Gully Head-Cuts Inventory and Semi-Automatic Gully Extraction Using LiDAR and Topographic Openness—Case Study: Covurlui Plateau, Eastern Romania

Ionut-Costel Codru (), Lilian Niacsu, Andrei Enea and Latifa Bou-imajjane
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Ionut-Costel Codru: Research Center with Integrated Techniques for Atmospheric Aerosol Investigation in Romania, RECENT AIR, Laboratory of Interdisciplinary Research in Geo-Chemistry of Rural Areas, Environmental Quality Monitoring Station for Geographic Research, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, 707290 Iasi, Romania
Lilian Niacsu: Faculty of Geography & Geology, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Carol I Blvd. 11, 700506 Iasi, Romania
Andrei Enea: Faculty of Geography & Geology, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Carol I Blvd. 11, 700506 Iasi, Romania
Latifa Bou-imajjane: Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir 80060, Morocco

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 6, 1-20

Abstract: The Covurlui Plateau, a subunit of the Moldavian Plateau located in eastern Romania, possesses a high natural agricultural potential, significantly impacted by soil erosion, particularly gully erosion. The only inventory in the Moldavian Plateau that comprises approximately 9000 gullies extracted from topographical maps was conducted during the 90s. Nowadays, with the advent of advanced techniques and geodata, such as GIS software, aerial photograms, high-resolution satellite images, and high-resolution digital elevation models, we aim to achieve an (1) up-to-date comprehensive inventory of gully head-cuts and (2) a very detailed mapping of the spatial distribution of gullied lands. Firstly, the gully head-cuts were inventoried for the entire region using platforms such as Google, Esri, and Bing, through the QuickMapService plugin within QGIS 3.16 software, with the assistance of Landsat and Sentinel satellite images. Secondly, the automatic mapping of gullies was carried out using a 5 m high-resolution Digital Elevation Model and the Topographic Openness module offered by SAGA GIS software through QGIS software. As a result, we identified 5868 gully head-cuts for the Covurlui Plateau, with an average density of 2.57 gully head-cuts per square kilometer. Additionally, the identified gullies occupy over 3570 hectares, representing 1.57% of the total area. Overall, the topographic openness index proves to be an efficient tool for the semi-automatic extraction of gullies from high-resolution digital elevation models.

Keywords: gully erosion; gully inventory; semi-automatic extraction; topographic openness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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