Causes of gully erosion in arid ecosystem: case study southern part of I.R. Iran

Abstract

This research demonstrated that the I.R. region is prone to gully erosion. The study area had limited gully erosion four decades ago. With accelerating urban development during the past, two to three decades, areas of gully erosion increased. Comparison of gully advancement showed that the area of gully erosion increased 4 times in four decades before. Gullies are located around urban areas with more deteriorated cropland and roads. Statistical analysis revealed that area of gully erosion could be attributed to the area of bareland and road length. The overall the impact of bareland area is more significant than road length in study watersheds, although their contribution in individual site is completely different.