Gully erosion in Northeast China -- a case study on history, erosion rates and causes

Mollisols are of major importance for food security worldwide but are increasingly degraded by soil erosion. Mollisols in Northeast China have been converted into agricultural use only recently, but gullies are widely distributed and gully erosion history, rates and causes remained unclear. We chose a study typical village to estimate initiation years and development rates of the gully systems from 1968 to 2018 by using aerial and satellite imagery. The outlet fan deposits of a large gully system were dated by Caesium-137 (137Cs) and artefacts. To verify the results, we collected information from local farmers. Gully volumes were measured by structure-from-motion technique using photos taken from an unmanned aerial vehicle. Our results showed that gully systems had already appeared on the steep slopes and along unpaved roads in 1968 and had become more complex by 2018 despite terracing and afforestation. Based on gully morphology and 137Cs, gully erosion was estimated to have started in the 1950s to 1960s when the original grassland and forest were completely converted into arable land. From 1968 to 2018, the gully density increased from 1.2 to 2.3 km km-2. The gully heads retreated at speeds from 1.5 to 2.5 m yr-1, and the soil loss from gully erosion ranged from 25.7 to 44.7 Mg yr-1 ha-1. These data demonstrate the severity of gully erosion in study region and underline the importance of appropriate countermeasures, such as maintenance of abandoned terraces under reforested land and better design and construction of roads within the arable land.

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Effect of Land Use Change on Gully Erosion Density in the Black Soil Region of Northeast China From 1965 to 2015: A Case Study of the Kedong County

Frontiers in Environmental Science ◽

10.3389/fenvs.2021.652933 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Maojuan Li ◽

Tianqi Li ◽

Lianqi Zhu ◽

Michael E. Meadows ◽

Wenbo Zhu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Northeast China ◽

Black Soil ◽

Gully Erosion ◽

Cultivated Land ◽

Topographic Map ◽

Degraded Land ◽

Landsat Images ◽

Black Soil Region ◽

Gully Density

Kedong County is typical of the black soil region of northeast China in being highly susceptible to accelerated soil erosion by gullying. Using data sourced from Corona satellite imagery for 1965, SPOT5 for 2005 and GF-1 for 2015, the spatial distribution of gullies in the research area was mapped. Land use data for 1965, 2005, and 2015 were obtained from the topographic map of 1954, and from Landsat images for 2005 and 2015. Over the last 50 years, the extent of gully erosion in the study area has increased markedly, most notably on cultivated land, while gully density rose from 2,756.16 m2/km2 to 14,294.19 m2/km2. Cultivating land on slopes, especially on slopes greater than ∼4°, may rapidly aggravate gully erosion. The greatest increases in gully density occurred in situations when cultivated land and other/degraded land were transformed, which gully erosion density increased by 49,526.69 m2/km2. Other/degraded land is the most vulnerable land in the study area, with the highest gully erosion density. In these cases, gully density initially increases and, although the “Grain for Green” project has been implemented, gully erosion density has not always declined in the recent past.

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Influence of Straw Burning on Urban Air Pollutant Concentrations in Northeast China

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16081379 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (8) ◽

pp. 1379 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Zhenzhen Wang ◽

Jianjun Zhao ◽

Jiawen Xu ◽

Mingrui Jia ◽

Han Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Northeast China ◽

Arable Land ◽

Pollution Index ◽

Air Pollutant ◽

Thermal Anomalies ◽

Pollutant Concentrations ◽

Moderate Resolution ◽

Resolution Imaging ◽

Straw Burning ◽

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

Northeast China is China’s primary grain production base. A large amount of crop straw is incinerated every spring and autumn, which greatly impacts air quality. To study the degree of influence of straw burning on urban pollutant concentrations, this study used The Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer/Terra Thermal Anomalies & Fire Daily L3 Global 1 km V006 (MOD14A1) and The Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer/Aqua Thermal Anomalies and Fire Daily L3 Global 1 km V006 (MYD14A1) data from 2015 to 2017 to extract fire spot data on arable land burning and to study the spatial distribution characteristics of straw burning on urban pollutant concentrations, temporal variation characteristics and impact thresholds. The results show that straw burning in Northeast China is concentrated in spring and autumn; the seasonal spatial distributions of PM2.5, PM10 andAir Quality Index (AQI) in 41 cities or regions in Northeast China correspond to the seasonal variation of fire spots; and pollutants appear in the peak periods of fire spots. In areas where the concentration coefficient of rice or corn is greater than 1, the number of fire spots has a strong correlation with the urban pollution index. The correlation coefficient R between the number of burned fire spots and the pollutant concentration has a certain relationship with the urban distribution. Cities are aggregated in geospatial space with different R values.

