IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i15p12056-d1211878.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Geometry Morphology and Distribution Characteristics of Permanent Gullies in the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains Forest Region of China

Author

Listed:
  • Zhaokai Wan

    (College of Resources and Environment, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China
    Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150081, China)

  • Qingchen Song

    (Arongqi Water Resources Bureau, Arongqi 162750, China)

  • Jilin Wang

    (Zhalantun City Water Resources Bureau, Zhalantun 162650, China)

  • Mingming Guo

    (Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150081, China)

  • Xin Liu

    (Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150081, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Zhuoxin Chen

    (Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150081, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, China)

  • Pengchong Zhou

    (Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150081, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Puqiang Wan

    (Arongqi Water Resources Bureau, Arongqi 162750, China)

Abstract

The Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains (GKM and LKM), together form one of the main resources of the terrestrial natural ecosystem in northeast Asia and play a crucial role in climate regulation and soil and water conservation due to their distinctive geographical features and abundant vegetation cover. Nonetheless, the morphology and distribution of gullies in the two study areas remain unclear. This study focused on an investigation area of approximately 100 km 2 within the forest areas of the GKM and LKM, where field measurements were conducted to record and analyze the morphological characteristics of the gullies. The study also explored the impact of slope and the aspects of gully development and established a gully volume estimation model in the study area. The findings indicate the following. Firstly, that the proportions of gullies with a length of 200–1000 m, a width of 2–6 m and a depth of 1–2 is 59.4%, 51.3% and 45.9%, respectively in the GKM, and 42.5%, 75.7% and 56%, respectively in the LKM. The measured gully density in the GKM was 0.3 gullies per km 2 , with an average length, width, and depth of 524.4 m, 2.4 m, and 1.0 m, respectively. In contrast, the measured gully density in the LKM was 0.45 gullies per km 2 , with an average length, width, and depth of 560.1 m, 3.9 m, and 1.8 m, respectively. Secondly, as the slope increased, the density of gullies and the degree of surface fragmentation gradually decreased. In the measured area of the GKM, gullies developed faster on the semi-sunny slope. However, in the measured area of the LKM, gullies were more evenly distributed across different slopes. A significant power function relationship between the volume and area (V-A) of gullies in the measured areas of the GKM (V = 0.37 A 1.11 , R 2 = 0.94) and LKM (V = 0.32 A 1.17 , R 2 = 0.94) was observed. These findings have important implications for soil conversation in forested areas of the black soil region in Northeast China.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhaokai Wan & Qingchen Song & Jilin Wang & Mingming Guo & Xin Liu & Zhuoxin Chen & Pengchong Zhou & Puqiang Wan, 2023. "Geometry Morphology and Distribution Characteristics of Permanent Gullies in the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains Forest Region of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-16, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:15:p:12056-:d:1211878
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/15/12056/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/15/12056/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lawani Adjadi Mounirou & Roland Yonaba & Fowé Tazen & Gebiaw T. Ayele & Zaher Mundher Yaseen & Harouna Karambiri & Hamma Yacouba, 2022. "Soil Erosion across Scales: Assessing Its Sources of Variation in Sahelian Landscapes under Semi-Arid Climate," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-19, December.
    2. Michael Maerker & Geraldine Quénéhervé & Felix Bachofer & Simone Mori, 2015. "A simple DEM assessment procedure for gully system analysis in the Lake Manyara area, northern Tanzania," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 79(1), pages 235-253, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.

      Corrections

      All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:15:p:12056-:d:1211878. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

      If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

      If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

      If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

      For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

      Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

      IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.