Karst ecosystem is very fragile and sensitive to environmental change.China has the largest karst area(344.3×104 km2) with the widest distribution and highest landform diversity in the world,mainly or primarily concentrating in the southwest(about 55×104 km2).The karst region of southwest China is geology-controlled eco-environment,and the basic characteristics include the shortage of surface water and soil resources,low vegetation coverage and high diversity of microhabitats.Due to special geological background,intensive karst process and recent irrational land uses,both vegetation destruction and soil and water loss are increasingly serious in karst region of southwest China.This results in karst desertification,a process of land degradation involving extensive exposure of basement rocks and drastic decrease in soil productivity.Karst desertification has been leading to the concentrated poverty population and the lack of cultivated land.The karst region of southwest China,the crucial area for the West Development in China,is easy to plunge into a vicious circle between poverty and environmental degradation.Therefore,how to rehabilitate vegetation effectively and to utilize soil and water resources harmoniously are the primary problems for the comprehensive control of karst desertification in this region.Although rainfall is abundant,surface water is leaked heavily and groundwater is buried deeply due to dual hydrological structure in karst region of southwest China.Karst drought is serious and water deficit is still the primary factor for influencing vegetation restoration due to discontinuous shallow soils and low soil storage capacity.Thus,study on spatio-temporal heterogeneity of water and plant adaptation mechanisms is very important for vegetation restoration in karst region of southwest China.Water movement in karst region is significantly different from other kinds of region because of special geological background,complex landform and high heterogeneous habitat,and the effects of lithology,topography,the soil-rock distribution and vegetation should be considered altogether.Although many advances have been achieved on hillslope rainfall infiltration and runoff generation,spatial variability of soil water,adaptation of plants to water stress in different habitats,the current researches can not illustrate the difference of water status in various soil-rock environments and the corresponding adaptation mechanisms in karst regions.This heavily affects the achievement of vegetation restoration and reconstruction.In this paper,on the basis of the simple introduction to the characteristics of soil-rock environment,the research advances on rainfall infiltration and runoff generation,spatio-temporal variability of soil water,plant water sources and its adaptation mechanisms were summarized in karst regions.The further study should attach importance to investigate the relationship between water movement in soils and fractured rocks and plant water utilization,and to survey the effects of various environmental factors on eco-hydrological processes in the atmosphere-plant-soil-rock system.In order to reveal the interactive mechanism of vegetation and hydrological processes at hilllsope and catchment scales in karst areas,the multi-disciplinary research methods and techniques,including soil physics,eco-hydrology,plant physiology and karstology,should be applied to discuss the hydrological regulation function of epikarst and its primary influencing factors.These studies would provide scientific basis for optimal disposition of plant community with water-conserving function in karst region of southwest China.