Situated in the eastern Yunnan - Panxi belt, the karstic graben basin area is confronted with an acutely fragile ecological environment as a consequence of severe rocky desertification, emerging as an ecological challenge that demands immediate resolution. Vegetation restoration is a crucial measure for the comprehensive management of rocky desertification regions. This research centers on the rocky desertification zone in Jianshui County, Yunnan Province. Four distinct artificial vegetation models, namely broadleaf forest, coniferous forest, mixed coniferous - broadleaf forest, and shrubland, along with a natural grassland serving as a control, are taken as the research subjects. Through comprehensive vegetation community surveys and in - depth soil investigations, this study delves into the impacts of these different artificial vegetation models on biodiversity, soil physicochemical properties, and stoichiometric characteristics. The findings reveal that, across the various artificial vegetation models, a total of 39 angiosperm species, classified into 21 families and 35 genera, were identified. In comparison to shrublands and grasslands, broadleaf forests, coniferous forests, and mixed coniferous - broadleaf forests manifested a notably higher species richness. This increase was mainly embodied in the significant augmentation of herbaceous plant species (P<0.05). The artificial vegetation models effectively contribute to the enhancement of plant community biodiversity in the rocky desertification area. Specifically, the broadleaf forest model demonstrated the highest tree biodiversity. For shrubland biodiversity, the broadleaf forest and coniferous forest models ranked the highest, while the mixed coniferous - broadleaf forest model presented relatively higher herbaceous plant diversity. Regarding soil properties, the soil total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) contents in shrublands were lower than those in arbor - dominated forests. The vegetation restoration in shrublands exerted no significant influence on soil nutrients (P>0.05) and even had an adverse effect on soil TP content. After four years of arbor forest artificial vegetation restoration, significant changes occurred in soil organic matter. The soil organic matter content in broadleaf forests was remarkably higher than that in other models (P<0.05). The mixed coniferous - broadleaf forests significantly increased the soil TN content (P<0.05), and broadleaf forests significantly elevated the soil TP content (P<0.05). Moreover, in broadleaf, coniferous, and mixed coniferous - broadleaf forests, the C/N stoichiometric ratio decreased. In the mixed coniferous - broadleaf forest model, the C/P ratio declined as well, which was conducive to the microbial decomposition process. In conclusion, this study offers valuable insights for the vegetation restoration in rocky desertification areas and provides practical countermeasures and suggestions for ecological restoration and rocky desertification management in karst regions. It emphasizes the significance of choosing appropriate artificial vegetation models to promote ecological recovery and sustainable development in these ecologically vulnerable areas.