Measuring, modelling and managing gully erosion at large scales: A state of the art

Soil erosion is generally recognized as the dominant process of land degradation. The formation and expansion of gullies is often a highly significant process of soil erosion. However, our ability to assess and simulate gully erosion and its impacts remains very limited. This is especially so at regional to continental scales. As a result, gullying is often overlooked in policies and land and catchment management strategies. Nevertheless, significant progress has been made over the past decades. Based on a review of >590 scientific articles and policy documents, we provide a state-of-the-art on our ability to monitor, model and manage gully erosion at regional to continental scales. In this review we discuss the relevance and need of assessing gully erosion at regional to continental scales (Section 1); current methods to monitor gully erosion as well as pitfalls and opportunities to apply them at larger scales (section 2); field-based gully erosion research conducted in Europe and European Russia (section 3); model approaches to simulate gully erosion and its contribution to catchment sediment yields at large scales (section 4); data products that can be used for such simulations (section 5); and currently existing policy tools and needs to address the problem of gully erosion (section 6). Section 7 formulates a series of recommendations for further research and policy development, based on this review. While several of these sections have a strong focus on Europe, most of our findings and recommendations are of global significance.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Monitoring of test gullies development from the Moldavian Tableland in 1986 - 2008 period

 In a study area in Romania covering about 25,000 km 2 over 9000 gullies were mapped. The areal distribution of the gullies indicated some areas where a higher density occurs. These areas are dominated by hillslope orientation towards the northwest and, respectively, the southeast, slope inclination between 20 to 30 m/100 m, slope length between 300 and 500 m and by a dominantly sandy lithology. Detailed field surveys were made of 17 gullies. Each gully was marked with a network of stakes to show the location of cross sections. The distances between cross sections were around 3-4 times the gully width.Topographical maps at scales of 1:200 to 1:500 were made for gully geomorphological surveys. In 2007-2008 we were interested in the evolution of the test gullies and if the evolution pattern we had proposed in 1999 was verified by the new measurements. In thiswork we will focus on the monitoring methods of the test gullies from our work database. Finally, we intend to present the calibrated pattern of the gully evolution. The distribution of gullies indicates that the highest gully density reflects hillslope orientation, inclination and length, and a sandy lithology. In Moldavia the average number ofgullies per kms is between 2 to 4, with a maximum of 20 gullies per kms; average density is between 0.1 to 1 km per kms, with a maximum length value of over 3 km per km. Gully number and density per surface unit are considered as classification criteria of gully erosion. The areas with the highest susceptibility of gully initiation in Moldavia are at the intersection of following factors: hillslope orientation towards NW and SE, respectively (hillslopes of consequent valleys), slope inclination between 20 to 30%, slope length between 300 and 500 m and a dominantly sandy lithology. These areas have a high density of points. Detailed investigations on 17 gullies sampled from the different areas of Moldaviabetween the Siret and Prut rivers in the period 1986-2008 show that some of the properties of gully geometry favour using discriminating factors to produce a diagnosis and a possible assessment of geomorphic development. Factor identification can be used to identify the most important combinations of geomorphic processes in gully development. The surface deposits of gullies studied vary from silty-clays in the northern half of the territory, to silts in the middle to southern area and sands in the southern end of the region. For the cases studied, the sidewall processes contribute 1-5 times more to the gully evolution than the incision processes. The nature of the processes in a gully may be inferred by the grain size analysis of the surface material. The rate of gully head cutting is over 1.5 m/year for gullies cut in sandy deposits and under 1 m/year for the gullies cut in marls and clays. A model of gully development is proposed which shows an accelerated rate of gully development immediately downstream after their initiation and a reduced and even cessation of advance on attaining an equilibrium length. </p

How long should we measure? An exploration of factors controlling the inter-annual variation of cathment sediment yield

