Forest management practices play an important role in regulating the soil water-holding capacity of plantation. However, most studies focus on soil water dynamics present during large-scale forest loss and afforestation events, while little is known about how soil water under different forest management practices responds to rainfall events and which factors mainly regulate soil water-holding capacity. In this study, a stable hydrogen isotope was used to explore the contribution of three natural rainfall events (8.9, 13.3 and 67.7 mm) to soil water (CRSW) in aPinus massonianaplantation under four forest management practices (no thinning (NTN), understory removal (USR), light-intensity thinning (LIT) and heavy-intensity thinning (HIT)) in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area of the Yangtze River Basin in China. Furthermore, a structural equation model was employed to determine the effects of vegetation biomass and soil properties on the CRSW. The results showed that plantation soil under different forest management practices exhibited different water-holding capacities. Following light (8.9 mm) and moderate (13.3 mm) rainfall events, the CRSW in the HIT stand was slightly higher than that in the other stands. Following heavy (66.7 mm) rainfall event, the CRSW of most layers in USR stand was not different from the other three stands, while the CRSW in the LIT and NTN stands was significantly higher than that in the HIT stand in the 0–100 cm soil layers, suggesting that soil in the LIT and NTN stands had a greater water-holding capacity than that in the HIT stand. In addition, soil properties were the main factors directly affecting the CRSW, explaining 60% and 37% of the variation in the CRSW on the first and seventh days after heavy rainfall, respectively. Overall, compared to the HIT stand, the LIT and NTN stands showed greater capacity in retaining rainwater. Therefore, under expected global changes with frequent occurrences of extreme precipitation events, methods involving light-intensity and no thinning should be employed to build up soil and water conservation functions, which will be critical for keeping water-holding capacity and moderating floods.

Enunciating the carbon storage across various types of forests is a precondition for comprehending forest ecosystem carbon cycling. However, previous studies regarding forest carbon storage were primarily conducted in the general temperature zones, with a limited understanding of carbon storage in different forest types within climate transition zones. In this study, we employed biomass models to explore the carbon storage in three types of natural secondary forests (Pinus armandii forest, Quercus aliena forest, and Q. aliena–P. armandii mixed forest) in the transition zone between the northern subtropical and warm temperate regions of China. Furthermore, we used the variance decomposition analysis and random forest model to determine the key factors influencing carbon storage in three types of natural secondary forests. Our results indicated that the carbon storage of wood and soil layers in the Q. aliena–P. armandii mixed forest was significantly higher than that in the P. armandii and Q. aliena forests. Total carbon storage was ranked as follows: Q. aliena–P. armandii mixed forest (266.09 t/ha) > P. armandii forest (222.89 t/ha) > Q. aliena forest (212.46 t/ha). Our results also revealed that carbon storage of the wood layer was jointly regulated by environmental factors, plant physiological characteristics, and soil properties, while soil carbon storage was mainly affected by soil properties. These results highlight the significant advantages of mixed conifer–broadleaf forests in carbon storage, emphasizing the importance of mixed natural secondary forests in carbon cycling and ecosystem services. This study provides scientific evidence for enhancing forest carbon sink functions and developing forest conservation and management policies to combat climate change.