Effects of tillage on surface moisture and temperature of alpine meadow

Effects of tillage on the degraded alpine meadow in a semiarid basin on the northeast ridge of the QinghaiTibetan Plateau were studied by investigating the relationships among soil moisture, surface temperature and fractional vegetation cover. The results showed that 1) areas with higher vegetation cover had higher soil moisture; 2) after rainfall, the surface temperature of areas with lower vegetation cover was lower; 3) after drying of several days, the surface temperature of areas with higher vegetation cover was lower. Our results indicated that changes of vegetation cover and belowground soil structure by tillage would cause quick loss of soil moisture in this area, which makes it harder for the degraded alpine meadow to recover. Measures, e.g. irrigation and notill sowing, might be suitable alternatives for vegetation recovering of this region.