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Land-Use/-Cover Changes and Their Effect on Soil Erosion and River Suspended Sediment Load in Different Landscape Zones of European Russia during 1970–2017

Water ◽

10.3390/w13121631 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 1631

Author(s):

Artyom V. Gusarov

Keyword(s):

Soviet Union ◽

Suspended Sediment ◽

Sediment Load ◽

Gully Erosion ◽

European Russia ◽

Relative Reduction ◽

Forest Steppe ◽

Suspended Sediment Load ◽

Cultivated Land ◽

Study Region

Contemporary trends in cultivated land and their influence on soil/gully erosion and river suspended sediment load were analyzed by various landscape zones within the most populated and agriculturally developed part of European Russia, covering 2,222,390 km2. Based on official statistics from the Russian Federation and the former Soviet Union, this study showed that after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, there was a steady downward trend in cultivated land throughout the study region. From 1970–1987 to 2005–2017, the region lost about 39% of its croplands. Moreover, the most significant relative reduction in cultivated land was noted in the forest zone (south taiga, mixed and broadleaf forests) and the dry steppes and the semi-desert of the Caspian Lowland—about 53% and 65%, respectively. These territories are with climatically risky agriculture and less fertile soils. There was also a widespread reduction in agricultural machinery on croplands and livestock on pastures of the region. A decrease in soil/gully erosion rates over the past decades was also revealed based on state hydrological monitoring data on river suspended sediment load as one of the indicators of the temporal variability of erosion intensity in river basins and the published results of some field research in various parts of the studied landscape zones. The most significant reduction in the intensity of erosion and the load of river suspended sediment was found in European Russia’s forest-steppe zone. This was presumably due to a favorable combination of the above changes in land cover/use and climate change.

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Surface and subsurface flow effect on permanent gully formation and upland erosion near Lake Tana in the northern highlands of Ethiopia

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-14-2207-2010 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 14 (11) ◽

pp. 2207-2217 ◽

Cited By ~ 94

Author(s):

T. Y. Tebebu ◽

A. Z. Abiy ◽

A. D. Zegeye ◽

H. E. Dahlke ◽

Z. M. Easton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Table ◽

Gully Erosion ◽

Grazing Land ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Lake Tana ◽

Erosion Rates ◽

Remotely Sensed Imagery ◽

Reservoir Siltation ◽

Upland Erosion ◽

Elevated Water

Abstract. Gully formation in the Ethiopian Highlands has been identified as a major source of sediment in water bodies, and results in sever land degradation. Loss of soil from gully erosion reduces agricultural productivity and grazing land availability, and is one of the major causes of reservoir siltation in the Nile Basin. This study was conducted in the 523 ha Debre-Mawi watershed south of Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, where gullies are actively forming in the landscape. Historic gully development in a section of the Debre-Mawi watershed was estimated with semi structured farmer interviews, remotely sensed imagery, and measurements of current gully volumes. Gully formation was assessed by instrumenting the gully and surrounding area to measure water table levels and soil physical properties. Gully formation began in the late 1980's following the removal of indigenous vegetation, leading to an increase in surface and subsurface runoff from the hillsides. A comparison of the gully area, estimated from a 0.58 m resolution QuickBird image, with the current gully area mapped with a GPS, indicated that the total eroded area of the gully increased from 0.65 ha in 2005 to 1.0 ha in 2007 and 1.43 ha in 2008. The gully erosion rate, calculated from cross-sectional transect measurements, between 2007 and 2008 was 530 t ha−1 yr−1 in the 17.4 ha area contributing to the gully, equivalent to over 4 cm soil loss over the contributing area. As a comparison, we also measured rill and interrill erosion rates in a nearby section of the watershed, gully erosion rates were approximately 20 times the measured rill and interrill rates. Depths to the water table measured with piezometers showed that in the actively eroding sections of the gully the water table was above the gully bottom and, in stable gully sections the water table was below the gully bottom during the rainy season. The elevated water table appears to facilitate the slumping of gully walls, which causes the gully to widen and to migrate up the hillside.

