Objective This study aims to investigate the effects of different vegetation restoration models on runoff and sediment reduction in dry-hot valleys and to analyze their underlying mechanisms, thereby providing a scientific basis for functional vegetation restoration for soil and water conservation in these areas. Methods Taking the Yuanmou dry-hot valley in Yunnan Province as the study area, an in-situ monitoring experiment was conducted from 2019 to 2022. Bare land was used as the control, and vegetation restoration models including cultivated land, shrub-grassland, tree-shrub-grassland, naturally restored land 1 and naturally restored land 2 were established. The runoff and sediment reduction benefits under different vegetation restoration models were compared, and the influence mechanisms of rainfall, soil, and vegetation factors on soil loss and runoff under different models were explored. Results Compared with bare land, runoff decreased by 64.25%, 89.08%, 91.81%, 87.20% and 84.79%, and soil loss decreased by 92.16%, 99.45%, 99.92%, 99.37% and 97.26% in cultivated land, shrub-grassland, tree-shrub-grassland, naturally restored land 1, and naturally restored land 2, respectively. The effectiveness of runoff and sediment reduction followed the order: tree-shrub-grassland > shrub-grassland > naturally restored land 1 > naturally restored land 2 > cultivated land > bare land. Rainfall erosivity was the major driving factor of runoff, with a total effect ranging from 21.90% to 70.73%, while runoff was the primary driving factor of soil loss, with a total effect ranging from 26.94% to 97.81%. In bare land and intensively disturbed cultivated land, the water and sediment processes were mainly dominated by rainfall factors (rainfall erosivity). In contrast, under restoration models such as shrub-grassland and tree-shrub-grassland, the system shifted to being dominated by "surface hydrological processes", where vegetation and soil factors fundamentally reduced the occurrence of runoff and soil loss by curbing runoff volume. Conclusion The tree-shrub-grass model combining Bombax ceiba, Bauhinia purpurea, Heteropogon contortus, and Bothriochloa pertusa was the most effective in reducing runoff and sediment. This model achieves significant soil and water conservation benefits by jointly regulating soil and vegetation factors to suppress the generation of runoff and soil loss.
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