier E, Gurvich DE, Kazakou E, Klein JA, Read J, Reich PB, Soudzilovskaia NA, Vaieretti MV, Westoby M. Plant species traits are the predominant control on litter decomposition rates within biomes worldwide. Ecol Lett, 2008, 11(10): 1065-1071

[7] Cusset E, Bennegadi-Laurent N, Recous S, Bernard PY, Perrin AS, Tscheiller R, Trinsoutrot-Gattin I, Riah-Anglet W. Which soil microbial indicators should be included in routine laboratory tests to support the transition to sustainable management of arable farming systems? A meta-analysis. Ecol Indic, 2024, 167: 112706

[8] Fan Y, Zhang C, Hu W, Khan KS, Zhao Y, Huang B. Development of soil quality assessment framework: a comprehensive review of indicators, functions, and approaches. Ecol Indic, 2025, 172: 113272

[9] Freschet GT, Cornwell WK, Wardle DA, Elumeeva TG, Liu W, Jackson BG, Onipchenko VG, Soudzilovskaia NA, Tao J, Cornelissen JHC. Linking litter decomposition of above- and below-ground organs to plant-soil feedbacks worldwide. J Ecol, 2013, 101(4): 943-952

[10] Gao J, Zhang J, Gong Y, Yang K, Quan W, Li L, Wu Y, Wang R, Cheng H. A robust soil quality index for mountain ecosystems driven by XGBoost and network analysis. Geoderma, 2025, 463: 117558

[11] Guo L, Sun Z, Ouyang Z, Han D, Li F. A comparison of soil quality evaluation methods for Fluvisol along the lower Yellow River. Catena, 2017, 152: 135-143

[12] Han C, Liu Y, Zhang C, Li Y, Zhou T, Khan S, Chen N, Zhao C. Effects of three coniferous plantation species on plant-soil feedbacks and soil physical and chemical properties in semi-arid mountain ecosystems. For Ecosyst, 2021, 8(1): 3

[13] He H, Zhang C, Zhao X, Fousseni F, Wang J, Dai H, Yang S, Zuo Q. Allometric biomass equations for 12 tree species in coniferous and broadleaved mixed forests, Northeastern China. PLoS ONE, 2018, 13(1): e0186226

[14] Huang J, Gao Y, Peng Y, Chang P, Wu Y, Guo L, Luo J, Liu L. Influences of plant functional traits on soil organic carbon stocks: the roles of carbon input quality and diversity. Ecology, 2025, 106(7): e70148

[15] Huang J, Liu W, Pan S, Wang Z, Yang S, Jia Z, Wang Z, Deng M, Yang L, Liu C, Chang P, Liu L. Divergent contributions of living roots to turnover of different soil organic carbon pools and their links to plant traits. Funct Ecol, 2021, 35(12): 2821-2830

[16] Hüblová L, Frouz J. Contrasting effect of coniferous and broadleaf trees on soil carbon storage during reforestation of forest soils and afforestation of agricultural and post-mining soils. J Environ Manag, 2021, 290: 112567

[17] Islam K, Rahman A, Dick W, Shedekar V, Gonzalez J, Watts D, Fausey N, Batte M, VanToai T, Reeder R, Flanagan D. Minimum dataset with integrated scoring and indexing methods for soil quality assessment. PLoS ONE, 2026, 21(4): e0346136

[18] Kerkhoff AJ, Fagan WF, Elser JJ, Enquist BJ. Phylogenetic and growth form variation in the scaling of nitrogen and phosphorus in the seed plants. Am Nat, 2006, 168(4): E103-E122

[19] Leal F, Aburto F, Aguilera N, Echeverría C, Gatica-Saavedra P. Forest degradation modifies litter production, quality, and decomposition dynamics in Southern temperate forests. Front Soil Sci, 2023, 3: 1111694

[20] Li S, Zhang B, Ma B, Hou Q, He H. Spatiotemporal evolution of effective accumulated temperatures of ≥5 °C and ≥10 °C based on grid data in China from 1961 to 2016. J Nat Resour, 2020, 35(5): 1216-1227

[21] Liu C, Wang K, Kang H, Du B, Zhang R, Tai S. Nutrient retranslocation strategies associated with dieback of Pinus species in a semiarid sandy region of Northeast China. For Ecosyst, 2023, 10(6): 100154

[22] Lu S, Chen Y, Sardans J, Peñuelas J. Ecological stoichiometric comparison of plant-litter-soil system in mixed-species and monoculture plantations of Robinia pseudoacacia, Amygdalus davidiana, and Armeniaca sibirica in the Loess Hilly Region of China. For Ecosyst, 2023, 10(1): 100123

[23] Luo Y, Wang X, Ouyang Z, Lu F, Feng L, Tao J. A review of biomass equations for China’s tree species. Earth Syst Sci Data, 2020, 12(1): 21-40

[24] Meng W, Chang L, Qu Z, Liu B, Liu K, Zhang Y, Huang L, Sun H. Dominant tree species and litter quality govern fungal community dynamics during litter decomposition. J Fungi, 2024, 10(10): 690