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Assessment of Soil Erosion Vulnerability in the Heavily Populated and Ecologically Fragile Communities in Motozintla De Mendoza, Chiapas, Mexico

10.5194/se-2017-85 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Selene B. González-Morales ◽

Alex Mayer ◽

Neptalí Ramírez-Marcial

Keyword(s):

Soil Erosion ◽

Erosion Rate ◽

Negative Response ◽

Attitudes And Practices ◽

Erosion Rates ◽

Soil Erosion Rate ◽

Kap Survey ◽

Level Of Knowledge ◽

Steep Slopes ◽

Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

Abstract. The physical aspects and knowledge of soil erosion in six communities in rural Chiapas, Mexico were assessed. Average erosion rates estimated with the RUSLE model ranged from 200 to 1,200 ha−1 yr−1. Most erosion rates are relatively high due to steep slopes, sandy soils and bare land cover. The lowest rates occur where corn is cultivated for much of the year and slopes are relatively low. The results of a knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) survey showed that two-thirds of respondents believed that the major cause of soil erosion was hurricanes or rainfall and only 14 % of respondents identified human activities as causes of erosion. Forty-two percent of respondents indicated that the responsibility for solving soil erosion problems lies with government, as opposed to 26 % indicating that the community is responsible. More than half of respondents believed that reforestation is a viable option for reducing soil erosion, but only a third of respondents were currently applying reforestation practices and another one-third indicated that they were not following any conservation practices. The KAP results were used to assess the overall level of knowledge and interest in soil erosion problems and their solutions by compiling negative responses. The community of Barrio Vicente Guerrero may be most vulnerable to soil erosion, since it had the highest average negative response and the second highest soil erosion rate. However, Poblado Cambil had the highest estimated soil erosion rate and a relatively low average negative response rate, suggesting that soil conservation efforts should be prioritized for this community. We conclude that as long as the economic and productive needs of the communities are not solved simultaneously, the risk of soil erosion will increase in the future, which threatens the survival of these communities.

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Spatio-temporal effects of vegetated windbreaks on wind erosion and microclimate as basis for model development

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-9182 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Thomas Weninger ◽

Simon Scheper ◽

Nathan King ◽

Karl Gartner ◽

Barbara Kitzler ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Water ◽

Wind Erosion ◽

Arable Land ◽

Model Development ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Bare Soil ◽

Sediment Traps ◽

Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽

Regional Modelling ◽

Erosion Rates

Wind erosion of arable soil is considered a risk factor for Austrian fields, but direct measurements of soil loss are not available until now. Despite this uncertainty, vegetated windbreaks have been established to minimize adverse wind impacts on arable land. The study addresses these questions: i) How relevant is wind erosion as a factor of soil degradation? ii) How important is the protective effect of vegetated windbreaks? iii) Are systematic patterns of spatial and temporal variability of wind erosion rates detectable in response to weather conditions?&#160;Two experimental fields adjacent to windbreaks were equipped with sediment traps, soil moisture sensors, and meteorological measurement equipment for microclimatic patterns. Sediment traps were arranged in high spatial resolution from next to the windbreak to a distance of ten times the windbreak height. Beginning in January 2020, the amount of trapped sediment was analyzed every three weeks. The highest wind erosion rates on bare soil were observed in June and July. For unprotected fields with bare soil, upscaled annual erosion rates were as high as 0.8 tons per hectare, and sediment trapped increased in a linear fashion with distance from the windbreak. Soil water content near the surface (5 cm depth) was three percent higher at a distance of two times the height of the windbreak than at a distance of six times the height. For the same respective distances from the windbreak, we observed 29 days of soil water contents below the wilting point compared with 60 days.The preliminary outcomes confirmed the expected effects of windbreaks on soil erosion and microclimate in agricultural fields. Prospective results from multiple vegetation periods will be used in an upscaling approach to gain informations for the whole basin. That is meant to be done by a combination with a soil wind erosion model which was so far used for regional modelling of wind erosion susceptibility.

