The Impact of Ecological Restoration on Soil Quality in Humid Region Forest Habitats: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Ecological restoration is widely recognized as an essential technique for addressing soil degradation, biomass decline, and biodiversity loss. Improving and maintaining soil quality is critical to ensuring environmental sustainability and successful forest recovery. This systematic review aimed to assess the impact of ecological forest restoration efforts on soil quality in humid regions, as well as to compare the effectiveness of various ecological restoration strategies on soil quality indicators. Subsequently, a systematic search on various databases (e.g., Scopus and Google Scholar) yielded 696 records, of which 28 primary studies met the inclusion criteria. The results emphasized that chemical and physical soil properties are the key indicators for assessing ecosystem performance during forest restoration. The most commonly measured parameters were soil carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, pH, bulk density, and soil porosity. It was shown that the restoration process required a longer duration to reach a comparable level of recovery as seen in mature forests, particularly in terms of fully restoring soil quality. Additionally, it has been noted that prior land use influences the length of time needed for soil quality recovery. In planted sites, soil quality may keep improving as the site ages, though it tends to stabilize after a certain period.