Development characteristic of permanent gully morphology at the small watershed scale and its relations with driving factors along the Mollisols Belt of Northeast China

IF 8.4 1区农林科学 Q1 SOIL SCIENCE

Soil & Tillage Research Pub Date : 2026-05-01 Epub Date: 2025-12-05 DOI:10.1016/j.still.2025.106999

Xiaohui Lian , Ningning Xiao , Mingming Guo , Xingyi Zhang , Xin Liu , Jinzhong Xu , Shengmin Zhang , Xing Han

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Abstract

Gully erosion poses a significant threat to land, ecology environment and food security. However, current studies have predominantly focused on identifying the gully development and driving factors by selecting typical watersheds from broad regions, overlooking the spatial heterogeneity of gully erosion and the roles of driving factors. Therefore, to address this issue, this study aimed to investigate gully erosion and its driving factors by selecting representative small watersheds (0.48–2.93 km²) along the Mollisols Belt of Northeast China. Gully morphology, topography, soil, climate and human activity (population and land use) data were obtained by unmanned aerial vehicle, field survey and spatial analysis. The results showed that gully linear density (GLD), gully areal density (GAD) and gully number density (ND) all exhibited a trend of initial sharp decrease followed by stabilization from south to north along the Mollisols Belt. The average gully length (L), width (W), depth (D), area (A) and volume (V) in the Mollisols Belt are 130.76 m, 6.42 m, 2.27 m, 1247.19 m², 7158.12 m³, respectively. The gully L, W, D, A, and V are centrally distributed in the range of 0–300 m, 0.5–2.5 m, 1–5 m, 0–500 m², 0–5000 m³, accounting for 68.5 %, 75.8 %, 68.3 %, 78.5 %, 83.3 %, respectively. The frequency distribution of five parameters showed great changes along Mollisols Belt. The gully volume can be estimated by V-L power function (V=a·L^b, a=14.63–98.81, b=0.86–1.34). Gully erosion intensity reflected by GLD and GAD across all watersheds initially increased and then decreased with slope gradient and topographic wetness index (TWI), demonstrating distinct threshold behaviors, while gully erosion was more intense on sunny and semi-sunny slopes. GLD and GAD at small watershed scale were significantly and positively correlated with rainfall erosivity, mean annual precipitation, and mean annual temperature, population density, proportion of farm track area and watershed slope, while they exhibited the significantly negative correlations with MWD, soil bulk density, and soil shear strength and TWI. The topography, soil, climate and human activity factors collectively explain 83.51 % of the total variance in gully erosion, with the relative contribution of 17.8 %, 26.4 %, 27.4 %, 28.4 % respectively. These results can deepen the understanding of the characteristics and laws of gully erosion along the Mollisols Belt and provide scientific basis for the precise prevention and control of gully erosion.

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东北Mollisols带小流域永久沟形态发育特征及其与驱动因素的关系

沟蚀对土地、生态环境和粮食安全构成重大威胁。然而，目前的研究主要集中在广泛区域选取典型流域来识别沟壑发育及其驱动因素，忽视了沟壑侵蚀的空间异质性及其驱动因素的作用。为解决这一问题，本研究选取东北Mollisols带具有代表性的小流域（0.48 ~ 2.93 km2）进行沟沟侵蚀及其驱动因素研究。通过无人机、野外调查和空间分析，获取沟谷形态、地形、土壤、气候和人类活动（人口和土地利用）数据。结果表明：沿Mollisols带，沟壑线密度（GLD）、沟壑面密度（GAD）和沟壑数密度（ND）均呈现先急剧下降后由南向北稳定的趋势；Mollisols带沟谷平均长度(L)、宽度(W)、深度(D)、面积(A)和体积(V)分别为130.76 m、6.42 m、2.27 m、1247.19 m2、7158.12 m3。L、W、D、A、V沟集中分布在0 ~ 300 m、0.5 ~ 2.5 m、1 ~ 5 m、0 ~ 500 m2、0 ~ 5000 m3范围内，占比分别为68.5 %、75.8 %、68.3% %、78.5 %、83.3 %。5个参数的频率分布沿Mollisols带变化较大。利用V- l幂函数（V=a·Lb, a= 14.63-98.81, b= 0.86-1.34）估算沟壑体积。各流域GLD和GAD反映的沟槽侵蚀强度随坡度和地形湿度指数（TWI）先增大后减小，表现出明显的阈值行为，其中阳坡和半阳坡沟槽侵蚀强度更大。小流域GLD和GAD与降雨侵蚀力、年平均降水量、年平均气温、人口密度、农道面积比例和流域坡度呈显著正相关，与MWD、土壤容重、土壤抗剪强度和TWI呈显著负相关。地形、土壤、气候和人类活动因子对沟壑区侵蚀总变异的贡献率为83.51% %，相对贡献率分别为17.8 %、26.4 %、27.4 %、28.4 %。这些结果可以加深对Mollisols带沟壑侵蚀特征和规律的认识，为沟壑侵蚀的精准防治提供科学依据。

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来源期刊

Soil & Tillage Research 农林科学-土壤科学

CiteScore

13.00

自引率

6.20%

发文量

266

审稿时长

5 months

期刊介绍： Soil & Tillage Research examines the physical, chemical and biological changes in the soil caused by tillage and field traffic. Manuscripts will be considered on aspects of soil science, physics, technology, mechanization and applied engineering for a sustainable balance among productivity, environmental quality and profitability. The following are examples of suitable topics within the scope of the journal of Soil and Tillage Research: The agricultural and biosystems engineering associated with tillage (including no-tillage, reduced-tillage and direct drilling), irrigation and drainage, crops and crop rotations, fertilization, rehabilitation of mine spoils and processes used to modify soils. Soil change effects on establishment and yield of crops, growth of plants and roots, structure and erosion of soil, cycling of carbon and nutrients, greenhouse gas emissions, leaching, runoff and other processes that affect environmental quality. Characterization or modeling of tillage and field traffic responses, soil, climate, or topographic effects, soil deformation processes, tillage tools, traction devices, energy requirements, economics, surface and subsurface water quality effects, tillage effects on weed, pest and disease control, and their interactions.