Study on the Spatio-Temporal Distribution and Influencing Factors of Soil Erosion Gullies at the County Scale of Northeast China

Jianhua Ren, Lei Wang, Zimeng Xu, Jinzhong Xu (), Xingming Zheng (), Qiang Chen and Kai Li
Additional contact information
Jianhua Ren: College of Geographical Science, Harbin Normal University, Harbin 150025, China
Lei Wang: College of Geographical Science, Harbin Normal University, Harbin 150025, China
Zimeng Xu: College of Geographical Science, Harbin Normal University, Harbin 150025, China
Jinzhong Xu: Heilongjiang Province Hydraulic Research Institute, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Harbin 150070, China
Xingming Zheng: Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Qiang Chen: College of Geographical Science, Harbin Normal University, Harbin 150025, China
Kai Li: College of Geographical Science, Harbin Normal University, Harbin 150025, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 15, 1-23

Abstract: Gully erosion refers to the landform formed by soil and water loss through gully development, which is a critical manifestation of soil degradation. However, research on the spatio-temporal variations in erosion gullies at the county scale remains insufficient, particularly regarding changes in gully aggregation and their driving factors. This study utilized high-resolution remote sensing imagery, gully interpretation information, topographic data, meteorological records, vegetation coverage, soil texture, and land use datasets to analyze the spatio-temporal patterns and influencing factors of erosion gully evolution in Bin County, Heilongjiang Province of China, from 2012 to 2022. Kernel density evaluation (KDE) analysis was also employed to explore these dynamics. The results indicate that the gully number in Bin County has significantly increased over the past decade. Gully development involves not only headward erosion of gully heads but also lateral expansion of gully channels. Gully evolution is most pronounced in slope intervals. While gentle slopes and slope intervals host the highest density of gullies, the aspect does not significantly influence gully development. Vegetation coverage exhibits a clear threshold effect of 0.6 in inhibiting erosion gully formation. Additionally, cultivated areas contain the largest number of gullies and experience the most intense changes; gully aggregation in forested and grassland regions shows an upward trend; the central part of the black soil region has witnessed a marked decrease in gully aggregation; and meadow soil areas exhibit relatively stable spatio-temporal variations in gully distribution. These findings provide valuable data and decision-making support for soil erosion control and transformation efforts.

Keywords: erosion gully; topography; land use; spatio-temporal distribution; vegetation coverage; black soil (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/15/6966/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/15/6966/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:15:p:6966-:d:1714540

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().