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Reconstructing long-term gully dynamics in Mediterranean agricultural areas

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-21-235-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 235-249 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Antonio Hayas ◽

Tom Vanwalleghem ◽

Ana Laguna ◽

Adolfo Peña ◽

Juan V. Giráldez

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Temporal Resolution ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Mediterranean Area ◽

Gully Erosion ◽

Aerial Photographs ◽

High Temporal Resolution ◽

Erosion Rates ◽

Erosion Processes

Abstract. Gully erosion is an important erosive process in Mediterranean basins. However, the long-term dynamics of gully networks and the variations in sediment production in gullies are not well known. Available studies are often conducted only over a few years, while many gully networks form, grow, and change in response to environmental and land use or management changes over a long period. In order to clarify the effect of these changes, it is important to analyse the evolution of the gully network with a high temporal resolution. This study aims at analysing gully morphodynamics over a long timescale (1956–2013) in a large Mediterranean area in order to quantify gully erosion processes and their contribution to overall sediment dynamics. A gully network of 20 km2 located in southwestern Spain has been analysed using a sequence of 10 aerial photographs in the period 1956–2013. The extension of the gully network both increased and decreased in the study period. Gully drainage density varied between 1.93 km km−2 in 1956, a minimum of 1.37 km km−2 in 1980, and a maximum of 5.40 km km−2 in 2013. The main controlling factor of gully activity appeared to be rainfall. Land use changes were found to have only a secondary effect. A new Monte Carlo-based approach was proposed to reconstruct gully erosion rates from orthophotos. Gully erosion rates were found to be relatively stable between 1956 and 2009, with a mean value of 11.2 t ha−1 yr−1. In the period 2009–2011, characterized by severe winter rainfalls, this value increased significantly to 591 t ha−1 yr−1. These results show that gully erosion rates are highly variable and that a simple interpolation between the starting and ending dates greatly underestimates gully contribution during certain years, such as, for example, between 2009 and 2011. This illustrates the importance of the methodology applied using a high temporal resolution of orthophotos.

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The characteristics of gully erosion over rolling hilly black soil areas of Northeast China

Journal of Geographical Sciences ◽

10.1007/s11442-009-0309-4 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 309-320 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Gang Hu ◽

Yongqiu Wu ◽

Baoyuan Liu ◽

Yongguang Zhang ◽

Zhimin You ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Northeast China ◽

Black Soil ◽

Gully Erosion

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Rainfall and human activity impacts on soil losses and rill erosion in vineyards (Ruwer Valley, Germany)

Solid Earth ◽

10.5194/se-6-823-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 823-837 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

J. Rodrigo Comino ◽

C. Brings ◽

T. Lassu ◽

T. Iserloh ◽

J. M. Senciales ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Activity ◽

Soil Loss ◽

Soil Analysis ◽

Rill Erosion ◽

Erosion Rates ◽

Short Period ◽

Different Seasons ◽

Steep Slopes ◽

The Village ◽

Experimental Plots

Abstract. Vineyards are one of the eco-geomorphological systems most conditioned by human activity in Germany. The vineyards of the Ruwer Valley (Germany) are characterized by high soil erosion rates and rill problems on steep slopes (between 23 and 26°) caused by the increasingly frequent heavy rainfall events as well as deterioration due to incorrect land use managements. The objective of this paper is to determine and to quantify the hydrological and erosive phenomena in one vineyard in Germany during different seasons and under different management conditions (before, during and after vintage). For this purpose, a combined methodology was applied. Climatic (rainfall depth distributions and return periods), pedological (soil analysis and classification), geomorphological (sediment movements and rills evolution) and biological (botanic marks on the vines) variables were used on the two experimental plots in the village of Waldrach (Trier, region of Rhineland-Palatinate). The results showed high infiltration rates (near 100 %) and subsurface flow which were detected by rainfall simulations performed at different times of the year (between September and December). The highest variations of the monitored rills (lateral and frontal movements) were noted before and during vintage, when footsteps occurred concentrated during a short period of time (between September and October). Finally, two maps of soil loss were generated, indicated by botanic marks on the graft union of the vines. 62.5 t ha−1 yr−1 soil loss was registered in the experimental plots of the new vineyards (2 years), while 3.4 t ha−1 yr−1 was recorded in the old one (35 years).

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