[25] Mukherjee A, Lal R. Comparison of soil quality index using three methods. PLoS ONE, 2014, 9(8): e105981

[26] Ontong N, Poolsiri R, Diloksumpun S, Staporn D, Jenke M. Effects of tree functional traits on soil respiration in tropical forest plantations. Forests, 2023, 14(4): 715

[27] Pantaleão LC, Moraes LFD, Cesário FV, Moser P, Dias ATC, Amorim TA, Sansevero JBB. Linking plant functional traits to soil properties in tropical forest restoration. For Ecol Manag, 2024, 563: 121976

[28] Philippot L, Chenu C, Kappler A, Rillig MC, Fierer N. The interplay between microbial communities and soil properties. Nat Rev Microbiol, 2024, 22(2): 226-239

[29] Png GK, De Long JR, Fry EL, Heinen R, Heinze J, Morriën E, Sapsford SJ, Teste FP. Plant-soil feedback: the next generation. Plant Soil, 2023, 485: 1-5

[30] Raiesi F, Beheshti A. Evaluating forest soil quality after deforestation and loss of ecosystem services using network analysis and factor analysis techniques. CATENA, 2022, 208: 105778

[31] Rangzan K, Zaheri Abdehvand Z, Mousavi SR, Karimi D. Spatial analysis of soil quality in agricultural land using machine learning and environmental covariates: a case study of Khuzestan Province. Soil till Res, 2025, 252: 106591

[32] Saleh AM, Elsharkawy MM, AbdelRahman MAE, Arafat SM. Evaluation of soil quality in arid western fringes of the Nile delta for sustainable agriculture. Appl Environ Soil Sci, 2021, 2021: 1434692

[33] Staszel-Szlachta K, Błońska E, Lasota J. Stabilization of soil organic matter in Luvisols under the influence of various tree species in temperate forests. Sci Rep, 2025, 15: 1286

[34] Turrión MB, Martín-Sanz RC, Getino-Álvarez M, Pando V, Lafuente F. Interactions between deciduous and coniferous litter in decomposition processes: insights from ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and elemental analyses. For Ecol Manag, 2025, 595: 123038

[35] Vesterdal L, Clarke N, Sigurdsson BD, Gundersen P. Do tree species influence soil carbon stocks in temperate and boreal forests?. For Ecol Manag, 2013, 309: 4-18

[36] Walkiewicz A, Bieganowski A, Rafalska A, Khalil MI, Osborne B. Contrasting effects of forest type and stand age on soil microbial activities: an analysis of local scale variability. Biology (Basel), 2021, 10(9): 850

[37] Wang C, Zhang Z, Masoudi A, Cao J, Qiu J, Wang Y, Wang M, Feng J, Yu Z, Liu J. Urban soil health improves with green infrastructure and reduced pathogen risks. J Environ Manag, 2025, 393: 127136

[38] Wang N, Bi H, Peng R, Zhao D, Liu Z. Disparities in soil and water conservation functions among different forest types and implications for afforestation on the Loess Plateau. Ecol Indic, 2023, 155: 110935

[39] Wang Z, Wang S, Xu L, Guo Q, Chen Y, Qiu W, Sun J. Comparative evaluation methods of comprehensive soil fertility in Jiangsu’s coastal saline-alkali land. Land, 2025, 14(3): 469

[40] Wang Y, Wang J, Qu M, Shao S, Li J. Soil fungal guilds as important integrators linking plant richness and carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus stocks in oasis-desert ecosystems. Soil Biol Biochem, 2023, 177: 108930

[41] Wilhelm RC, Amsili JP, Kurtz KSM, van Es HM, Buckley DH. Ecological insights into soil health according to the genomic traits and environment-wide associations of bacteria in agricultural soils. ISME Commun, 2023, 3(1): 1

[42] Yang Y, Guo Z, Pan K, Wang C, Pan X. Soil health assessment based on ecosystem multifunctionality. Acta Pedol Sin, 2022, 59(2): 461-475

[43] Yu P, Liu J, Tang H, Sun X, Liu S, Tang X, Ding Z, Ma M, Ci E. Establishing a soil quality index to evaluate soil quality after afforestation in a karst region of Southwest China. CATENA, 2023, 230: 107237

[44] Zhao N, Yue T, Li H, Zhang L, Yin X, Liu Y. Spatio-temporal changes in precipitation over Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, China. Atmos Res, 2018, 202: 156-168

[45] Zuleta D, Russo SE, Barona A, Barreto-Silva JS, Cardenas D, Castaño N, Davies SJ, Detto M, Sua S, Turner BL, Duque A. Importance of topography for tree species habitat distributions in a Terra firme forest in the Colombian Amazon. Plant Soil, 2020, 450(1): 133-149

Funding

Hebei Science and Technology Innovation Base Project(246Z2903G)

Key Development Foundation of Hebei Normal University(L2024ZD02)

Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province(C2023205049)

National Key Research and Development Program of China(2018YFC0506900)

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Northeast Forestry University