Effects of establishing an artificial grassland on vegetation characteristics and soil quality in a degraded meadow

Grassland restoration, which utilizes agricultural practices (e.g., ploughing, harrowing, and fertilization), can not only change ecosystem processes to support the survival of native plants but can also affect soil microbial biomass and activity. In an artificial grassland established to restore a degraded meadow, parameters including coverage, species richness, diversity, and biomass (including above- and below-ground biomass) generally increased after four years of restoration. Likewise, soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (N), available N, total phosphorus (P), and available P exhibited the same trend. The activities of selected enzymes decreased with soil depth (P < 0.05) and increased during the successional process associated with restoration. Soil enzyme activities were related to the physico-chemical characteristics of the soil and plant primary production. After four years of restoration, the plants and soils were resilient to the grassland restoration process. The results of the present study suggest a significant positive impact of artificial grassland establishment on soil quality. Artificial grassland establishment was an effective measure for restoring heavily degraded alpine meadows in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau region. The rapid establishment of vegetative cover and plant functional group composition after artificial grassland construction are fundamental for limiting soil erosion and restoring the initial ecosystem function. As soil is a fundamental component of every terrestrial ecosystem, soil restoration is a vital process during ecological restoration. Thus, an increase in the nutrient status of the soil is important for the sustainable development of alpine meadows. The long-term accumulation of SOM, the retention of nutrients, and the buildup of microbial biomass are ultimately attributed to labile carbon input from plant primary production.