Purpose Although it is well-known that catchment suspended sediment yields (SY; tons per square kilometre per year) can vary significantly from year to year, little information exists on the magnitude and factors controlling this variability. This is crucial to assess the reliability of average SY values for a given measuring period (MP) and is of great geomorphic significance. This paper aims to bridge this research gap. Materials and methods A worldwide database was compiled with time series of measured SY values. Data from 726 rivers (mostly located in Europe, the Middle East and the USA) were collected, covering 15,025 annual SY observations. The MPs ranged between 7 and 58 years, while catchment areas (A) ranged between 0.07 and 1.84× 106 km2. For 558 catchments, the annual runoff depths corresponding to the SY observations were also available. Based on this database, inter-annual variability was assessed for each catchment, and relationships with factors potentially explaining this variability were explored. Results and discussion Coefficients of variation of SYvaried between 6% and 313% (median 75%). Annual SY data were generally not normally distributed but positively skewed. Interannual variability generally increased with increasing average SY. No significant relationship was found between the interannual variability of SY and A, while weak but significant relationships were noted with the variability in annual runoff and rainfall depths. Detailed analyses of a sub-dataset corresponding to 63 catchments in Romania revealed no clear relationships between inter-annual variability of SY and landuse or topographic characteristics. Nevertheless, indications were found that variability was larger for catchments with erosion-prone land-use conditions. Using a Monte Carlo simulation approach, the effect of inter-annual variability on the reliability of average SY data was assessed. Results indicate that uncertainties are very large when the MP is short, with median relative errors ranging between −60% and 83% after 5 years of monitoring. Furthermore, average SY values based on short MPs have a large probability to underestimate, rather than to overestimate, the long-term mean. For instance, the SY value of a median catchment after a 1-year MP has a 50% probability of underestimating the long-term mean by about 22%. Uncertainties quickly decrease after the first few years of measurement but can remain considerable, even after 50 years of monitoring. Conclusions It is important to consider uncertainties associated with average SY values due to inter-annual variability, for example when attempting to predict long-term average SY values using a steady-state model, as such uncertainties put fundamental limits to the predictive capabilities of such models.status: publishe

Tectonic, climatic and autogenic controls on the Late Quaternary evolution of the Somes fluvial fan, North-East Pannonian Basin, Central Europe

The Somes fluvial fan is located in the NW extremity of the Great Hungarian Plain (Pannonian Basin). It was formed by the left-side tributaries of the Tisa River (a tributary of the Danube) as they developed westward, following the avulsion of the main Tisa channel. Drainage reorganisation after the avulsion has occurred via a complex interplay between tectonic, climatic and autogenic controls over the past similar to 50-30 ka. In this study, we discuss the role of these factors in the spatial and temporal dynamics of the fluvial system that constructed the Somes fluvial fan during the second half of the last glacial cycle, using a combination of cartographic, sedimentary, and chronological tools. Our data suggests that, within a general setting of subsidence, spatial and temporal variation in the rate of this subsidence between different tectonic blocks created four local base levels, while autogenic factors play only a secondary role. The modern drainage configuration results from spatial channel adjustments during the last ca. 3000 cal BP, related to the current subsidence centre located in the NW extremity of the Somes fluvial fan. Over the entire period analysed, the rivers draining across the fluvial fan predominantly meandered, except when the river switched to a braided pattern. This braided phase likely occurred before similar to 30-32 ka ago, apparently coeval with a similar short, braided phase that has been documented along the middle Tisa River. The braiding phase is coincident with intense deglaciation in the Somes catchment area and development of open forest vegetation at lower elevations. Climatic changes during and after the Last Glacial Maximum had a reduced impact on the style of fluvial flow, which returned to a meandering pattern. Ca. 5000 cal BP these changes impacted suspended sediment delivery to drainage networks resulting in the present-day channel dimensions, at least along their lower reaches (our study area). Our results highlight the lower sensitivity of rivers draining the Great Hungarian Plain to the Late Quaternary climate changes compared to the far more responsive rivers of Western European. This behaviour is, in our opinion, most likely due to the presence of glacial forest refugia in the catchment areas, which modulated the response of discharge and fluvial dynamics to climatic changes

Reservoir and Pond Sedimentation in Europe

status: publishe

The role of reservoirs in global sediment budgets

Man-made reservoirs are an important sink for sediment eroded from the land and thus constitute an important aspect of the sediment budget. Their impact has mostly been assessed at the scale of an individual river basin but rarely on a continental or even a global scale. Although there are recent estimates of global sediment retention by dams, these studies have solely focussed on the role reservoirs play in controlling sediment fluxes to the oceans, thus on their net impact for global sediment budgets. However, the net impact of reservoirs is much larger than the gross amount of sediment stored within all reservoirs on the globe. Furthermore, the impact of smaller waterholding structures is mostly neglected. In this paper, we present a first comprehensive assessment of global annual sediment storage within reservoirs based on sedimentation rates obtained from over 3700 reservoirs, representing nearly 25% of the global storage capacity. We argue that at least 27 petagrams (Pg) sediment are stored annually in all larger reservoirs, with possible sediment retention of an additional 27 Pg in smaller man-made water bodies. These values are 2 to 4 times larger than the estimated sediment mass transported annually to the global coastal ocean, and 8 to 15 times larger than the net reduction of sediment flux to the oceans attributed to reservoirs. These estimates provide minimum annual continental erosion rates and comparison with soil erosion data suggest that soil erosion on agricultural land is not the dominant source of sediment deposited in reservoirs or exported to the ocean. In recent decades, reservoir sedimentation has become as least as important as floodplain sediment storage and can nowadays be considered as one of the most important sediment sinks in continental sediment budgets.status: publishe

