Gully erosion is a major soil degradation process on arable land. Therefore, it is important to better understand the spatial and temporal patterns of this linear erosion process, considering the impacts of land use and climate change. The main objective of this study was to analyse the spatial and temporal patterns of permanent gully development in a study area of 123 300 km 2 located in the eastern periphery of the European boreal zone (southern taiga, mixed and deciduous forests and forest-steppe). In this study, visual interpretation of remote sensing data is used to detect changes in permanent gully channel length and density for each river basin between 1950/1970 and 2017/2021. Currently, 22 688 permanent gullies have been identified in the study area, their average length being 64 m, with the total gully network length reaching 1450.3 km. The average density of the gully network for 2017/2021 is 16 m km À2 ; the maximum value reaching 471 m km À2 . During the period under study (c. 50 years), there was a widespread reduction in gully density by 184 m km À2 on average (i.e. from 100-500 m km À2 in 1950/1970 to <10 m km À2 in 2017/2021). Linear and areal channel changes were determined for 304 active gullies over the 2009/2016 period. The average linear gully growth rate during thisperiod is 0.6 m year À1 , whereas the areal growth rate is 28 m 2 year À1 . There is a clear reduction of gully erosion in the study area. Analysis of the gully network density in relation to land use changes (i.e. cultivated, forest and pasture area) did not reveal any significant relationship. It is concluded that the reduction of gully density in the study area is caused by the natural evolution of these linear erosion forms and their transformation into balkas (i.e. small, dry, flat-bottomed valleys).
Abstract. This article presents results for gully head cut retreat rates
(GHRR) in the Pre-Kama region (Republic of Tatarstan, Russia) based on
monitoring (1984–1994 and 2015–2018) and the interpretation of
high-resolution satellite images (2004–2014). The results suggested that the
mean linear GHRR have reduced by about five times, from 1.6 m per year
(1983–1994) to 0.4 m per year (2015–2018). The main reason for the
significant decrease in gully erosion was the increase in winter-spring air
temperatures, which resulted in a reduction in the depth of soil freezing
and surface runoff. The impact of land use, as well as erosion control
measures, which were implemented in the study area during the late 1980s and
early 1990s, was found to be less important.
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