Abstract

Gully erosion, one of the most damaging forms of land degradation, destroys farmlands and threatens grain and ecological stability. Approximately 295,000 gullies have formed in the Mollisols region of northeast China (NEC), while the actual severity of gully erosion remains unclear. This study aims to clarify gully morphology, factors influencing gully morphology, and contribution of gully erosion to soil loss through a 393 km2 field investigation in a typical and representative Mollisols region of NEC. There were 1048 gullies observed, with an average length, top width, depth and width-depth ratio of 522.32 m, 15.05 m, 2.77 m and 7.16, respectively. Over 70% of gullies had a length, top width and depth of 100–500 m, 3–20 m and 0.5–3 m, respectively. The three types of gullies, classified based on where the gully head developed (GF, farmland; GR, unpaved road; GW, woodland), had significantly distinct morphologies, with GW being broader and deeper and GF being longer. Notably, 56.2% of gullies are GF, accounted for 74.84% of the total gully area and 67.04% of the total gully volume (V). V of GF, GR and GW could be well explained by a power function of gully area (A). Gully density (gully length per unit area, GD, km km−2) and ground lacerative degree (gully area per unit area, GLD, km km−2) increased with slope gradient, and first increased and then decreased with slope length. Gully development was more favorable of sunny slope and a larger angle between gully and ridge orientation. The annual eroded soil from the gully was 1.86 times of that from the hillslope across the region during 2013–2018, contributing 65% of region eroded soil. This clearly identifies the severity of gully erosion and substantiates gully erosion risks to valuable mollisols and therefore food security. An urgent need exists to implement gully erosion control practices in this area.

Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call