Seismic activity controls spatial variability of contemporary sediment yields

peer reviewe

Moderate seismic activity affects contemporary sediment yields

Current models aiming to simulate contemporary sediment yield (SY) implicitly assume that tectonic effects are either irrelevant or are reflected by catchment topography. In this study we analyse the relation between SY and seismic activity, a component of tectonic processes. Results show a spatial correlation between SY and seismic activity expressed as the estimated peak ground acceleration (PGA) with a 10% exceedance probability in 50 years. PGA has a significant impact on the spatial variation of SY, even after correcting for cross-correlations with topography, lithology or other factors that may influence SY. Based on three distinct data sets, we demonstrate that this effect is significant both for small catchments in Europe (0.3-3940 km2) and for large river systems worldwide (1580-6.15×106 km2) and that seismic activity may be even more important for explaining regional variation in SY than land use or many other commonly considered factors (e.g. catchment area, climate). We show that explicitly considering seismic activity may lead to SY-estimates that easily deviate a factor 2 or more compared to estimates that do not consider seismic activity. This is not only the case for highly seismically active regions: also in regions with a weak to moderate seismic regime seismic activity helps explaining regional patterns in SY. We argue that these findings have important implications for a better understanding of SY and its sensitivity to human impacts, as well as for our comprehension of sediment fluxes at longer timescales. © The Author(s) 2014.status: publishe

How fast do gully headcuts retreat?

Gully erosion has important on and off site effects. Therefore, several studies have been conducted over the past decades to quantify gully headcut retreat (GHR) in different environments. Although these led to important site-specific and regional insights, the overall importance of this erosion process or the factors that control it at a global scale remain poorly understood. This study aims to bridge this gap by reviewing research on GHR and conducting a meta-analysis of measured GHR rates worldwide. Through an extensive literature review, GHR rates for 933 individual and actively retreating gullies have been compiled from more than 70 study areas worldwide (comprising a total measuring period of >19 600 years). Each GHR rate was measured through repeated field surveys and/or analyses of aerial photographs over a period of at least one year (maximum: 97 years, median: 17 years). The data show a very large variability, both in terms of gully dimensions (cross-sectional areas ranging between 0.11 and 816 m2 with a median of 4 m2) and volumetric GHR rates (ranging between 0.002 and 47 430 m3 year- 1 with a median of 2.2 m3 year- 1). Linear GHR rates vary between 0.01 and 135 m year- 1 (median: 0.89 m year- 1), while areal GHR rates vary between 0.01 and 3628 m2 year- 1 (median: 3.12 m2 year- 1). An empirical relationship allows estimating volumetric retreat rates from areal retreat rates with acceptable uncertainties. By means of statistical analyses for a subset of 724 gullies with a known contributing area, we explored the factors most relevant in explaining the observed 7 orders of magnitudes of variation in volumetric GHR rates. Results show that measured GHR rates are significantly correlated to the runoff contributing area of the gully (r2 = 0.15) and the rainy day normal (RDN; i.e. the long-term average annual rainfall depth divided by the average number of rainy days; r2 = 0.47). Other factors (e.g. land use or soil type) showed no significant correlation with the observed GHR rates. This may be attributed to the uncertainties associated with accurately quantifying these factors. In addition, available time series data demonstrate that GHR rates are subject to very large year-to-year variations. As a result, average GHR rates measured over short (100%) uncertainties. We integrated our findings into a weighted regression model that simulates the volumetric retreat rate of a gully headcut as a function of upstream drainage area and RDN. When weighing each GHR observation proportional to its measuring period, this model explains 68% of the observed variance in GHR rates at a global scale. For 76% of the monitored gullies, the simulated GHR values deviate less than one order of magnitude from their corresponding observed value. Our model clearly indicates that GHR rates are very sensitive to rainfall intensity. Since these intensities are expected to increase in most areas as a result of climate change, our results suggest that gully erosion worldwide will become more intense and widespread in the following decades. Finally, we discuss research topics that will help to address these challenges. © 2016 Elsevier B.V